Gran Caffe L'Aquila

I ordered this delivered when I was on a work trip to Philly. As a general rule, delivered food tends to lose some of its vibrancy. In this case I could tell this restaurant is amazing, because even delivered and not terribly hot once I got to it, it was still delicious. I come from a large Italian family, so I am critical and skeptical of most restaurants. I had the eggplant parm special that they were doing for the week and it was so good. It reminded me of my granny's. I also tried their meatball dish which was also amazing. I haven't had the gelato yet but I ordered the pistachio cuz that's literally my favorite ice cream on the planet. I'm so excited to try it later but I'm full! I tried a piece of the bread that they sent along with my dish and that was also next level good. I will definitely be eating in this restaurant the next time I'm in Philly for work. Update ....just tried the pistachio gelato and O....M.....G, folks! I haven't had gelato this good since Italy...and I think it even tops that! Perfect texture, powerful flavor, the right temperature. Just so good. A new fan favorite that I will be having again the next time I'm in Philly.

I came with high expectations based on the reviews. I ordered two scoops, pistachio and rum. The gelato was okay; the texture was smooth, but it was much sweeter than the gelato I typically had in Italy. The staff member who welcomed us at the door was friendly and pleasant, but the cashier came across as cold and unfriendly. Considering the high price, average taste, and overall customer service experience, I don't plan to return.

We stopped here for an early lunch on a whim and glad we did! They were able to easily accommodate us since it was a weekday. The hostess and the waiter were warm, welcoming and attentive. The dining space is upstairs and quite cozy. We had pasta - seafood wrapped in pasta which was delicious and different, and gnocchi which was tender with a lovely cream sauce. We had wine, coffee and dessert as well. The cost was quite reasonable for all we had. We hope to visit again!

Fabulous dinner tonight! The salmon and zuppa dipesce seafood entrees were perfection! We shared a pasta appetizer that was delicious! The cherry on top of the dinner was the excellent service by Michele and Jacob!!! They were both personable, attentive and professional! They shared a warmth as though we were family! We will go back to enjoy another amazing culinary experience! Thanks again Michele & Jacob for making us feel at home! Ciao!

Absolutely one of my favorite places to eat Authentic Italian food in Philly! I literally stop in every single time I'm in town. The food is just perfect, authentic and I love how they have a new menu every week or so for different regions! Beyond excellent service. Award winning gelato must be mentioned with the great choices at the store market on the 1st level!

I went for the Jan 2024 restaurant week special, the 4 course meal. Overall excellent meal and service. Mozzarella caprese antipasto----excellent buttery, creamy mozzarella, fresh tasty tomatoes🍅, delicious basil pesto🌿 popping with flavor throughout. 🟠Arancini🟠------- crunchy, cheesy, tasty flavor bombs💣🤤 with a lovely bright tomato sauce💥🍅💥 and a delicious filling inside. 🍝Pappardelle al ragù aquilano🍝-------- delicious classic Italian noodles, could have used a little bit more salt but otherwise they were excellent🍝🤌. Gelato🍨 pistacchio ---- I heard it was a popular ice cream choice and definitely for good reason. It's one of the 🎖️best ice creams🎖️I've had in the USA EVER‼️ 🇺🇲 and definitely deserves the awards it's won so far. Probably my favorite course of the evening. It was rich 🤤 with pistachio flavor, creamy, nutty with the perfect touch of sweetness and bitterness to tie it together. Worth stopping by this restaurant for the ice cream alone, honestly. I tried other friends' flavors and the mango sorbet was exquisite too. Overall, a great meal, with excellent service. There was complementary bread🥖 and olive🫒 oil, which was good. Service was fantastic, with attentive and accommodating staff. They had two birthdays that night and the servers were cheerfully singing happy birthday in Italian which was cute. Excellent Italian music selection as well, some real classics. Ottimo lavoro ragazzi!

Service was good, restaurant was dark and cold beyond my taste. Food was okay, but slightly disappointing at price. One meal did not have enough seasoning, while the other would have been too salty if another grain of salt was dropped. Olive oil severed had an displeasing after taste. Facilities were clean. Good enough to revisit.

The hostess and waitress were great. The food not so much. Out of all the dishes, the pistachios gelato was my favorite which makes me think that the great reviews are for the dessert portion of this restaurant/gift shop.

Everything here is great. The servers are attentive. It's a bit overpriced but in this case it's worth it. I did not feel bloated or heavy after all the bread and pasta. You can tell it's quality ingredients. I wish they offered a sample of a wine if you aren't sure about ordering. Considering how much they charge, I feel that would be a good option.

We had an early dinner upstairs and everything was fantastic!! We had never sat downstairs so we then went downstairs for coffee and desert. This is where the questionable service came into play. The coffee and dessert was great but the server from the bar didn't seem to want to listen to our order. He had our coffee/cordial orders mixed up and when we ask for the correct order he said we told him differently. One sambuca came in a snifter and the other in a shot glass. But as always the gelato was delicious as usual. I guess it was shift change because the server just put his coat and hat on and sat at the bar before we were served our gelato. The servers that came on shift picked up where the other was lacking. The whole thing was not a big issue but the original server seemed more interested in sitting at the bar instead of focusing on the guests.