The Resy Guide to Italian Pasta in Philadelphia
If there’s one thing Philly does right, pasta is definitely up there. Our city’s Italian roots have delivered us a strong culture around Italian food — from historic red-sauce joints to chef-driven BYOBs and white-tablecloth experiences. Most of the best operations fall somewhere in the middle, but whatever level of dining you’re into, we really have some incredible options. You could legitimately order pasta for dinner every night for months around here, and never go to the same place twice, or be disappointed.
Here are our favorite destinations for Italian pasta in Philadelphia.
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A Mano Fairmount
A Mano has all the makings of a neighborhood restaurant: Convenient location surrounded by a residential neighborhood, BYOB policy, and great food. What separates it from just any neighborhood spot is that it’s owned by one of Philly’s top chefs, Townsend Wentz. You know his name from Townsend on E. Passyunk and Oloroso in Center City. At A Mano, you can do three or four courses for $48 or $68, respectively. Try the housemade lemony ricotta cavatelli with broccoli rabe and the rigatoni Bolognese, or just go with whatever’s in season. That might land you a plate of gnocchi with peaches and mushroom confit in the summer, or gnocchi with eggplant, tomato sauce, and feta in the winter.
Tulip Pasta & Wine Bar Fishtown
Tulip is one of the best pasta places to open in recent memory in Philly. Chef Alex Beninato, who also create pasta company Philly Milled, which uses local grains, partnered with Chester County’s Wayvine Vineyards on this charming 36-seater in Fishtown. Get any of the pastas, from pork belly cappelletti to half-moon shaped creste di gallo with peas and goat gouda. There’s something extra special about this place, especially for those with food sensitivities or preferences, too: More than half of the pastas on the menu can be made gluten-free, and a couple can always be made vegan.
Zeppoli Collingswood
Chef Joey Baldino’s 35-seat Sicilian BYOB in South Jersey has been one of the region’s most solid Italian destinations for a long time. The lemon tagliatelli is a total classic, all bright with citrus and salty with prosciutto. You won’t go wrong with spaghetti and clams either, or the spinach and ricotta gnocchi that’s a hat tip to Baldino’s former boss and godfather of modern Italian food in Philly, Marc Vetri. Pro tip: Take a nice bottle of Italian red for this meal.
Fun fact: Baldino also owns Palizzi Social Club, which is tougher to get into, but well worth getting a membership to, or finding a friend who has one. Order the delightfully messy spaghetti with crab once you’re there.
Ralph’s Italian Restaurant Philadelphia
Some call it the oldest restaurant in the country; others just call it the best Italian restaurant in Philly. However you define Ralph’s, this red-sauce icon knows what it’s doing and never changes a thing. And that’s why we like it. Here, you might get your pasta underneath lemony, garlicky shrimp scampi or alongside some veal parm in marinara. Prefer just pasta? There are plenty of options for that within the house specialties, like cheese cavatelli with gorgonzola or penne alla vodka with pancetta.
Osteria Philadelphia Fairmount
Marc Vetri launched this now-iconic Italian restaurant on North Broad and today, it’s owned and helmed by protege Jeff Michaud. Osteria has a few unique seating areas, both indoor and outdoor, and can accommodate a lot of guests, but it’s still always busy. Chalk it up to Michaud’s skillful kitchen that makes its pasta and pizza by hand.
Pasta-wise, you’re looking at uncommon shapes and ingredient combinations that make this a unique dining experience. Think postage stamp shaped ravioli with trumpet mushrooms and rigatoni with chicken liver and cipollini onion. We also love the doppio ravioli that combine two fillings into one divided pouch. Right now, it’s filled with tiger figs and vidalia onion, brown butter draped, and topped with gorgonzola and hazelnuts.
Cicala at the Divine Lorraine Fairmount
With their deep connections and frequent travels to their ancestral homeland, Joe and Angela Cicala make some of Philly’s most authentic Italian cuisine. And they do it in a stunning restaurant in the historic Divine Lorraine building on North Broad. Cicala’s primi menu offers pasta that is classically rooted with seasonal ingredients. End of summer dishes might include cappellacci with blue crabs from Maryland and sweet Jersey corn. Seafood lovers will enjoy linguine with mussels, clams, calamari, and rock shrimp, while meat lovers will want to try cavatelli with pork and red sauce. The restaurant’s lovely bar is a good place to post up for a drink, plate of pasta, and house made pistachio gelato with olive oil.
Giuseppe & Sons Center City
This subterranean den of Italian American food is a vibe. Think: Mood lighting, plush upholstered banquettes, exposed ductwork, and a cool soundtrack. Giuseppe & Sons can be a fun splurge, with lobster spaghetti and truffle tagliatelle on offer. But the regular pasta menu full of tried-and-true pastas and sauces is an attainable luxury. Try the Sunday Gravy that tops spaghetti with a classic tomato sauce, meatballs, and sausage, or a nice rigatoni alla vodka with pancetta. Don’t forget to order a glass of prosecco or Montepulciano from the excellent Italian wine-by-the-glass list.
Mia Ragazza Manayunk
In a neighborhood full of restaurants, Manayunk’s Mia Ragazza stands out for its freshly made pasta dishes. Definitely check out the lasagna with beef and pork sauce, plus béchamel. The dishes here are classically Italian and restrained, like bucatini carbonara and gnocchi in sage brown butter. And you should know the team behind the popular Goat’s Beard restaurants around town is also behind it.
Cry Baby Pasta Queen Village
As you’ve likely guessed, pasta is what they do at this friendly Queen Village carb specialist. Simple, homey spaghetti with tomato sauce or pesto is always available, but you may want to try some of the gussied up, seasonal choices, too. Crab linguine comes in a fennel butter and Pernod sauce with a dusting of bottarga breadcrumbs. And with a mushroom-based sauce, spirulina, kale, and aged balsamic, the ruffly, half-moon shaped creste di gallo checks off your vegetable needs for the evening. Three cheers for allergy-friendly restaurants, too: All of the pasta dishes here can be made gluten-free, with Jovial fusilli.
Little Nonna’s Midtown Village
Little Nonna’s is the cutest among Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran’s collection of excellent restaurants all along 13th Street. Inside, it’s small, dimly lit, and intimate. Outside, you’re seated in a secret garden under twinkling lights. On your plate is a monster beef, veal, and pork meatball in red sauce over spaghetti that turns heads as it goes by. Share that with friends and get yourself some wild mushroom bucatini, squid ink pasta with shrimp, or rigatoni alla vodka with garlic sausage, greens, buffalo mozzarella, and crispy prosciutto.
Irwin’s South Philadelphia
Michael Vincent Ferreri has been wowing Philly with his Sicilian food for a while now. At Irwin’s, his ultra-cool rooftop experience on top of a former high school, you’re going to want to try all of the pastas. It’s a good opportunity to share plates around the table. There’s a tight list of pasta that includes hand-rolled gnocchi sardi with eggplant, spaghetti with clams, and twisty trofie with pistachio. Ferreri’s pasta is made in-house and always served perfectly al dente. If there are specials available, get them, too.
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