-
- English
- Français
- Log In
- Sign Up for Yelp
Beth K.'s Profile
BYOBs in Philly, 60 and counting...
See All Lists
1. Modo Mio
I'm going to make a bold statement here, and say that Modo Mio is my #1 restaurant in Philadelphia.
Round one was mussels in a spicy red sauce, and they were some of the best I've had in a while. The second course was my favorite - the veal and…More »
2. Bibou
The small number of tables in this tiny byob seem to always be in high demand. Reservations are a must, I made mine weeks in advance for a Thursday night.
The menu changes periodically, all the more reason to go back again.
The food was awesome.…More »
3. L'Angolo Ristorante Italiano
I came back to L'Angolo on Saturday night, and I have no idea why I only gave it 4 stars last time.
This time I had the arugula salad and the lobster ravioli, which were both fantastic. On the way in, we walked past a fresh cheesecake and made a…More »
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
2/22/2010
This bustling byob is a great place for classic Italian food. I called Saturday afternoon and they… Read more »
4. Mercato
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 985-2962
Category:
Italian
Neighbourhood: Washington Square West
One of my favorites in center city! I was here most recently on Friday, and the place was packed. It was about a 40 minute wait for a table for 2. They seem to have more outdoor tables than I remembered, which is great.
I had the scallops over…More »
5. Doma
Philadelphia, PA 19130
(215) 564-1114
Categories:
Sushi Bars,
Japanese
Neighbourhoods: Fairmount, Spring Garden, Art Museum District, Logan Square, Franklintown
Seriously good BYOB sushi restaurant. I came back for dinner Sunday night, and it was just as good as the last time I was here.
They are open Tues - Sundays now.
Nice ambiance, and less expensive than Umai Umai nearby.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
3/28/2010
This place is incredible.
First impressions - fun, simple decor , and awesome that they were able to… Read more »
6. Radicchio Cafe
My dinner here Saturday night was outstanding. I tried both the gnocchi with homemade bolognese sauce, and the fusilli delizia (seafood in a pink cream sauce), and they were perfect. There were a bunch of other options on the menu that I really…More »
7. Salento
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 568-1314
Category:
Italian
Neighbourhoods: Rittenhouse Square, Penn Center
I had a wonderfully long relaxing dinner here last night with some friends I hadn't seen in a while. It was the perfect place to start our evening. We felt accommodated but never rushed, even as we lingered after dessert to finish our bottles of…More »
8. Tacconelli's Pizzeria
We heard there was this amazing pizza place, that was byob, and required dough reservation in advance. We were intrigued. The anticipation started building on Friday when we confirmed that 3 dough balls would be set aside for us.
Saturday night…More »
9. Pumpkin BYOB
Philadelphia, PA 19146
(215) 545-4448
Category:
American (New)
Neighbourhood: Rittenhouse Square
The place is small, but my party of 7 was very comfortable, and we loved our meals.
We split the octopus and gnocchi apps to start, both were above average, but the gnocchi was truly outstanding. My entree of pork two ways was good, as were the…More »
10. Dmitri's
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 625-0556
Categories:
Mediterranean,
Seafood
Neighbourhood: Queen Village
Even on a Tuesday night, this tiny byo was full. The space is much smaller than the Pine St location, but it's cute and I give extra points for being the original.
Dmitri's is great because their seafood dishes are so simple. The shrimp scampi…More »
11. La Viola Ovest
Philadelphia, PA 19102
(215) 735-8631
Category:
Italian
Neighbourhood: Rittenhouse Square
Had dinner here tonight with a friend. I've been here at least 10 times and it's a somewhat different experience on a weeknight versus a weekend...here are my points on each
Weeknight:
No reservation needed, no wait for a table if you're a small…More »
12. La Viola
Philadelphia, PA 19102
(215) 735-8630
Category:
Italian
Neighbourhood: Rittenhouse Square
Came here again since my last review, and I'm re-emphasizing this point:
Best if enjoyed on a week night.
Last night (Friday), I had made a reservation, but they had no record of it upon arrival. They told me I had called their sister restaurant…More »
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
7/10/2010
La Viola is great in that they can always seem to squeeze in a last minute reservation. When I… Read more »
13. Melograno
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 875-8116
Category:
Italian
Neighbourhoods: Rittenhouse Square, Penn Center
Thanks to the faux-snowstorm outside, my group of 5 didn't have to wait for a table last night. (Normally, there would be a wait, even on a week night). Melograno expanded a couple years ago to this larger location, and they're still filling all…More »
14. Scannicchio's
My group of 8 showed up hungry and with 8 bottles of wine in tow last night, and had a great time.
I have been craving hearty Italian food since I got back from my trip to South America, and the menu at Scannicchio's had everything Italian that I…More »
15. Branzino
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 790-0103
Category:
Italian
Neighbourhood: Rittenhouse Square
I had a delicious dinner here this weekend, and was surprised to see so many 3 star reviews of the place. I thought my food was quite good.
For appetizers, my table had the fig and prosciutto special, and one of the salads. My entree of veal and…More »
16. August
Not only did I visit a block of Philadelphia that I don't think I've ever been to before, but I am still thinking about the cheesecake I had here last night.
Seriously, it was lighter than a lot of cheesecakes and had some cinnamon on it too. Prior…More »
17. L'Oca Italian Bistro - CLOSED
Philadelphia, PA 19130
(215) 769-0316
Category:
Italian
Neighbourhoods: Fairmount, Francisville
I've been here about 10 times since it opened... 3 times so far this year... the latest being Saturday night.
Food:
I do agree with other reviewers that the portions are small. Last night, I had the ravioli special, which were filled with veal and…More »
18. Chloe
Saturday night was my 2nd trip to Chloe in the past year. I thought my prior visit was 4.5 stars, whereas last night was more 3.5, so I'm going with 4.
The place is very small, but the wait wasn't too long for 2.
We split one of the appetizer specials…More »
19. Dmitri's
Philadelphia, PA 19123
(215) 592-4550
Categories:
Greek,
Mediterranean
Neighbourhood: Northern Liberties
Excellent seafood restaurant. The menu options and delivery were pretty much the same as the other Dmitri's. I dare say this location might be the best combination of what the other two have to offer.
It has the BYOB aspect of its sister in Queen…More »
20. Audrey Claire
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 731-1222
Categories:
Mediterranean,
American (New),
Seafood
Neighbourhood: Rittenhouse Square
It's a simple BYOB, in a good way. The decor is minimalist... plain white walls, wooden tables, plain glasses for water and with smaller versions of the same glass for your (BYO) wine. The food is also pretty straightforward, but without being…More »
21. Umai Umai
Philadelphia, PA 19130
(215) 988-0707
Category:
Sushi Bars
Neighbourhoods: Fairmount, Spring Garden, Art Museum District
There are some great byob sushi places in the art museum area. Umai has been around the longest, I believe.
They're fairly small, so on a weekend night, you probably want to call ahead for a reservation. On a Saturday night, every table around us…More »
22. Giorgio On Pine
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 545-6265
Category:
Italian
Neighbourhoods: Washington Square West, Avenue of the Arts South
Giorgio on Pine is surprisingly inexpensive for a center city restaurant. On par with La Viola prices, I think. Pasta entrees were around $14 (!) I chose the gnocchi in a beef ragu for dinner, which was delicious. The ample portion left me with…More »
23. Sakura Japanese Cuisine
Philadelphia, PA 19130
(215) 569-3838
Categories:
Japanese,
Sushi Bars
Neighbourhoods: Fairmount, Spring Garden
This place just opened, and had a sign out front advertising 10% off. After walking by it earlier in the day, I decided to scrap the leftovers at home and have sushi for dinner instead.
They have a decent menu with plenty of creative rolls, and a…More »
24. Olive on 3rd
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(267) 519-9498
Categories:
Italian,
Mediterranean
Neighbourhood: Society Hill
Olive is a bargain. Aside from being a BYOB, I didn't see any entrees over $20. In fact, most were much less.
The menu includes a lot of simple dishes, like chicken parm and veal marasala. I had the linguini with clams, which was nice and garlicky.…More »
25. Koo Zee Doo
Philadelphia, PA 19123
(215) 923-8080
Category:
Portuguese
Neighbourhoods: Spring Garden, Northern Liberties
This place was really unique. Everything I ate here tonight was new and different (to me, at least, having never had Portuguese food before).
The food is family style, so it's not as expensive as it appears on the menu. The 5 girls in my party…More »
26. Ulivo
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 351-1550
Category:
Italian
Neighbourhood: Queen Village
Nice new addition to the neighborhood! It has the simple chic atmosphere, a la Audrey Claire. It has wonderfully reasonable prices (pastas aroud $15, entrees around $19). It is a BYO. And the food was delicious. I had the soft, pillowy gnocchi…More »
27. Roberto Cafe
Philadelphia, PA 19146
(215) 545-0793
Category:
Italian
Neighbourhoods: Point Breeze, Grays Ferry
3.5 stars. If only we could give half stars!
I came here last night with my monthly dinner club, and we loved how small and cozy the restaurant is. They let us be seated before our entire party had arrived, which was also nice.
To start, we all…More »
28. Matyson
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 564-2925
Category:
American (New)
Neighbourhoods: Rittenhouse Square, Penn Center
I was really impressed by my dinner here last night.
Started with the veal sweetbreads and bone marrow dumplings appetizer. We had never tried either food before, but trusted that if it was on the menu here it had to be delicious (it was). For my…More »
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
3/19/2010
Had dinner here with with my monthly dinner club last night!
Our server was great, she was cheery and… Read more »
29. Zorba's Taverna
Philadelphia, PA 19130
(215) 978-5990
Category:
Greek
Neighbourhoods: Fairmount, Art Museum District
My "BYOB of the month" club came here for February, and the Greek cuisine was a fun alternative to the overwhelming supply of Italian BYO's in Philadelphia.
This place is a lot larger than it looks from the outside! I always thought it was tiny,…More »
30. Caffe Casta Diva
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 496-9677
Category:
Italian
Neighbourhood: Rittenhouse Square
This is a really nice BYOB option in the Rittenhouse area.
They had a special menu for Valentine's day, but I recognized some of the items from the regular menu as of the last time I was here over a year ago.
We shared the duck confit with arugula…More »
31. Leziz Turkish Cuisine
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(267) 639-3214
Categories:
Turkish,
Middle Eastern,
Vegetarian
Neighbourhoods: Queen Village, South Street District
It was my turn to choose the venue for my "BYOB of the Month" club, and I wanted to find something different. I stumbled on this place via Yelp, and decided that meat on a stick was exactly what I needed.
Dinner was fun. We weren't super familiar…More »
32. Banana Leaf
This is a bustling BYOB with an enormous menu. I prefer my dinner non-spicy, so I chose a more traditional dish of beef with broccoli. The food was good, much better than when you get the same-named meal at a chinese restaurant. I was bummed that…More »
33. Tre Scalini Ristorante
Despite my prior review, we kept thinking how the food was pretty good, so we decided to try tre scallini again.
Food was very good. They have a lot of specials, so the menu is really double what it appears. I had a special appetizer salad, which had…More »
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
1/22/2011
The restaurant is large enough that we were able to get a same day reservation, which was great. … Read more »
34. La Locanda Del Ghiottone
This is a small and cozy Italian BYOB that I can't believe I had never been to before.
I called a week in advance to get a table for my monthly BYO club. They were happy to push together a table for 8. The night of dinner, it rained and people were…More »
35. Gusto Pizzeria
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 546-7200
Category:
Pizza
Neighbourhoods: Rittenhouse Square, Fitler Square
This is one of my favorite pizza places. The pizza is delicious and inexpensive. A small plain pie is around $6... can't beat that. The cheese is really fresh, and the sauce is more salty than sweet, which I like.
36. Kansai
Philadelphia, PA 19130
(215) 568-0888
Category:
Japanese
Neighbourhoods: Fairmount, Spring Garden, Art Museum District
They are small inside, with about 8 tables for dining in so I called ahead to make a reservation for 8:30 on a Friday night. We were seated closer to 9 and ordered some dumplings to start, and a variety of rolls. The dumplings came out 40 minutes…More »
37. Barrel's Fine Food
3.5 stars.
This has been on my list for a while, and I finally had dinner here last night. The place is tiny, and while not crowded on a Tuesday night, the people who were there seemed to know each other and the waitress. It feels like a real…More »
38. Ristorante Pesto
Hearty south philly italian food, served in enormous portions, at a reasonable price. It's a byob for wine, but they do serve beer and liquor.
My mussels app was just ok, would choose something else next time. However the entree special that I chose…More »
39. Ariana Restaurant
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 922-1535
Categories:
Middle Eastern,
Afghan
Neighbourhood: Olde City
First impressions. Very cute and cozy inside. I wish we were in the front area with the pillows and floor seating - it looked fun. I thought our service was fine. Our party staggered in, finally in full about 15 min late, and they didn't seem…More »
40. Langostini Resturant
My BYOB of the Month club landed her this month. Italian food is so good on a cold and rainy night!
The place is cozy and nicely decorated inside. We shared some apps to start, mussels and a caprice salad, both good. For my entree I had the penne…More »
| 1 to 40 of 61 | Go to Page 1 2 | Previous | Next |
Recently updated lists from Beth K.
fairmount fun & spring garden shenanigans (35)Places to entertain yourself in the Fairmount - Art Museum - Spring Garden area |
Just Dance (15)Places to hit the dance floor |
South Philly (19)Places to eat and drink in the neighborhood |
Places to eat and drink outside (37)Make the most of nice weather! |
No reservations needed (9)Lots of places don't take reservations on a weekend night, but the upside is there are great options when you're making last minute dinner plans |
Great Desserts (17)Save room for the awesome desserts at these restaurants! |
Bring just your VIPs (11)Best to hit up these places in small numbers... bc these restaurants are small inside, so popular you'll be waiting a while, or both |
Rittenhouse revelry (36)Food and drink in the Rittenhouse square area |
Places that are awesome (16)Some of my top pics of the bars/restaurants in Philadelphia, in no particular order. |
Italian in in the City (33)Skip the chains and try one of these fabulous Italian restaurants |
See all 21 lists »
"My cookbooks are just for decoration"
- 72 Friends
- 371 Reviews
- 17 Review Updates
- 14 Firsts
- 7 Tips
- 19 Fans
- 24 Local Photos
- 21 Lists
-
Rating Distribution
Loading...
- View more graphs »
Review votes:
493 Useful, 90 Funny, and 202 Cool
Philadelphia, PA
Yelping SinceFebruary 2010
Find Me Inall over philly - will trek across town for good food and wine!
My Last Meal On EarthFresh New England lobster, with flourless chocolate cake for dessert