Seafood ????

#1 Thanks to all have responded to my past questions. #2 I finally took the plunge on Hotwire and the 3.5 in Society Hill as you predicted was the Sheraton. YAY! Hopefully we can deal with noise and pool. :) Our top priority was walking distance. I plan to search other post about parking. I am looking for a great Italian Restuarant. All of my husband%26#39;s grandparents came through Ellis Island from Italy. I%26#39;ve also heard there are some great seafood restuarants? or a local favorite. We will be ';celebrating'; our 35th anniversary while in your Historic City. We are looking for local/good. We don%26#39;t want to pack ';dress clothes';. I promise to write a trip report between Gettysburg and Philadelphia. We started our ';journey'; in Gettysburg but date is now in Phildelphia. We live in Williamsburg, VA so we don%26#39;t need period dress in Gettysburg.

Again, Many Thanks.........

Seafood ????

Philadelphia has many great Italian restaurants. The one I would recommend close to your hotel is Bistro Romano, excellent food and nice atmsophere in an historic building. http://www.bistroromano.com/

Also very close by is Positano Coast. I haven%26#39;t eaten there, but it seems to be very popular, with a nice outdoor dining space. Others will doubtless have good suggestions.

I think the best seafood restaurant within walking distance is Philadelphia Fish %26amp; Co. http://philadelphiafish.com/

Bookbinders is also close, a legendary institution, but $$$. http://www.bookbinders.biz/

Seafood ????

I%26#39;d certainly agree with Tom1234%26#39;s great choices!

Another to add to the list for consideration is Sfizzio%26#39;s, which is practically across the street from the hotel. I ate there about 2 years ago; casually nice atmosphere that offers Italian dishes and pizza with a innovative style. …aol.com/philadelphia/…v-108067171

For seafood, I%26#39;d opt for Philadelphia Fish %26amp; Co. over Bookbinders. They%26#39;re both very good restaurants, however, I have found Bookbinders over-rated and certainly over-priced, although the atmosphere is more casually upscale. PF%26amp;C is simply casual, moderately-priced, with a great menu and service.

Usually agree with Tom%26#39;s suggestions, but I did not like Positano Coast when I dined there last - nice atmosphere but overpriced for what it wasand mediocre food with extremely small portions. Service for us was dismal - waited 40 minutes to be seated beyond our reservations and our drink order was taken an additional 20 minutes later. I%26#39;ve only been there once, though and others have loved it, so just relating my experience.

However, I agree with Bistro Romano - excellent, do not miss the tableside Caesar salad. I also love their linguine and baby clams and hubby has had a long-time love affair with their lobster ravioli.

You could venture into South Philly for excellent homemade gnocchi at Mezza Luna or more traditional red-gravy Italian at Villa di Roma.

Glad the hotel worked in your favor on Hotwire. Hope you have a great time in Philly!

Suzanne

philadelphia also has a great selection of Italina BYOBs. Here%26#39;s a couple I have been yearning to go to but have not yet been

Modo Mio - a new Italian BYOB in Northern Liberties that is getting a lot of buzz click here for review

philly.com/inquirer/…20070902_Modo_Mio.html

Tre Scalini in South Philly philly.com/philly/…20070610_Tre_Scalini.html

Neither of these is as close as the other recommendations, just thought I would give you a few other options

I have been to Bistro Romano and didn%26#39;t like it as much as Suzanne and will have to respectfully disagree about both the caesar salad and clams which had so much garlic the time we went as to be practically inedible. We also had issues with the service. You may want to look through reviews on Tripadvisor. Some people really love this place and it is convenient.

I would trust Suzanne%26#39;s opinion regarding Positano Coast. As I said, I have not eaten there and only mentioned it because of its proximity.

Unfortunately, bakariman1%26#39;s suggestion,Sfizzio, has closed. Fortunately, it has been replaced by a terrific Israeli restaurant Zahav, which I highly recommend if that strikes your fancy.

tom1234---

Thanks for the update about Sfizzio%26#39;s-- I didn%26#39;t know it closed.

Since my last visit, several times I%26#39;ve suggested it when hanging out with friends, but was always out-voted. Now I%26#39;m glad the vote saved me the embarrassment! --LOL

rocknroll -

Haven%26#39;t been to Bistro Romano in about a year - wonder if something has changed?! I%26#39;ll have to go when I get back from the summer. I hope not...been dining there since the early 90%26#39;s and have always really liked this place...the atmosphere is great as well.

Suzanne

I was at Bistro Romano again Monday evening and was pleased as usual. I have to believe that rocknroll hit a very off night. Never had a problem there, but ';too much garlic'; isn%26#39;t in my vocabulary, so maybe my taste isn%26#39;t discriminating.

It%26#39;s hard to explain the varying opinions about Bistro Romano (and if you look on TA and Zagat you%26#39;ll find a similar mix of opinions). I did like the atmosphere but the service was terrible. It started with our table not being ready for a 6:30 dinner reservation, and having to wait in the bar for 15 minutes, where there are NO CHAIRS by the way. As we waiting more and more people came in and similarly were waiting. We were finally offered a table but it was right in the entryway. We did ask to move downstairs and the hostess agreed but was not very pleasant about it. Our waiter was very young and inexperienced and overall the whole dinner service seemed rushed.

I was not impressed with the food, for the price (over $200 for the four of us), and the aforementioned caesar salad was a total disappointment. Frankly I have had more enjoyable meals at a Bertucci%26#39;s. Since I live in the suburbs, I would not make the trip to Center City again to go to Bistro Romano, I would rather go to South Philly or one of the center city Italian BYOBs.

Since opinion is divided on Bistro Romano, I%26#39;ll suggest some other places within walking distance of your hotel. On South Street, I like Core de Roma, casual, inexpensive and very much a family affair, run by the owner and his two sons.

Just off South St on 3rd is a small BYOB that I like a lot, not much on atmosphere,(though if the weather is nice, there%26#39;s a pleasant little garden in back) but the food is excellent, Hosteria da Elio. The sweet potato gnocchi is incomparable.

In Old City, on Front St, Spasso is a dependable choice, also reasonably priced and casual.