Il Cantuccio

Friendly staff. Small dine in. Enjoyed food.

Where do I start… Service is horrible I’ve never had a waitress less knowledge than I did tonight. Food is terrible… Risotto is rice. Just not risotto. The entire restaurant was empty. This place doesn’t belong in a foodie neighborhood.
What I don’t understand is this restaurant is the only Italian in northern liberties AND it’s byob. Why is someone not capitalizing on this and managing a killer restaurant?

I will keep this short… WORST dining experience ever! Literally this is my first Unilocal review, and after my experience here I felt compelled to write this review. This review is based on the food, not the service. I love a BYOB, but NOT this one. I decided to get the special which was Penne Vodka with shrimp and crab. How the hell can you charge someone $ 30 for a plate that literally had 3 pieces of shrimp and maybe 15 pieces of penne pasta on it, and no crab meat!!! Also, I can’t forget to mention the sauce was watery and disgusting! I will never come here again. I’m giving this place 1 star, and that’s being generous. AVOID this dump!

This was a decent restaurant for a party of 8 — wait staff was courteous and attended to our needs. Some portions were big, others small. Atmosphere was nice, although it was very chilly in the restaurant. Soup was great, and the half chicken platters were huge. Nice neighborhood spot – would consider returning.

I had been wanting to come here for a really long time, and I was a bit disappointed. I saw wild mushroom risotto with pork belly on the menu and it was a no brainer, as I love both. The risotto portion was small, not enough to eat alongside many bites of the pork belly. The meat itself was overcooked and the dryness of the meat in conjunction with the softness of the thick fat strip down the center of the meat was weird on the palette. The cream sauce that came with it was just ok. If I’m going to splurge calories on a cream sauce I want it to knock my socks off. Maybe I got the wrong menu item. The zuppa de pesce looked good on someone else’s table.. We also got the calamari which was delicious, it was well cooked and had a nice sauce. For dessert we had the tiramisu which was good, a solid homemade standard. The table at the top of the basement stairs had drafts coming up from the basement, I wore my coat almost the entire time! Would I go back again? Maybe for lunch. There are too many other places to explore to come back again anytime soon.

This little BYOB has the best smells, intimate atmosphere and delicious food. Gluten friendly. Went here for a friend’s birthday, large group of 15. Great service. Definitely coming back.

Did not have a a reservation but was seated quickly outside, our preference. The manager was so bubbly and full of energy. The menu was the first night of restaurant week. We shared the orange and pomegranate salad which was delicious. My friend had venison and I had the seared scallops. Desert was ridiculous!!! Lavender crème brûlée. I will be back!!! BYOB too.

I always questioned the quality of this place since I drive or walk by it daily and see it empty more often then full. It’s also been closed for renovation at least twice in two years. Questionable if you ask me.
Service was quick but again, a little too quick which makes me wonder what is prepared early and reheated. Pasta was good but the fish we had was overlooked. I’d skip this place. It’s not bad buts it’s definitely not worth trying over other restaurants in the hood.

Went here yesterday with my boyfriend for my birthday. They were doing restaurant week and the menu looked great so we decided to go. We made a reservation and since the weather was nice we decided to sit outside. My boyfriend got the wedge salad for an appetizer and I got the orange and pomegranate salad. Both were tasty and the portions are large. I got the duck bolognese and he got the braised short ribs. The short ribs are AMAZING. melt in your mouth meat and delicious potatoes. The bolognese was good but my bf asked me «where is the duck?» Maybe add more duck and less noodles! Talk about a big bowl of pasta. Dessert was good but nothing spectacular.
The service is spotty. I mean, really spotty. Our server was inattentive and took care of other tables around us while rarely coming to ours. I mean, we were the first table next to the door outside how hard is it to miss us? Our water glasses were never refilled until after we had gotten the check. Our server was too busy taking shots of alcohol with the table indoor and flirting with the customer… we tipped generously (even though it wasnt earned) and since no one came to take our check I dropped it off inside to our server. We felt uncomfortable leaving it on an outdoor table.
I also accidentally left my birthday card on the table and called the restaurant back to see if they could hold it. After waiting what seemed like an eternity for someone to pick up, a pleasant woman told me she’d hold the card. When I came to pick it up no one was upfront and I had to inform the kitchen that I was picking something up. If it wasn’t for the horrendous service i would give them 4.5 to 5 stars no problem. The food is delicious but don’t expect great service.

Came here with my partner for restaurant week. The food was delicious… Until I found a piece of cardboard in my meal. The waiter brought it back to the chef, who claimed it was a bay leaf. As someone who cooks regularly and uses bay leaves in recipes, this was clearly not that. It would be one thing if we found packaging remnants in a meal and the staff immediately apologized… But having them try to pass off what was obviously a chunk of cardboard as a legitimate ingredient is, frankly, insulting. Eventually the manager did take the meal off our bill, but the rudeness from both the chef and waiter was unacceptable. I really wanted to enjoy it here, but if this kind of disrespect is what passes for service, we won’t be returning anytime soon.

They’re under new ownership which is a total bummer. The mother-​son team has left to focus on La Laconda and the menu is really different. The calamari used to be phenomenal here but it went from sauteed to fried with the new menu so we decided on the carpaccio which was really salty. At the time, we thought «okay it’s meat & cheese, i should be a little salty». I ordered the Striped Sea Bass which was on special & couldn’t finish the plate because of how salty it was. In hindsight, I should have sent it back but I’m not that kind of diner so I sucked it up and ate half of my boyfriends Duck Bolognese which was decent. By the end of the meal, our lips were burning from how beginning to end salty everything was. It seems the ship has sailed on the fresh & authentic Il Cantuccio we once knew…

This place is a fantastic little BYOB in the heart of Northern Liberties. I recently had my post-​wedding dinner here for 14 people and everyone loved it. The food was great, the service was fast and friendly, and everyone enjoyed their food immensely. The portions were really large for a BYOB. Not only are my husband and I huge fans of this place, but now our families are too!

Pork belly risotto great! Dinner for 12 was fantastic. Ravioli, steak, gnocchi, fish, table full of foodies all happy.

Dinner for 12 got us in and thank you. Ravioli with shrimp in a mushroom sauce out of this world. A new fav spot in Northern Liberties when I visit! Bravo to the chef!

Really great dinner. Came here as a last minute decision for a birthday dinner… totally impressed with the service and food quality at this tiny spot in Northern Liberties.

I had pleasure of dining at this little Italian bistro three times now and love it! The chef, Dave Levecchia, knows his trade, and never fails to disappoint with seasonal first rate dishes. Last night, I dined with my good friend Mark, and my son, Kyle. I ordered the salmon, which was served with asparagus risotto and a sweet onion relish. The salmon was cooked to perfection and the asparagus risotto, seasoned just right! My son loved his duck and my friend, Mark, said the homemade gnocchi, was best he had ever tasted. Absolutely, melt in your mouth!
The atmosphere at Il Cantuccio is very quaint, warm and inviting. The server very knowledgeable and professional. She made us feel at home, yet spoiled.
I can’t close without raving about our deserts, tiramisu and espresso crème brûlée. Superb!
Complements to Dave and all staff! We will be back sooner than later and hopefully weather permitting, we dine «al fresco,“next time. Great spot in Northern Liberties!

The scallop special was prepared perfectly… As was the gnudi, stuffed pork, chicken, short ribs. Wow. This place is a definite must do on your next trip to the city. Impeccable service and high quality food.
Oh and the desserts… Nutella Mousse was scrumptious as was the espresso crème brûlée. Do not miss this treasure!!!

My girlfriend and I were strolling about the area and we’re starving our faces off. Then we bumped into this place without reservations and they were gracious enough to let us in! Staff was incredibly friendly and we felt like regulars even though we were just passing through.
Now to the good stuff. The food was fantastic! My favorite Italian place hands down. I had the pork shank and my girlfriend had the cannaloni. Pork was tender and flavorful and the cannaloni was perfect.
The tiramisu was also amazing. The serving portions are generous as hell too! Definitely recommend this place if you’re looking for something tasty and filling.
Warning though, it’s cash only and byob so come prepared. :) five stars and will be back for more the next time I’m in Philly.

I’ve had two experiences with this place. One was dine in and the other was take out. I love the feel inside of the place, and the fact that it’s an open kitchen. However, my server was a bit «rough» around the edges. She was scolding her relative who was very sweet but possibly a little slow for even speaking to us. It made me feel very uncomfortable, and he was nothing but kind. The soup is DELICIOUS, and the food was good.
I decided to go back for takeout and get soup to go. They put the soup in a pasta container that spilled all over my car. I’ve never seen any place do that with takeout. When I got home there was no soup at all so I called. She told me that this «never happens» and kind of made me feel like an idiot for even calling back. However, she did prepare me the soup again in the same container and was nice when I picked it up. Just say you don’t do takeout, it would be way easier.
I would still go here because of the food and cool atmosphere that you don’t often find in no libs, but it’s not a top destination by any means.

this place is a cute lil byob. for me as a vegan i have found that small family owned places are great when it comes to menu and ingredient transparency.
il cantuccio is great. the server knew the whole menu inside and out and customized a vegan dish for me. she even went so far as to check on the bread and bring me my own separate plate of olives and grilled veggies (i was with a big group that ordered the antipasto — so the server made my my own lil vegan version to accompany the groups meat/​dairy version)
every time i’ve been here i’ve had a great experience. i would implore them to check out gardein brand products and daiya cheese to maybe incorporate a vegan chick parm to spice the menu up!