Trattoria Guiseppe, Edgemont
April 19th, 20074799 WC Pike, Edgemont
610.353.4871
Italian BYOB on West Chester Pike in Edgemont. A recent review by “The Dining Duo” (in the Trend) suggests that it is a Fellini Cafe-type joint, with simple, inexpensive Italian fare. I didn’t get the feeling that the Duo was overly impressed, but then again it seems like a popular spot already.
If “The Carnivore” wants to jump in here, feel free… ;o)
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owner is a very controlling, pompous jerk. be careful how you lay your menus down – if they are face down you will be corrected – they should be face up. by rudely relaying this message to us and personally walking around my table to turn his menus face up (so his name is always up – never down) he lost us as customers. I had turned quite a few people on to his restauant and now I’m telling my story of having to deal with this maniac – he’s not a pleasant man and it’s all about him – not his customers. If you do eat there, tip the waiters well – they are under a lot of stress from working under this guy’s rule.
I’ve been to this restaurant a total of 3x’s and this was worse experience I had at a restaurant. The waiter Roberto was not attentive. My guest and I waited for 15min before a waiter approached us…They werent that busy I promise. Roberto comes and introduces himself then disappears to his other tables for literally another 15mins. Ok fine you were giving us time to order and we were talking… not too upset. But the icing of the cake was once we were finished he takes our plates to bag our food brings it back and states “I’ll be right back” that “right back was 12min later. Asked for the check too another 10min….WHHHYYYY? I always tip ALWAYS, but not this time. Do you know while walking to the car who’s following us????? Freaking Roberto! “Were you not happy with your service” At this point I was a little scared because he followed us but I answered “No, not at all” I proceeded to explain why then he left! I am never going back there. Only good thing was the live Opera.
Can someone explain to me how I have to wait an HOUR even though I made a reservation? It’s completely unacceptable and ridiculous!!! I will never again come here or recommend this place. Seriously, why take reservations if you can’t honor them???
Have been there a dozen times for lunch and never had a bad experience. Decided to take my husband there for our anniversary. Made a 7:30 reservation and got there promptly at 7:30. The place was packed. When we finally made it to the hostess and checked in we then waited another 30 minutes. What they did was seat a reservation then seat a walk-in. I am sorry if you are that successful to be that busy, seat the people that took the time to make a reservation then seat the walk-ins. Granted the walks in may never be seated but that’s life. When we were seated it was in a tent on the patio on patio furniture. We paid the same for out dinner that the people in the actual restaurant did but, were seated in crappy seats. It was cold outside and there was a heated blower providing heat. The food ended up being just okay. It took forever to get our dinner. I was embarrassed to have talked this place up so much! I will never go back and have told many of my friend who used to frequent this establishment.
My parents made a reservation at this place for Christmas eve for the family (10 people) for 6 pm. Based on all the prior reviews we should e never have gone. The food didn’t arrive until 7:45. When we asked for the manager/owner this guy said that it was a busy night and “What did we expect?” He went on to say “you only ordered one appetizer at the table.” If we ordered more the food would have come out faster?? I hate when someone in business trys to tell you his problems and then it becomes your problem. Didn’t the owner know that this would be a busy night and need extra staff??? When the arguement took place two of the tables behind us began to applause my outburst of lousy service. When the owner heard this he said that he didn’t have to serve us. The owner is a rude moron and I will never go back. How long does it take to cook pasta?? Food eventually came and it was average. Crab on my daughters pasta was cold. One of the worst experiences I have ever had in a restuarant and we ended up only staying because the kids were hungry and the male waiter we had was pretty good and kept on apologizing. It wasn’t his fault. Don’t go to this place you will regret it.
I have been a customer since Giuseppe owned Fellini’s in Newtown Square-now under new ownership. Food is great but the waiters are sooo rude. One kept bumping into my chair whenever he passed and never said sorry. The waiter–a tall thin man with a very strong Italian accept, rattled off the entrees so fast I could not hear the description. We were seated at a round table not far from door and I was cold. When I asked him to move us, he had an attitude, even though there were many tables open in tent area. He never offered to move us. When I asked him for more grated cheese, he said he had already give it to everyone at our table and”do you actually want more”. This was my Birthday celebration and I was very annoyed with him. For me, he ruined the night. I almost told Alexandro, who is a very nice manager, but decided not to make a big deal of it in front of the other 5 people. I did not want to ruin their experience even though our waiter ruined mine. Written on Sunday Dec. 20th.
We had a WONDERFUL dinner at Trattoria Guiseppe for my daughter’s Confirmation. We had a reservation for 22 people and our table was ready for us. The food was spectacular and in abundance. Every guest took some food home with them. The waiters were very patience with our party even though there was a long line in the lobby. We were not rushed & I was worried we would be. The owner come over a few times to check on us. Definitely recommend!
Not worth the wait! Actually, we never even ate there tonight. After waiting for an hour past our reservation, and watching others who arrived after us get seated, we left. We won’t be going back. Nor will our friends. Save yourself the aggravation and go elsewhere!
How do you know it’s not worth the wait when you didn’t even eat there?
Trust me…It’s worth the wait. But for impatient individuals, you should go to Olive garden.
Why make a reservation if you have to wait an hour? Olive Garden is better than this place.
This is a FABULOUS restaurant!!! Please do not listen to any adverse reviews posted here. Food is delicious and service is fine. You may have to wait a few minutes for a table…but geez…its BYOB…relax and have a drink while you wait!!! Prices are very reasonable and well worth any wait!! Enjoy!!!
Karen, look around… you are in the minority here by about 10 to 1… who do you think knows what they are talking about?
You must listen to us because no one would bother to go on here unless they were extremely angry for being treated badly. This restaurant reminds me of the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld. You have to put up with all of this nonsense to be served, and then you have to pay for it, too! Please don’t patronize this joint. There are many wonderful restaurants in the area where they will treat you kindly and with appreciation and respect.
I made a reservation THREE WEEKS in advance for 8 people (6 USED to be friends!), and told the person taking the reservation, knowing it’s a Saturday night, we would work with them on the time, how about 8:15, since one couple was coming from Jersey and having a cocktail at our home first. We arrived at 8:10 to find a COMPLETELY PACKED vestibule, with a completely ANGRY mob scene. Upon getting to the podium to ask about our reservation, a woman stanidn nearby said that they had a 7:00 reservation, BUT the owner seated a WALK IN group of 17 which screwed up everyone’s reservation!!! ON A SATURDAY NIGHT???? Where did this guy learn to run a restaurant? Chuck E Cheese? We FINSLLY got seated at 8:45, THEN, after getting our appetizers and salads, the entrees started arriving BEFORE we had a chance to finish our salads!! THNE, my wife was the ONLY one without her meal. I asked the waiter, and 2 others to check on her meal–to NO avail. After 10 minutes I went into the kitchen and was told no one is allowed in the kitchen. I wouldn’t leave until they made my wife’s meal–which by the way was a pasta dish–nthing extravagant. FINALLY I walked out her meal with the waiter. Of course our friends were mortified, as they had finished their meal already. This happened a year and a half ago, and we have NOT BEEN BACK since. These reviews confirm our experience, and we will travel to any other restaurant to avoid this nightmare. But it seems there ar e a lot of “lemmings” who continue to support this rude, disgrace of a restaurant.
Dinner for 4. Very well priced and appropriate portions. The menu was mildly overwhelming with so many choices and only slight variation of ingredients. Very crowded, even for a Wednesday night and the seating was less than spacious. It seemed as thought the wait staff and the hostesses were frazzled and on edge, and in a hurry. We were fortunate and were seated at a table in a reasonable time. We ordered our food and the apps came out in a reasonable time as well. Our entrees however, took almost an hour…fortunately it is BYOB. All in all, I would say hit or miss..two of us enjoyed our food, two of us not so much. We did not have a discrepancy, others that evening were clearly agitated.
I had heard mixed reviews about the restaurant, but my wife chose to go here for our first night out in months. We made 6:00 reservations, and arrived right at 6. We stood right in front of the hostess for about 5 minutes, trying to talk to her, before she even acknowledged out presence. Finally, she spoke, but immediately answered the phone and held up an index finger, like you would to a child. At long last, we were told that we would have a 15 minute wait. We stood in a crowded, hot, vestibule for 30 minutes. No fewer than ten times, the owner came rushing through the lobby and pushed me out of the way, without so much as a word. We were told at this time that we had only one person ahead of us. After 5 more parties were called in the next 15 minutes, I finally was able to convince my wife to leave and go somewhere else. I have never been treated ruder at a restaurant. I will never go back to this place, and will let everyone I know to avoid this restaurant.
Absolutely the worst. Our reservation did not matter, we were seated when they wanted. Our request was for inside, they seated us outside in the cold and away from the heater. The food was pedestrian. If you want a quality Italian meal with BYOB, try the independently owned Frankie’s Felini Cafe in Berwyn, PA. Chef Victor, Frankie and staff provide South Philly hospitality and consistently great food.
This place is a disgrace!!!!!!!!! Learn how to operate a restaurant!! Go To Ristorante Verona in Malvern they can teach you what a real Italian restaurant should be.
The WORST reservation system EVER!!!! We had a group of 8 make a reservation 3 weeks in advance for a Saturday, and I told them that to make it easy on them, we would avoid the 7:00 “rush time” and go for 8-8:15. The girl said thank you and put us down. We arrived at 8:10, with the lobby FILLED, and everyone complaining because they were STILL waiting on a 7:00 reservation!! We found out they had a “WALK IN” group of 17 at 6:30, who had yet to leave!!! We waited for 45 minutes, drinking our wine in the lobby, and FINALLY got seated at 9:15!! Then after everyone had ordered, our meals took an additional 45 minutes, ONLY to have my wife’s meal–a SIMPLE pasta dish NOT arrive!! I called the waiter oover and he said it was coming. 20 minutes went by, and I tracked the waiter down in the kitchen, and I had to make 2 trips into the kitchen to get the manager/owner to shoo me out BEFORE we got my wife’s meal. NOT ONCE did we get an apology!!! It will be a VERY COLD DAY in Hades before I return. We had talked this palce up to our friends, and none of them will go back after this ordeal….
Trattoria Guiseppe-
Food is good and inexpensive, however, I am in agreement with many of the other comments. They overbook, seem to prioritize seating based on larger tables. I’d rather spend the extra money and not be aggravated by the time I sit down. I’ve gone to this restaurant on more than one occasion and seating is a major issue. I’m told that they have revised their reservation methods but experience same everytime I’ve gone. Won’t go back!
It was the WORST dinner I ever had. It was a same story as above dinner reservation at 7:00 we were not seated till 8:30. stood in the crowded lobby with the owner pushing me every time he pass and never said anything. We finally sat down the tables were soooo close that my elbow was on the table next to us and my husband back was touching the other table. We ate our dinner and watched the owner telling the waitress to get us out because they had people waiting. We wanted dessert it was our mothers birthday so we ordered coffee and dessert. You could see the owner get mad and watch us while we ate. Never Again he is a VERY RUDE person!!
If all you frequent BYOB lovers are looking for the best Italian experience in dining today, YOU MUST VISIT “Ristorante Verona” in Malvern. This restaurant has exceptional service and unbelievable food. i recommend this restaurant very highly.It is located on Lancaster Ave. in Malvern.
I have to agree with Amy and kristen on 2/18/ 2009 I made a reservation for 5 people for 7 pm on 2/21/2009. At 7;30 I was called as a party of 4, when I said 5 I was told I would be the next party of 5. By 8 pm they had sat 2 parties of 6 and a party of 2 and a party of 5.I was told agian I was the next party of 5.They called another party of 5 and it was not me.
Maybe I’m just lucky, but I’ve dined at this restaurant a number of times both for lunch and dinner (mostly recently last night: 8/22/2008) and I’ve never had a problem. Last night my 7:00 p.m. reservation for five was seated promptly and at one of the two outdoor patios that I desired.
Yes it was it crowded and yes people were waiting, but the food is excellent, the prices moderate and the setting very pleasant. This combination makes for a very popular place in a suburban setting. I go so far as to say that the ‘price/quality’ and BYOB feature here is unique. That draws a lot of people with and without reservations.
I know I’m going back because I can’t think of a better value for the money.
We had reservations for 6 PM we arrived ten of six and when we were seated it was right next to a freshly painted door it was so close to the door that when I opened the menu I got paint on my hand. We went back up to the desk to change our tables and as we waited to get a new table a number people came in and were seated ahead of us. After waiting another 25 minutes we finally left.
The staff a the check in desk were very rude, I won’t be going back.
We visit this restaurant at least twice each month. The food and prices are excellent! I had a problem as well with a reservation for sixteen people I made four months in advance. I confirmed the number of people in our party two days earlier. When we arrived at the restaurant, the reserved tables were given to another party. Unfortunately, the other party had the same first name. I booked the reservation by my first and last name. When I called to confirm, the hostess asked for my first name. The manager refused to seat us at the original tables I chose, and I refused to split up our family so I demanded one long table that was set up for another party. I got the table, because I’m Italian and stubborn, too! I have overlooked that incident and continue to frequent this restaurant, because it is such a great atmosphere and the waiters/waitresses are great!
First restaurant review i have ever submitted,just got back with two of my sonsWe arrived at about 5:30,could not believe where the manager sat us,my head was basically under a counter there was no one else in our particular dining area ,so we said something to the waitress,she moved the tabble about 2 inches.I finally asked the mgr to reseat us he did and the food was pretty good and reasonably priced.By the time we left the place was packed!however the table we had vacated wass till empty.
My girlfriend and I eat every other week (Friday or Saturday) and we always have received smiles from everyone there. The food is world class and very good prices. Sometimes is a little crowded but it the price we have to pay for such a wonderful meal. We always walk out talking how wonderful meal we had and we are vegetarians.
Last nite I went to this lovely decor of a resturant for a friend’s birthday.This was the end of lovely. Our 6:30 reservation turned into a 7:20 seating. We were seated at a “2 top”. I had the pleasure of looking at a wall the entire nite. In the very middle of this room was a VERY LOUD group of around 40. I get the fact that they were celebrating an event of sort, but we (me and my 2 friends) had to literally shout to hear our conversation. The waiter even had a hard time taking our order due to the noise factor. CLEARLY, this group should have been better placed in the resturant, for the sake of all others. I found out later that they had been there since 4:30. I’m sure at that time there would have been better seating area for them. The management kept giving the excuse that they were supposed to be seated outside on the patio, but it rained. EVERYONE I know knew about the all day rain and storms predicted. I guess the owner is so far removed from reality, he wasn’t aware. WELL, Here’s REALITY. Everyone I talked to last nite, as they were waiting in the STANDING ROOM ONLY lobby said the same thing…This place overbooks. It’s not a secret anymore. Guiseppe lost a lot of future business last nite. Oh by the way, did you get the fact that I like to talk…and talk I will.
A HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE!!!
My husband and I hadn’t been out in 5 months since becoming parents. We got a sitter on a Thursday night and went to Trattoria Guiseppe after hearing how great the food was, but we never even got to try it. Our waitress ignored us and blamed the kitchen staff for never delivering food. First, we waited about 15 minutes before our waitress took our order. She told us that the kitchen was backed up and hoped we’d be patient. Meanwhile, the tables seated 1/2 hour after us were getting their appetizers and meals. Our waitress began to avoid eye contact with us and never came back to our table to explain anything or offer us bread basket. We finally got out of our seats and began to leave. Magically, the manager appeared with our appetizer and offered to take the cost off the bill. HA…where was he when we were semi-happy customers? He didn’t seem to care one bit that our visit was a disaster. We spent 25 bucks on a babysitter and 1.5 hours in a restaurant, and the only thing in our belly was the bottle of wine we brought. I was furious. WE WILL NEVER GO BACK!! Take my advice and go someplace else.
My boyfriend and I went on Saturday evening around 9:00 pm. There was an outside table available for us right away. We had great service and the food was excellent. The manager was very nice and stopped by our table to see how everything was. The prices were reasonable too. I loved the atomosphere. We are definitely going back again.
I Had a B-day Party reservation, for 12, on 7/3.
Everything was great. There is now a NEW manager of this restaurant. The staff was friendly, attentive, most efficient. The food was very good, especially the arugala salad, which was the special of the day(YUM!)They DO NOT add on 15%, on top of the bill, like most places for larger parties, which can make the staff a little ‘complacent’ about service…
Give this place another look, if you were disappointed in the past. I had no complaints, whatsoever, but I had never been there before. MANGA!!!
By far the best food experienced. Had to wait a while for table even with reservations, but it was worth it. I hope the people complaining stay away as they say they will. More food for us. Yum
We had dinner there last night. I thought everything was wonderful. I had the eggplant app- which could have served as my entree. The portions were HUGE! I am sorry to hear so many bad experiences with the owner. He was very pleasent to me and my family. My kids wanted pizza and the waiter had said they only serve it during lunch. The owner came over and immediatley asked what kind of pizza they wanted – he would have it made right away for them. That was appreciated by all. It was a bit crowded- but not uncomfortable. The decor is typical Trattoria, the outside dining looked nice as well. I am looking forward to my next visit. I will go back for sure!
We had my sons christening party at Guiseppe’s about a week ago and it was the biggest mistake ever! First of all the owner Guiseppe is a huge greeseball and all he cares about is making mpney. He was so rude to everyone in our party (there was 40 of us) From the minute we walked through the door he was constantly rushing us from our apps to dinner and basically kicked us out when everyone was still eating their dessert. It was a horrible experience. I will never go back to his restaurant ever again. He is someone who doesnt appreciate your business and is all about making money for himself. WORST RESTAURANT EVER!!! DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY
We’ve been there 3-4 times, food is good, not great. My last entree of crabs & linguini had quite a bit of crab shell in it. An earlier writer said they had no trouble getting seated at 5 PM, which is true. The 6:30-8:00 range is when they clearly get backed up. PS, there is one waiter there that has B.O. Anyone else encounter him?
Well, we didn’t have to wait for our seat, it was just the two of us. But the service was clearly lacking.
5 minutes after we ordered we see the waitress trying to give our entrees to the table next to us. She notices her mistake, brings them to us and says…”oops, you never got your appetizer.” then she says, “it’s not my fault, the kitched messed up.”
kind of ruined the meal which was mediocre at best. The $12 app was the best thing but i barely ate any of it. i won’t be going back.
Our family has eaten at Trattoria numerous times. It has always been a pleasant experience. The owner has approached our table and asked our opinion of the meals. We have eaten lunch and dinner there. We were told they did not take reservations for parties less than 6 for dinner. We celebrated a birthday there with a party of 10 on a Saturday night, we reserved the table for 5:00 and were seated immediately. We even brought our own birthday cake which they graciously lite and cut for us. The food has been fabulously delicious with generous portions. I understand not wanting to return after such a bad experience, but to those reading these reviews, I’d suggest an early dinner esp. on the weekends. mangia!
Our family has eaten at Trattoria numerous times. It has always been a pleasant experience. The owner has approached our table and asked our opinion of the meals. We have eaten lunch and dinner there. We were told they did not take reservations for parties less than 6 for dinner. We celebrated a birthday there with a party of 10 on a Saturday night, we reserved the table for 5:00 and were seated immediately. We even brought our own birthday cake which they graciously lite and cut for us. The food has been fabulously delicious with generous portions. I understand not wanting to return after such a bad experience, but to those reading these reviews, I’d suggest an early dinner esp. on the weekends. mangia!
I have never been so HUMILIATED by a restaurateur! This guy is clearly trying to suck the blood after everyone that walks through the door – as long as they give it up quick! Otherwise – get your a– off my property!
DO NOT GO!!!!!!!!!
Amazing!! About a year ago, my husband and I with another couple had the same rude experience that most of the other reviewers have had. We vowed that we would never go back – and haven’t. We go to movies at the Regal Theater, and due to the always packed parking lot, we assumed that our experience was not the norm. I don’t know if Fellini’s in Media is the same owner as the one in Newtown Square, but we have always had great food and service there. (Probably shouldn’t have told you that.)
We had gone to Trattoria for a birthday dinner. My wife had called ahead and made reservations. There were 4 of us. They stalled us for about an hour saying no tables were open dispite the reservation. We were seated, we ate, we asked for coffee after dinner and told “we gave you a seat now we need you to hurry up” by the owner. Like others I will never go back. Plenty of other places to go to get good Italian food for good prices. Stay away from this place!
I hired a babysitter for the night, and so looked forward to going out for dinner. Well, we had a 7:00 reservation, but when we arrived were told our table would not be ready for 25 minutes. As we stood in the lobby, people would approach the receptionist desk, and each one, whether they had a reservation or not, was told they would have to wait 25 minutes. Not fair. Well, guess what? That 25 minutes turned into 45 minutes, but it gets better. Our name was finally called, but our table wasn’t actually ready. You see the people at our so-called table were actually having their coffee. We were only called to make us feel as if our wait was over. What a hoax! So, anyway, a simple dinner turned into a 3-1/2 hour ordeal and ended costing us extra for the babysitter. The owner did not apolgize to us when we complained. The food was good, but I think a bit pricey considering the place/atmosphere. My advice: Go where someone appreciates your patronage. And, Trattoria, stop making reservations you won’t honor. (Definition of honor: high respect or regard)
i had dinner with my family the other day at trattoria giuseppe for the first time,the food was excellent and the service was very attentive and the price are very resenable ,the atmosphere is beautiful, we had a good time.sorry to ear the other people disappointed for the wait, we had a reservation and i was seated right away maybe you should go to a restaurant and pay 50/60 dollars at person and have a sit very quick or wait and enjoy autentic italian food the best around
We had a party of 6 – the food was very good – we were sharing 3 desserts between us when the manager asked us to hurry up because there were people waiting. We will never go there again. We were never treated so rudely.
We had a party of 6 – the food was very good – we were sharing 3 desserts between us when the manager asked us to hurry up because there were people waiting. We will never go there again. We were never treated so rudely.
We had a party of 6 – the food was very good – we were sharing 3 desserts between us when the manager asked us to hurry up because there were people waiting. We will never go there again. We were never treated so rudely.
I completely agree, Amy – We had reservations a month ago and we arrived to a PACKED lobby and were told we would have to wait 45 minutes! We thought about staying, but we had a toddler in tow, and there was no way she would have lasted. We walked out and ended up at La Locanda – good food, and service. A bit overpriced, but better than waiting. The same owner also has Fellini’s in Newtown Square and he pulls the same stuff over there with regard to reservations, or lack thereof.
The owner of Trattoria Giuseppe in Edgemont clearly overbooks his restaurant! My party had 6:oopm reservations and we still were not seated at 8:00pm. We patiently waited for 2 hours until we decided to leave…with no appology from the owner! We were told for 2 hours that we would be seated “shortly”. I would not recommend this restaurant due to the lack of respect for the customers and their time!
I so agree! The food was great! They let us substitute out of carbs and were happy to do it! Will recommend to all.
If you like Italian Byob’s , try Trattoria Totaro in Conshohocken, its really pretty, good service and the food is out of this world!
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