Modo Mio

This was one of the worst nights of service I have experienced. 30 mins late honoring our reservation then another 10 mins just to get a waiter to come over. When we tried to just put in an order of appetizers, he said we had to do it all at once (not sure why if it’s an a la carte menu?). So 45 – 50 mins after we were supposed to sit down, we finally ordered. Then our food took awhile so obviously we were starving by then, probably about to pass out from wine and no food. Then we ordered.
The menu is laid out in 3 courses. The waiter suggested 2 – 3 dishes per person. I can tell he was properly trained and listed off all the specials and his recommendations by memory so there is that. We ordered 2 appetizers and one dish per person (so 6 total items off the menu for 4 people). We wanted to start here first and see where we were with our appetites. The waiter had the nerve at that point to ask if that will be enough and if we were sure. It’s like I know what you’re doing. You want a bigger tip. Guess what? The food was plenty for four people. We would’ve had 4 boxes of leftovers if we ordered 2 – 3 per person.
Then there’s the wine. A server opened the bottle and put it back on the table. Maybe I’m being picky but every other place I know with this price point that sells itself as a high end restaurant will actually pour the wine for you. Server opened the bottle, put it back on the table without saying anything and walked away.
To be fair, the two stars were based strictly on the food. I would’ve given it 0 if the food wasn’t so good. I just got back from Italy a week ago and this was pretty damn close to what they have there. You can taste the pasta and everything is fresh. The food is pretty incredible as you can tell by the other reviews but I can find pretty good food without the exorbitant prices (it doesn’t look that bad in the menu but get an appetizer, pasta and meat and it adds up to about $ 50 per person). I would not go back again.
Points for: scratch cooking food you can taste
Negatives: wait time despite reservation, poor service

I am a little biased because I did get engaged here 3.5 years ago but this place is the real deal when it comes to Italian food in philly. First off for $ 35pp you get 4 courses and you will leave happy and stuffed. Their menu is seasonal and has never been the same each time I go there. They usually have a few items that are year round staples like the lasagna with the fried egg. All the pasta is made fresh with the best ingredients. The bread you get in the beginning is baked fresh everyday. My only compliant is that sometimes the bread isn’t warm when served. I like warm bread with olive oil for dipping and with all the times I’ve been there it’s hit or miss. They treat us perfectly each time we go there. It’s a small, cozy restaurant.
Few other notes — Cash only. BYOB and no corkage fee. Reservation is required and they are usually booked up about 2 weeks in advance. It’s off Girard ave which is a tad sketchy but it’s close enough to the piazza that it’s not really an issue. Parking on the side streets isn’t usually a problem.

Our favorite place. We probably go once a month (for the last 10 years or so). Great food. New, seasonal menus, Excellent service, great prices. We love the place.

This is my kind of place! Warm, welcoming, homie, and genuine. Modo doesn’t try to be something it isn’t.
As I waited for my guests to arrive outside a server brought me a glass of water. That really defines the way this staff makes you feel. These employees want to be there and enjoy it. The entire meal had phenomenal service.
The food was outstanding. I will say we enjoyed the appetizers much more than the entrees but overall everything was great. House made pasta always tastes better. The mussels in white sauce was one of the best sauces I’ve had in awhile. Also the house made bread was delicious.
The environment is warm and cozy. The decorations made it feel like a mom and pop shop. To me this is a huge plus! Bathrooms are not Art Deco so don’t get your hope up there. But I came there to eat and not pee so whatever. The only downside to some may be that this location can get noisy. Didn’t bother me.
We are excited to be booking our rehearsal dinner here for the fall.

This charming little BYBO may look unassuming, and somehow is not as much of a house hold name as other similar restaurants, but do not be fooled my friends, inside lies some of the best, if not the best food in the city. It is, without question, the best value as well. I have eaten here twice now, and can say they have served me the best meal I’ve eaten in recent memory, both times.
The restaurant itself is warm, and cozy and super inviting, as are the staff. The restaurant is small, but you don’t feel like you are on top of your neighbor. Service has always been perfectly timed as well, nothing coming out on top of each other, but not leaving any long pauses either.
The food is just simply delicious, its approachable and familiar while also being a little bit different and fun. I have been lucky enough to try most of the menu at this point and can honestly say you wont go wrong with anything. Though you should definitely do the turista menu, four courses for $ 37, and try as much as you can.
The mussels are probably the best I have ever had, same for the calamari and the fried mozzarella, but make sure to pay attention to the specials. The lasagna is a tempting option, and not to be missed, amazing sauce and comes with an egg to add to the decadence. However, please don’t skip over the agnolotti, the flavors are out of this world, I don’t have the words to describe how they come together, and it is somehow delicate while packing such a flavorful punch. Also try giant ravioli if they have it that night. Everything is well executed and flavorful, thinking about the sauces makes my mouth water. The fish are all fresh and beautifully prepared, they really pay homage to their ingredients here, but again don’t overlook the bistecca, it is so different than any other beef you have had, so many flavors going on, but work so incredibly well. The dessert is all great is well, if you have room. If you leave here hungry it is 100% your own fault!
PS: It is cash only and BYOB, but they have an ATM and it is across the street from a large wine and spirits store.

Every morsel we ordered-​and we got the turista menu to get many courses– was divine. Definitely not your usual red sauce restaurant. The hard-​to-​find agnolotti was out of this world. Be sure to reserve in advance!

Came here for sugo Sunday. The service was great. On the other hand, the food wasn’t as good as it is said to be. I understand that the menu is seasonal, but I was not very pleased with the food. First, the bread was cold and the crust was very stale and hard to bite. Secondly, I feel like the pasta was just sitting around and it was almost cold and undercooked. The arugula salad and the meats are good, but very salty. I really wanted to like the food & I kinda expected more since it was ~50 a person with tips.

Oh Modo Mio…
This cozy Italian BYOB has been a strong and steady for so many years. I can’t think of one bad experience I’ve had here. There are so many positives to this place… BYOB, the wine and spirit shop directly across the street, the service, turista menu & the food never disappoints.
A few of my favorites over time would have to be both of their versions of lumache (red wine & lemon), rabbit agnolotti and panna cotta dessert.
The reason for only 4 stars and not 5? Well 1. The portions are small (keep this in mind — do the turista or you’ll leave disappointed/​hungry). 2. Because Modo Mio is a smaller restaurant, it tends to get VERY loud in here. 3. No online reservation booking.
The mentionings above will not discourage me from returning. Modo Mio is among my favorite restaurants.

This is a great Italian BYOB, with quite the tasting menu deal. We paid $ 40 each for four well-​portioned courses, and definitely did not leave hungry.
The highlights of the night were the calamari (which came in a white bean salad that I am going to try and replicate at home), the braised veal cheek (most tender meat I have ever had), and the espresso crème caramel (wow wow wow).
Not everything was perfect — the pasta course came out a bit cold, and the service was a bit slow in the beginning of the night. Also, this place is really loud — not sure what it is about the acoustics, but everyone was yelling over each other, including us. However, the wine we brought helped to keep us busy and warm while we waited and talked loudly.
I definitely recommend this place for a yummy meal at a reasonable price. Overall, we had very good food that I am still thinking about days later. That’s a good sign!

7pm: Two first-​timers arrived eagerly with reservations, were told by a not-​so-​friendly host that our table wasn’t quite ready. No big deal, it happens.
7:01−7:24pm: Wait outside in the freezing cold.
7:25: Go back in to check on status of table. Still not ready, but we see plenty of empty and set tables. Confused.
7:28: At last! Our table is available! Hooray!
7:45: Finally, our waiter has decided to acknowledge our presence. Wine is opened. Water is provided. Specials are shared.
8:00: Waiter comes back to take our order. Yes, folks. It’s been a full hour since our reservation was supposed to begin before we even order food.
8:16: Still no bread. No appetizers. No nothing. Sigh.
Slight break from the timeline for a moment. Our salad, pasta and entrees were served between 8:20 — 9:00 or so. Service was really slow. Our waiter was fine, just seemed a bit overwhelmed. Perhaps they were understaffed?
9:15: Received check from waiter
9:18: Settled check with waiter
9:20: Here’s the good stuff: The manager came over to our table and informed us that they needed our table for a large party and he basically told us to get out. I actually thought he was joking for a second. We just settled our bill two minutes ago, and we both had a full glass of wine in front of us. We waited almost a half hour for our reserved table and and now you’re asking us to leave because you can’t properly manage your restaurant? HUGE turnoff.
End scene.
I enjoyed the food. If it wasn’t for the attitude of the host upon arrival, being shunned outside to wait for a reserved table, the eternal wait for bread, and the brazenness of the person I can only assume was a manager, I would give this place more stars. Factor all those things in with a FREEZING cold restaurant (I’ve been to hockey games that were warmer) and the decibel level inside (this place is LOUD, like, front row at Metallica kind of loud). Meh. I don’t get it. I really wanted to love this place and I appreciate the menu and the food, I just can’t see myself returning for the above reasons.

I wish I could eat here every night. We tried Modo Mio on a Sunday night for their set priced family style dinner. We made reservations (the place isn’t huge so make reservations). It is cash only and BYOB and the restaurant isn’t a whole lot to look at from the outside (or inside really) but it was SO so good.
It is a 4 course dinner with an antipasti plate and then bruschetta and then a huge plate of meats (chicken, pork, meatballs and spicy sausage) and then pasta (3 kind in a red meat sauce) and finally dessert. Everything was so great and the staff was so friendly and you can tell that they really care about their business and the food. Everything was so fresh and handmade.
We will definitely be back. Great little place for dinner in Fishtown.

Modo mio is a great choice to dine with family, friends, or a date. The restaurant is small but packs a powerful punch in the tastebuds. I went here on th e recommendation of my supervisor. Keep in mind that due to the small size of the restaurant, reservations are needed. Also know this establishment is cash only.
The staff was knowledgeable about the menu & could make recommendations based on whatever one specified they liked. While the bread was good, it was not served warm. Warm bread is a plus to any meal. To start I had the chef’s take on egg salad which was quite good. It was crisp on the outside, yet tasted very much like egg salad on the inside.
I ate from the tourista menu which allowed me the opportunity to have an appetizer, pasta, entrée, and dessert for $ 40. For an appetizer I tried the grilled cheese & muscles. The 1^st dish was a modern twist on grilled cheese & was good. The muscles were served in a spicy red sauce & were divine.
The pasta dishes wasn’t anything to write home abut, for I don’t even remember it. My entrée was salmon. The salmon was succulent and moist. There was a light sauce drizzled on it which was a great accompaniment. For dessert I had the tiramisu & cheesecake. The tiramisu was ok while the Cheesecake was the evening star. This is a must try place!

Excellent food and the best part — its BYOB!
To start we tried the Cudica which is lamb belly and it was absolutely delicious. The meat was juicy, tender and super flavorful. As a main I got the branzino special which was literarly a massive fish on my place (eyes and everything). It was cooked and seasoned to perfection. The only thing I didn’t like were the eyes staring back at me — other than that it was delicious!
So grab and friend (or significant other) and a bottle and head over to this place — its small with awesome food and excellent service!
ps. its cash only so bring cash or a friend with lots of cash (don’t forget like I did)

This review is well over due .
Modo mio is pretty much the Italian BYOB that all Italian BYOB should be measured against. Incredible food, friendly service and a sambuca after dinner shot.
My second experience here was for a friends birthday dinner a few weeks back. Our table of 7 came ready bearing a variety of vintages including a Barolo that almost brought me to tears.
The amuse bouche was an incredible tuna mousse on toast. I followed that up with the beet salad (nightly special) pappardelle with chickpeas and mushrooms, swordfish and the rice pudding to round it all out.
The tourista menu is the the way to go you can try a little bit of everything and share with friends. I opted to have a few bites of my pasta and box the rest up it made a great lunch Monday afternoon .
If you haven’t been GO

I agree with the overall 4.5 rating of this place. It offers brilliantly conceived and beautifully executed menu items in a very down-​to-​earth atmosphere. While it is quite a trek from Center City, the restaurant was packed on a Friday night. I believe the wait was 45 minutes for those without a reservation. It is a bit loud and space is tight, but it is not stuffy and the service was impeccable from everyone from beginning to end. If you forget to bring a drink to this BYOB, there is an extensive «wine list» to choose from in the form of a liquor store across the street.
We went with the $ 37 Turista menu, which allowed for one selection from each of four courses: antipasta, pasta, secondi, and dessert. That’s 8 items to try between 2 people and a very great deal! It was definitely a lot of food. We also ordered some extra items to try, but ended up taking a lot of leftovers home.
The first few items we tasted really blew us away. There was an amuse-​bouche consisting bruschetta (sorry, I forget which kind), delicious bread with olive oil and fresh ricotta (I cannot describe how amazing this bread is), and some appetizers: grilled squid, pan-​seared tongue with egg (special), and crispy-​fried lamb belly with scallop. These were all very tasty and complex in flavor and texture. I especially loved the refreshing touch of citrus that was a theme throughout. However, the squid pieces, while perfectly charred, were salted a bit too heavily.
Another reason why I’m leaning more toward 4 stars instead of 5 is that few of the subsequent items really blew me away. The Agnolotti (rabbit ravioli) definitely did — beautifully flavored filling enveloped by house-​made pasta shells in sage brown butter. However, the chocolate duck tortellini did not particularly stand out. I did not taste any chocolate, nor duck — just a bland, slightly too thick covering of pasta around some kind of salty filling. The skate wing special was also a bit bland. The fish was nicely textured, but could have used some crisp and a bit of citrus or other flavoring. The veal cheek was good in every area other than texture, which I felt was too homogeneous.
Before dessert, each of us had a shot of sambuca (anise-​flavored liqueur), which added a very nice touch. The desserts themselves — mascarpone and chocolate chip cheesecake, flourless chocolate torte, and a cream and chocolate filled crêpe — were good, but I’ve had better versions of each elsewhere.
Despite some less-​than-​perfect menu items, I would still come back for the rabbit ravioli, the bread, and the appetizers. I’d try some new entrees and might skip dessert. We were lucky this time because there was a parking spot in front of the restaurant practically calling our names when we arrived, but parking seems generally difficult to find in the neighborhood, so I would definitely plan ahead for that. I’d also bring plenty of cash since the restaurant is cash-​only.

I came here on a Friday night with 6 of my friends. Obviously coming with a semi big crowd, I called to make some reservations beginning of the week and the hostess told me we would have to order from the pre fixe menu. 4 courses for 37 dollars. Okay, thats doable. We came in on a Friday night around 830pm and it was pretty small and fairly crowded. I had to squeeze my way through tables to get to my seat. But it’s BYOB and handmade pastas, I can’t complain.
I started off with the crab mashed potatoes. I didn’t really get much of the mashed potatoes vibe from this dish. It was more like a crab dip especially with the little toast wedges to dip the «dip» in. It was decent and honestly probably my favorite dish out of the appetizer/​pasta/​entrée.
I then got some form of chocolate pasta w/​duck and pistachio crema but it was not okay in any ways. The combination of the «duck» with the chocolate pasta was not a good fusion in anyway. The duck needed WAY more seasoning and It didn’t even taste like duck to me. The chocolate pasta tasted exactly that but with that sweetness you definitely needed some kind of protein that had some kind of spice whether it was peppery or salty, I got nothing.
Then for my entrée I got the veal cheek w/​risotto. The risotto was way over cooked and the veal cheek was pretty heavy and hearty. It was okay but the sauce/​seasoning was too sweet for my liking.
The tiramisu was good but I don’t know if it was my disappointment of my pasta and entrée, I just wasn’t feeling dessert.
We waited about 30 minutes to get our check after telling our server we needed it and left the restaurant at 11pm.
Needless to say, I had a decent time but I think that was more due to the fine wine we brought and good company.

Worth a return? For many people, yes, but not really for me.
Worth a 30 minute drive? Yes
Worth a flight? No
I loved the service and how passionate they are about Italian food. The service was on, intelligent, and enthusiastic. I thought the food was interesting, but here are the things that might not quite work for 10−20% of the customers out there:
* food is a bit salty. in particular, i could only eat about a fifth of my steak. in fact, the steak was a bit overdone (well done). if i was hungrier, i know i could have said something, and the staff there would have taken care of me. but i was really full after making my way through most of the turistica menu
* for those, like me, who probably don’t eat a ton, the turistica menu may be too much. for two people, i might normally share one appetizer and two entrees. so getting the turistica (which is a great value for big eaters or those seeking molto variety) may not be as good as just getting a few things off the menu.
i think modo mio did a great job of providing a full palate – the amuse bouche and the appetizers had a component of fat, sweet, and salty. the chef is thinking about how to wow you and make it fun. it felt at times like a gastro pub, with a masculine, powerful style. i will say the desserts were excellent (apple pie and tiramisu).
for me, although i don’t regret going here, i walked away feeling over salted and i suffered for it late into the evening. i remember reading it in a few other people’s reviews – and so it came to be true for me as well.

Great byob in the northern liberties area. Really a 4.5 star experience rather than a 4. Same owner as monsu which is another great byob! Went on a Tuesday which I found out is the night the owner is the chef. It gets very popular so reservations are required on Tuesdays.
I had the turista menu.-4 courses. I did the grilled calamari. It was good but very lemony. Next time I would try a different appetizer. I then had the fettuccini. It was a spicy fettuccini with sausage. Very good! Then I had the cioppino. Again delicious! Tried some of the lamb which was seriously amazing also. And agree with other reviewers, get the tiramisu. Some of the best I’ve had!
Overall amazing dining experience. Can’t wait to go back!

I had a really great experience, from a combination of date night, BYO, and our wonderful service, but many things about the food itself was off. We tried the tasting menu, which was filling and delicious for $ 35, but if I wanted to come back and not try the tasting menu, the individual dishes are expensive and probably too small to warrant a real meal. Thus, this restaurant will probably be a one-​time experience, that I am glad I tried but unfortunately probably would not return to.
Giving props to our wonderful server, hostess, and waitress for dealing with my incessant coughing for hours and for patiently explaining all the menu items. My boyfriend and I came here a few weeks ago, so the dishes we ordered are a little fuzzy in my memory now, but I do remember that the grilled octopus salad was undercooked and unflavorful, while the rabbit ravioli dish much too salty for my taste – almost the point of being inedible. The other dishes were fine, although we weren’t too impressed with the pasta dishes, and we did heartily enjoy dessert.
Overall, a tucked-​away, cute little Italian restaurant that I am glad we experienced (something about it seemed very. authentic) and supported a small establishment, but some things on the menu are hit-​or-​miss.

Jared J took me here for a Valentine’s Day dinner (a very nice surprise – kudos to him!). Our meal came with four courses and was around $ 50 per person, along with a few complimentary bonuses – they definitely know their way around a holiday/​tasting menu here. The service here was excellent and our waiter gamely took our photo for us.
Onto the food. I would liken it to modern Italian cuisine with French cuisine-​sized portions. This was not a problem on the tasting menu because even though the portions were small, I was stuffed from four courses.
The complimentary bread was made in house and sat steaming on the cutting board at the beginning of our meal. We were also brought complimentary figs stuffed with goat cheese and balsamic vinegar, which were the perfect bite-​sized beginning to the meal. The sformato was full of lump crab and ricotta and the peppers on top added the perfect amount of flavor. The rabbit ravioli was divine, and I wolfed those pasta down extremely quickly (Jared barely got a bite). The zuppe di pesce was surprisingly spicy and chock full of all manner of shellfish and squid. Finally, the flourless chocolate torte was delicious, but very heavy. The server also provided us with a complimentary glass of sambucca to end the night.
Just remember that this is a BYOB establishment. This restaurant has a very intimate interior and is perfect for a romantic special occasion… or for that nice bottle of red you’ve been saving.