D’Angelo’s Italian restaurant is a Philadelphia institution. They’ve been around for 28 years so they have to be doing something right. This was our first visit after hearing so many wonderful things about the place. When you first walk in, you’re immediately greeted by a cozy bar. There was a private party going on around the corner from the bar so we were seated in a lovely room on the second floor. There are dozens of pictures on the wall going up the stairs of famous celebrities and politicians that have dined here.

The dining room is cozy and quaint. It was nicely decorated for the holidays. Our waiter, Alex was amazing. When we go back, we want him again. He was so incredibly nice and friendly. He had great recommendations and his attention to detail was second to none.

We started with a couple of appetizers. We ordered the fresh homemade spicy Sicilian sausage, the stuffed mushrooms that were stuffed with bread crumbs and topped with mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce and their soup of the day which was a white bean pasta fagipoli. Everything was delicious but the sausage wasn’t very spicy although it was cooked perfectly and had a wonderful seasoning of fennel and other spices. The soup was really good. It had a wonderful balance of seasoning and vegetables. The mushrooms were outstanding. The marinara sauce with the perfectly melted cheese was so delicious. I can see why they are noted for their sauce. It was wonderful!

For our entrees, we ordered the stuffed calamari in a cognac sauce and the tagliatelle bolognese which was toppled with a creamy meat sauce. Both were delicious but we felt that the sauce that came with calamari was a bit too salty and we really couldn’t taste the cognac. The stuffed calamari itself was fantastic. The tagliatelle was wonderful. D’Angelo’s makes all their pasta fresh daily and you could taste the freshness with this dish. With our dinner, we ordered a beautiful bottle of Berello Toscana. It was priced very reasonably and paired perfectly with our entire meal.

While giving our stomachs time to digest the wonderful meal we just had, I ordered a cappuccino and Eric ordered an averna amaro which was delicious. It really did help to speed up the digestion process. Good thing too. For desert, we split their incredible tiramisu. It was one of the best we’ve ever had. It was soaked not only with espresso but with marsala. We each added an espresso, which was delicious.

Would we go back to D’Angelo’s? Absolutely! The decor made you feel like you were eating in someone’s house. It was cozy and relaxing. The food overall was amazing. A couple of minor changes for our palates and it would have been a home run. At the end of our meal, we were honored to meet and talk with the owner, Mr. D’Angelo himself. He was so nice and friendly. He really wanted to know how we enjoyed our meal and took our suggestions to heart. It really speaks volumes when you can talk with the owner or a restaurant manager and feel appreciated. Grazie Mr. D’Angelo and again to our waiter, Alex. Thank you for making us feel so welcomed. We can’t wait to come back!