Fellinis Cafe

I know this place and the owners since they took over the stores from previous tenants. Pino was always known as a thief. He’d open up new locations and screw the suppliers. I’ve been in basement. Has ALWAYS been infested with roaches. It was NEVER clean. Most restaurants are disgusting. That’s why they are dimly lit. You really think you can mass produce meals and make a profit while still taking time to clean? MUCH cheaper to dim the lights. Most help in restaurants either come from countries where running water is a luxury. Or they’re college kids who think sanitary is drinking shots from a hairless navel. Peace a pizza is another pit. Gullifties– watch what’s floating in your beverage. There’s a pizza place (Pizzis?) on 30 in Bryn Mawr that doesn’t even have running water where food is prepared. They go to basement to wash things. Board of health is more a myth than anything

I’m getting mixed information on whether or not this dump is still opened, but last time I drove by there were a few people dining.
here’s the deal, this review is coming 3 years late. I waited long because I am genuinely afraid of the owners/​moved about an hour away.
I had just moved to the area and saw the «help wanted» sign in the window. Now, this sign never moves as the turnover rate for this place is absolutely awful. They asked for no references/​no experience and told me I could start working the next day. All I needed to do was show up in a white shirt and black pants. Awesome for me, but this should have made me skeptical considering I had never worked a day in the food service industry.
The owners, Pino and another guy, are crooks. First of all, they are rude and have no business operating a.well. business. They hire illegals and/​or people with questionable morals. Since people came and left so often, i can understand having someone from the kitchen cover tables but it would have probably made sense to have someone who spoke english taking food orders.
Also, the kitchen was disgusting. There were absolutely cockroaches and the backdoor was left open while everyone took their smoke breaks. Often you would be getting soda from a 2 liter bottle that had been sitting for a few days. So if you ever noticed your beverage a bit off, that would have been why.
The food was mediocre at best. Yes, the portions are pretty awesome if you are a poor college student who needs a meal that will last 3 days, but it’s your standard barilla pasta+ragu sauce combo (maybe not those exact brands, but you get the idea). If you are looking for pretty good Italian food, just walk down to Primavera Pizza kitchen. It’s a lot better, trust me.
Also, I never got tired (sike) of serving drunk underage college students. Yes it’s a BYOB, but shouldn’t you still be required by law to card? Apparently not. Also, we were allowed to distribute free Sambucca shots to these obvious toddlers getting wasted off of barefoot winery’s best merlot. Honestly, at the end of the day, the owners wanted money. I see a lot of reviewers talking about how they were informed after they ate their food that the credit card machine was «broken» and they had to go across the street to get cash. Guess what? It wasn’t broken. Another shady action going on at Fellini’s.
Oh, and another thing? We didn’t get paid. The place didn’t actually have a «schedule» unless you call a giant whiteboard near the back of the place with your name squeezed above some other poor schmuck’s with a tick next to it to designate what day you worked a schedule. I came in after working for maybe 1 – 2 weeks only to notice my name gone. The woman who worked as the hostess, real nice lady but barely spoke english, explained i could come in the next day and they would put me on the schedule. Guess what, didn’t happen. I finally gave up. The place was also crawling with some serious drug addicts. I had someone offer me something similar to methadone the second day I worked there. Really bad, negative people. I’m still owed $ 35 in tips from that dump. I called Pino and demanded my money and he said that because i «quit» when i was scheduled (not the case at all, you miserable criminal) that I was not permitted to collect my earnings. Oh, and since they don’t actually do any paperwork that would allow you to collect your earnings, it was as if I didn’t exist.
I went back about a year after I left the joint. Food was still just sub-​par. Avoid like the plague unless you would like to support your local Ardmore mafia.

Shut down by twnshp for health violations and didn’t have much business after that.
My last dinner there was in June. The place was almost empty for a saturday night. The wine glasses were dirty and covered with finger prints. We told the waiter and he returned with two glasses. Without saying anything to us he began to fill each glass from the wine bottle we just opened. He filled the glasses almost to the top. Problem. The glasses were as dirty as the first ones. When I showed him how dirty they were he grabbed both glasses and went to the kitchen. He returned with two just washed glasses. Problem. He dumped the wine in those glasses and we only had less than a third of the bottle left.
They must be a tough place to work as I never saw a waiter more than once and we used to go there at least once a month.
Food was still good but the portions fot smaller over the past year. I hope someone reopens the place and redesigns the layout.
Thanks Fellinis. I had many a good time and good dinner there over the last 20 years.

As per today’s Main Line Times article, Fellini Café has been CLOSED due to a court order which sources allude to as being about unpaid bills
This of course should come as no great surprise because if you look at the public court dockets they owe everyone money including the IRS and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
It also should come as no surprise given the poor reviews they have received consistently from the Montgomery County Department of health in the past few years

Look, the extra star is because I really wish there were more Italian selections nearby. I wish there were more selections nearby period.
The service is not horrible. Sometimes it’s worse than others, but it’s not usually BAD. The décor is slightly less overwhelming than it used to be, I think because some of their plastic grape vines and christmas lights have burned out and come down over the years. What remains is a giant dust trap near the ceiling and hanging over your table and thus your food. The food is also typically really bad… I am near certain the pasta is microwaved. The sauces are often broken. The menu somehow hasn’t changed at all in the last ten years but the dishes have come out differently at different times. Grilled portobello mushrooms as an appetizer morphed from hearty portion of beefy mushroom strips to a few slices atop mostly overdressed greens.
My family will no longer go here. We last got take out together and it was so overpriced and unappetizing they just gave up on the place completely. My partner was curious as to how bad it could actually be, so I obliged his curiosity and we went together. We tried the calamari, which came out as a shockingly rubbery flat wide slice of the squid tentacle unlike any presentation I’ve ever seen before. I know it’s not always deep fried, I know it’s not always small rings. But to have it be a giant wide ring, not fried, but rather sort of steamed (or sauteed, at best), and lukewarm at that, was beyond unappetizing. The pasta we had was typical, greasy with broken preparations of whatever the sauce was supposed to be, leaving you with basically oily al dente grocery store boxed pasta. After that visit, my partner won’t go back there either.
It is often complained of a restaurant that «I could make this at home» but in the case of this restaurant, I really could. From now on, I will.

Less than mediocre. Not the cleanest place, slow service. Veal parm, seafood fettuccine were okay. Tilapia and pizza were better. My son was served a coke in a glass with a huge crack. Paid in cash and then passed our waiter counting our money on the way out.

I read every review on this site just now. Took a while as there are a lot of reviews here. The most recent one, or should I say the review on top was from my daughter, as it turns out. I respect her opinion as I know what she will and will not tolorate. She gave it a strong 4 out of 5 stars, had a great meal and everything was fantastic. I also read many reviews just the opposite. From roaches one the walls to roaches and hair in the food. Not sure if I will ever eat here but I think I’ll go in sometime and just look around. If it shows the place is clean and tidy, I may go and eat there some time. If it shows evidence of what those one star folks experienced, I definately won’t. It’s not like my daughter to eat where roaches are, so I don’t know if it is ok now. Her review was from last year. Just found it tonight. Must check it out before I make a decision.

A little overpriced. Not great, but not bad.

Don’t do lunch, dinner is good

Sitting at Fellini’s right now. This is my first ever review on Unilocal and it’s not a good one. I’ve had better Italian food out of a Chef Boyardi can. I’m not exaggerating. Avoid this restaurant like the plague!

Has gone downhill tremendously over the years.
I discovered Fellini’s early on before it became popular and before it expanded into the adjacent space of the same building. That was a long time ago and it has been going progressively down the toilet since about 2002.
It is better for lunch, when the crowd is lighter, the menu reduced price, and the staff not rushing you.
The worst thing about Fellini’s is that even if you called and made a reservation, you would have to wait in a very uncomfortable, noisy setting (they constantly overbooked) and when you were eating, you would be rushed and even rushed out or asked to finish up asap because they needed the table. The food is not that bad (maybe a bit acidic) but the atmosphere is horrific and a big turn-​off.
I haven’t been there in a few years now and have no intention of going back. Once upon a time, this was the «go-​to» place when I lived in the area, but those days are over and my friends agree.
You’re better off going to Primavera Pizza a little bit further down on Rt. 30. Primavera Pizzza is in an old bank building and is not the best in the world but significantly better and a more pleasant dining experience than Fellini’s.

To be blunt: My worst restaurant experience ever. Keep in mind, I used to love this place. I’ve gone there for my birthday and they saved the day for my college graduation dinner when I foolishly forgot to make a dinner reservation. The food has always been good & the prices are reasonable.
However, this place is filthy. So filthy, that my girlfriend and I were joined at our table by a cockroach. Yes, a cockroach. Fellini’s has always been a little dirty just because of the clutter that’s everywhere, but this far exceeds the realm of something I can accept. I called the waitress over, she saw it and was embarassed (to say the least) and immediately called over the owner. The owner, wasn’t even apologetic & I got the sense he was accusing me of lying. He didn’t off to comp the bill in any way & acted as if it wasn’t a big deal.
I will never go back.

Worst Italian food ever — far from authentic and tasteless.

i have only been here once, and it was pretty good. decent size portions for the price. they always seem to have a «hiring «sign on the window… not sure what that means as far as service.
when i was here, service was great. dessert was delicious. i love pasta and this place delivered the goods. i got a tortellini or ravioli i think, and remember that it seemed to be hand made, which is always a plus for me at an italian place. anyone can throw barilla pasta in with some sauce and serve it for $ 15 but this place was special.
i would go here again.

Crap. there are no other words. Priced to sell, but over cooked, service was terrible. Our party of four was asked if we wanted dessert. we were still eating our entrees. If you like your pasta mushie, this is the place.
Walls dirty. bathrooms smelled. Owner sits at the door and ignores customers. Sure brings down the other Fellini’s even though there is no relation.

I’m not going to lie, this place gets super crowded super quick during dinner time, but shouldnt that tell you that the food is worth it?! I would not reccomend going without a reservation, although it certainly isnt needed, I’ve never waited more than 30 minutes for a table even on the craziest of nights.
I have celiacs, so I order one of their salads with vinagrette dressing and mussels in their amazing marinara sauce for dinner! Its a BYOB, so feel free to bring as many bottles as you want, they dont judge :-) If you want a pasta dish, but want something added and something else removed, just ask. They will make you anything you want, in any sauce, as long as they have the ingredients! I love this place, just miss the pasta because it was SO yummy!
And dont forget dessert… their cannolis are delicious!!!

This place has gone downhill. Sad but true. What was once a great little Italian bistro that served great family-​sized dishes in a home style feel. It is still very reasonably priced, but for a meal that is overly-​salted and with ingredients that I can’t help but feel are of less quality than I might find at the Acme by the end of the week. Dirty and dark (not a good combo) room with stained tablecloth and greasy light fixtures. And the plastic ivy that decorates the wall, don’t even get me started on what I think lurks around that mess.
Fellini’s was a favorite. There is a reason the Help Wanted sign stays in their front window.

The flaws of this dimly lit Café become all too apparent when the sunlight forces its way through the front window at lunchtime. The light fixtures are caked in grease. The cracks in the walls and tiles scar the décor. The tablecloth on my table was not only stained in multiple spots but a short and curly hair from a body’s nether region rested on the opposite side of my table.
Fellini’s was our favorite BYO when we lived in Ardmore. The food was cheap, plentiful, and exquisitely made. Each course outdid the last, from appetizers to dessert. My wife and I loved it so much that we had our engagement dinner here and returned for numerous special occasions.
However, the restaurant I ate at today was nothing more than a shell of its former self. It is not fair to suggest it lay in ruins because even Pompeii was fortunate enough to have more of its defining features perserved in a pristine state.
Fellini’s Café earns a second star for nostalgia’s sake but some memories are better left in the past, where the unfortunate reality of the present cannot destroy them. So, after I submit this review, I’m just going to pretend that this experience never happened.

When my wife and I moved to Ardmore, we heard great things about Fellini’s and were happy to have it right down the street. Sadly, it was all talk.
There are three main issues:
1) They pack you in like sardines, and the place gets really, REALLY loud. Not relaxing, not pleasant.
2) The waitstaff can be downright pushy. Don’t take me out of the movie, man… I’m here to forget about life for awhile.
3) … and most importantly, the food is mediocre at best. At worst, its little better than pasta covered in Ragu slathered in cheese. At this point in my life, I’d prefer quality over quantity. Lame.
I really don’t get the hype around Fellini’s. Maybe it used to be decent, but I can’t help but wonder whether the owner doesn’t spend enough time here to see these issues, whether her or she doesn’t really care, or whether I’m just not in this place’s «BYOB training wheels» demographic.
I won’t be back.

Fellini’s is the first BYOB that I ever went to and it’s offered flawless service ever since. It definitely offers up it’s fair share of authentic pasta dishes. Huge portions to so be ready to enter leftover bliss. It’s a great place to go for that taste of Italy.
As everyone says it’s pretty tiny, so you definitely want to jump on a reservation right away. There’s a good state store in a shopping center a few blocks away too (one of the few that actually takes the time to give some good suggestions). so safe some time to stop in for a bottle before your reservation. the size definitely adds on to the intimacy of the place. All in all it’s a perfect spot for a date.