Fraschetta

Dinner was ok, but we were disappointed. We drove 45 minutes here for Valentine’s Day dinner, and were coming specifically for two dishes, listed on their website menu for months — cacio e pepe pasta, and a Roman vegetable and cheese platter, both dishes we had last summer while on vacation in Rome. I checked the website the morning of our reservations to be sure they would have these dishes, but when we got to the restaurant and looked at the menu, neither dish was on there. The waiter said they had recently changed their menu. I just wish they would have updated their website menu timely, as we chose to spend our vday dinner there but did not eat what we wanted. We probably will not return because of this, as we left disappointed.

Have been here a few times, and I’m never disappointed. The food is amazing. The service is warm and friendly. Our server (a pacey witter doppelgänger for my fellow Dawson’s creek fans) was full of recommendations which I always really appreciate. We had the gnocchi dish and arugula with burrata for starters. For dinner, I had the butternut squash pasta with the perfect amount of crispy pancetta. My friends had the oxtail ragu pasta and the crispy chicken with arugula and tomato. We shared each of our entrees and they were perfect portions. Not a bit was left on our plates. We had dessert with salted caramel ice cream (be still my heart). I was seriously amazed at the price for this amazingly delicious meal. This might just be my new fav BYO…

First time at Fraschetta and will go back. Had a 7:30 reservation and had to wait about 15 minutes and the tables for 2 are a little cramped, but the food was good. I had a feeling they were short of staff the night we went because the people next to us made a couple comments on the service, and yes the service could have been better.
The beet salad seemed to be thrown together in haste as there was no dressing until my wife mixed it together herself and then said it was very good. I had the fritto misto which was excellent. Fried smelts, artichokes and zuchinni with a nice dipping sauce. None of the 3 were at all greasy and I love smelts and anchovies so this was perfect for me.
The Linguini with clams was a good choice and the Oxtail pasta was as good as I’ve had around MainLine.
I was going to order the profiterole but the one waiter said the tiramisu would be his choice.
It was light, creamy and and great choice.
Parking is on the street or a few lots around the Bryn Mawr theater. They take Visa and MC only. Total bill with tax was $ 70 so I think that’s very reasonable.

I have been back four times in the past several months. The food has been enjoyable, the service much better and if you insist on sitting upstairs, the noise level is about 70 dcb so not too bad.

Perfect for after the show at the Bryn Mawr Theater. My short rib dish was excellent and wife’s dish very good. Our friends fish and chicken dishes were very well received. Service was very good. I wouldn’t hesitate to go there again after a show.

We went on Friday night to celebrate a friend’s birthday. The food was very good, nice atmosphere, service was average at best — hence the 3 stars.

Last night we went to Fraschetta to celebrate my wife’s birthday. We are always up to trying something new and with it being a BYOB, it was right up our alley.
The menu is set up in three categories, Antipasti/​Primi/​Secondi
Knowing that we did not want to roll out of there we chose to split an Anitipasti
We ordered the GNOCCHI ALLA ROMANA SEMOLINA DUMPLIN
It was delicious, to say the least. It was light with plenty of flavor adding with it being served on a MUSHROOM TRIFOLI GOAT CHEESE SAUCE.
I ordered from the Primi section in which I chose the: CACIO E PEPE PECORINO ROMANA CRACKED BLACK PEPPER OLIVE OIL. Let’s just say, if you like pasta and you like cheese, you cannot go wrong in ordering this. As my brother-​in-​law stated to me, «this is how al dente is supposed to taste.»
My main course was the special of the night, which was PAN SEARED SALMON OVER PUREED CAULIFLOWER. It was very tasty and really enjoyed the lightness of the pureed cauliflower.
Overall good portions on all the dishes.
We did end up getting desert, remember this was a birthday dinner. I chose the assorted GELATO. I know, lame but really by this time I was stuffed but wanted to try the Gelato. The waiter was very kind knowing I was watching my calories and chose to give me FOUR different flavors, CHOCOLATE/​VANILLA/​SEA SALT CARAMEL/​HAZLENUT.
It was great experience and will most likely go back in the future. The bill between the 6 of us, came out to be $ 80 couple not including the 20% after tax tip.
Good times!!!

Great pasta. Excellent service. Beautiful ambiance. Finally, a restaurant in Bryn Mawr that meets my center city expectations. We can’t wait to come back.

As good as melograno. Crepes delish. Lasagna bechamel was amazing. Vongol pasta clamasious. Great place. I really loved this way to get to all my senses.

This is a yummy BYOB in the heart of Bryn Mawr basically next to the brynmawr movie theater (bmfi). We had a perfectly paced, delicious meal. The portions were not overwhelming like a «typical Italian» restaurant and everyone loved their dishes. I loved the Burrata appetizer with prosciutto and arugula. This was above average and fresh and delicious… I remember thinking I was so happy I wasn’t sharing it with anyone. I had the gnocchi and mushroom appetizer for my dinner. It was a great size for appetizer but not quite big enough for a hearty meal. I could have licked my plate because it was so tasty. The gnocchi was not exactly formed in a gnocchi shape, so I’m not exactly sure why it is even called it gnocchi but I guess they have to call it something (calling it blobs of yummy white stuff probably would not suffice). I feel like really good servers who are friendly and attentive could take a meal to the next level which is what happened last night. The waiters were so great that it made me want to come back to the restaurant next week. My husband and I are always up for a fun Byob. I think that fact that we had our large group upstairs helped with the cool feel and kept he notice level to a minimum. Bottom line= I loved it!

We went Saturday night probably our 6^th or 7^th time there. We have also been patrons of their 1^st restaurant in Phila called Melograno. Gianluca owner and Chef just knows how to cook real Italian food. Always fresh, cooked perfect everytime and we both feel we are back home when we go there. His wife Rose runs the front and she is a sweetheart that goes out of her way to make your visit welcoming. Cacio pepe was awesome, special pasta dish was great too and the Polpe in stewed tomatoes was so tender and sweet. The Pork entrée was faboulous and ricotta cheesecake to top everything off.
What can I say. Great Restaurant and Nice People
Joe C

Love Fraschetta — the main line needs more places like this. Maybe this is a 4.25 star review, but for the area it’s 6.
Fresh and authentic combined with owners that care about their guests and are from the area. Pasta here is second to none especially the bucatini. Just like their other spot in town (Melograno), this is a great pick.

I came here with a group, and we were seating in the upstairs dining room, which was very lovely and quiet compared to the downstairs.
The gnocchi was to die for, as was the pork loin and chocolate cake.
A little overpriced for what you get — I know it’s finer dining than I’m used to, but $ 12 for 4 little gnocchi pieces is steep. I didn’t like the rosemary crème brûlée either, but that might be a personal taste.
Our waiter (his name escapes me) was well-​versed in the menu and very reliable. He and the cook were exceptionally accommodating to our guests with special dietary needs (one kosher, one allergic to nuts).

Very solid Italian. The gnocchi is excellent, I wouldn’t miss this dish. Pork is good, heathy portion and very flavorful.
Large profiteroles makes for a great dessert.

The room is quaint, but small and oh so loud! We were tucked into a corner and even there, it was a challenge to maintain conversation. Our server was pleasant, but disappeared for long stretches. The pacing was quite slow, as well. Our salads were good, but would have benefitted from a a bit more dressing. My friends had steak and lasagna and ate every bit of it. My carbonara was so salty, it was hard to get down. The pancetta must have permeated the sauce to a severe degree, because it tasted like it was cooked in ocean water. I would have sent it back, but didn’t want to embarrass my dining partner who chose the place. We shared dessert and each had coffee. it was an avg. of $ 50/​person. Not worth it for my meal.

My husband and I have been twice, and we have not had dish we didn’t love. The staff is friendly and have added to our experience.
The octopus stew is out of this world good. If they do meatballs on special, get them! So tender and savory. The clam linguine is an essential with every order. For entrees, our favorites are the chicken and steak.
And don’t leave without getting the tiramisu for dessert.

Yum! Backwards. The tiramesu was the lightest, fluffiest I’ve ever eaten. I had the meat balls and gnocchi — aka Polpette Al Sugo. Melt in my mouth. They make gnocchi from air they’re so light. Started with the Porchetta which is sliced, very thin, roast suckling pig w some pine nuts, arugula and balsamic. Again. Melt in my mouth. I don’t know if I actually chewed tonight! I tasted my companion’s salad special of their Caesar salad — different than I thought and very tasty. My other table mate had the sausage and white beans w a slight kick. I mean who thinks these combinations up? Angels that’s who.
I’ll return and try everything. I’ll just tuck a bottle of red under my arm and off to gastric heaven I’ll go.
Simply lovely!

I think «dislike it» might be too harsh– another star conveys that «it’s okay» and that’s not accurate either. Would I go back? Not by choice, but would agree to go with a friend. Here’s why:
As other’s have written the service is poor. Slow and dismissive. My wife asked a couple questions about food preparations and the waiter couldn’t have looked more impatient. An odd sight was the hostess sitting at a table to have her full dinner– including a stemware filled with red wine left behind earlier in the night.
Of the 6 dishes we tried, only 1 I thought was okay: meatballs & gnocchi only because the red sauce was tasty. The meatballs were slightly dry. The dishes that failed
— Sweetbreads: overly dense texture and didn’t look fried to order. Also had slightly cooled by the time it got to the table
— Mushroom & Parsley: tasteless
— Sea Bass: Fresh, yet tasteless
— Fried Artichoke: didn’t seem fresh
— Stewed Octopus & Capers: way too salty and slightly fishy
I would tolerate the food if the service was good. Heck, I could tolerate the service if the food were good. As it stands, both are sub-​par so I feel no motivation to return.
ps– I didn’t find it overly loud, but we came at the end of the night so the room wasn’t quite full.

Tough review to write. I am torn on a few levels.
To start, it was very tight and loud. I went on a Thursday night and sat upstairs. There appeared to be only one waiter handling the whole 2^nd floor, which obviously was not ideal as it was at capacity. It took a very long time for him to even take our order, then a long wait for each course and subsequently the check. In addition, dinner for two before tip was $ 72 (and it’s a BYO so no alcohol). Split a gnocchi dish that was $ 11 for three gnocchi. Kind of crazy.
That said, the food was excellent. Although expensive, that gnocchi dish was delicious. I had the mixed gill platter, sausage, lamb skewers, chicken thigh and polenta. E very item was awesome. Also tried the stuffed pork tenderloin. Equally good.
Great to see such a high caliber option in the area, but the service was weak and it was pricey for what you get. Still, I would like to go again. The main take away for me, is the food was great.

Finally, Italian food nearby that’s not only edible, it’s delectable. I feel compelled to write a same-​day review after eating there tonight because I was perusing the other reviews after-​the-​fact (and I mean, ALL the reviews, not recommended especially) and felt compelled to respond.
We went in just after 5 without a reservation on a Monday night and were seated immediately (+1) by an appropriately friendly hostess. I noticed there was bench seating with that sort of communal vibe along one wall, which I hate (–1), but we were placed at a solo table next to another wall so that worked out. I really like the décor — some review commented snarkily that it looked homemade but to me it seemed thoroughly premeditated if not professionally interior (ly?)-designed.
Our waitress was prompt with the menus, the hostess brought us our own pitcher of water (+1) and refilled the pitcher once during the meal. I noticed the other waiter explaining the menu to his table which our waitress did not do but I don’t particularly need help reading or deciding so that’s not really a criticism, just an observation. A busboy came out and offered us oil along with a bread basket of mixed sourdough slices and warm foccacia (+1).
Our food came out reasonably quickly after ordering and at appropriate intervals (+1)…almost as soon as the first set of plates were removed our meals arrived. The starters were both delicious, as were the mains (+1). I was limited in my selections because I don’t have a very adventurous palate as far as things like sweet breads or liver go, but I will definitely be back to try more things and bring my family to celebrate the arrival of a new culinary offering in the area.
As we were leaving it was filling up, and I can definitely believe it would be annoyingly noisy anytime beyond 6:30, especially with all the deaf geriatrics BYO being drunk. But who’s fault is that? It’s not glamorous, but my dining-​out life is very calm and quiet because I regularly behave like a geriatric myself — eating right around 5pm seems to be the happiest hour.
…
I don’t know where the people eating at this trendy but basically hole in the wall Bryn Mawr spot have been eating their Italian food all along, but the places I can think of in the immediate vicinity leave MUCH to be desired. There was that time I got stretchy cold calamari at that one place, and then there’s that other place that shrunk their menu and wait staff and inflated their prices over the last few years. If you have complaints about service, noise, or prices, you’d better not go to the other few selections either.
All that being said, can you really expect a small start up in Bryn Mawr to have a flawless opening and perform at 100% from the word go? Any new place, I don’t care who’s in charge, has or should have kinks that need working out. I’ve never been to a restaurant opening night or waited on a red carpet to get in somewhere but I would be more reserved in my judgment than some here if I did.
Do yourself a favor, disregard the negative reviews and go see for yourself. It’s not downtown, it’s not Manhattan, and it’s certainly not Italy, but it is really good food worth the price tag and the trip, especially if you’re already local.