Best Contemporary Italian Restaurants in Far Northeast Philadelphia

We were nicely greeted as we walked up to the hostess station. Most restaurants overlook this very important interaction, first opinions matter. We enjoyed the gnocchi (best I’ve ever had), tomato bisque soup, pistachio encrusted salmon, fettuccine bolognese and lastly, the arugula, golden beets and burratta salad…..dang the salad was outstanding! I would remove the artichoke special you had last night(w/melted mozzarella). That dish fell far below the quality of all our other dishes. Our server Rachel was attentive and personable!

Wonderful birthday dinner for my wife. Sparkler on desert was perfect.

An enjoyable journey through Chef's culinary travels accompanied by personal stories.

We returned to LaStrada a second time because of the deliciously prepared food. As I mentioned in a previous post, it would have been nice if they had heated up the Italian bread when they brought it to the table instead of room temperature bread. Also I did not like the fact that the servers are all constantly trying to clear diners’ plates before everyone has finished their meals. I definitely felt rushed while I was eating my salad and the server wanted to take the plate from the person sitting next to me who had just finished their salad. Same thing happened while I was still eating my dinner. It’s not proper to clear the table when not everyone has finished that course. Other than that complaint, everything was excellent!

I was there on Christmas Day evening. It was very busy and both the Kitchen and the front of the house did a really good job. My server was prompt and very attentive and my food arrived quickly and was hot and of good flavor yet I did not feel rushed. I live in the neighborhood and will definitely return.