Branzino in Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia has great Italian restaurants, so, for our last day there, we decided to go to Branzino, in Rittenhouse Square, a place that got its name from their specialty dish: a whole branzino. Well, I can already tell you that it is not what I ate…
This is a big place, with an old feel, and an outdoor patio that would have been perfect if it did not start to rain. In fact, the people eating outside had to quickly move their belongings and dishes inside as it started pouring for several minutes.
Branzino is a BYOB restaurant and they seem to be really sorry that we did not know, even proposing to fetch a bottle for us at a nearby wine store.
Jodi, who rarely orders an appetizer, got the insalata verde, a salad made with lettuce, arugula, frisée and cherry tomatoes that was dressed with a buttermilk vinaigrette. On my side, I went for the char grilled octopus served with peperonata. The octopus was delicious: tender with a nice char on the outside. They definitely know how to cook it.
Insalata verde at Branzino in Philadelphia, PA
Grilled octopus at Branzino in Philadelphia, PA
For the main, Jodi chose their macherroni alla chitarra cacio e pepe. Great dish with not too much pepper at least (I hate when there is so much pepper that, not only it overpowers the entire dish, but it also makes you cough).
Macherroni alla chitarra at Branzino in Philadelphia, PA
On my side, I did not hesitate: I got their squid ink tonnarelli with smoked calamari ragu and crab puttanesca. I should mention that all their pasta is homemade. I loved it: well, I love squid ink pasta so it was a good start. But the sauce, that was light without being unnoticed was perfect, letting the calamari and crab shine. And there was a nice amount of seafood, especially the crab.
Squid ink tonnarelli at Branzino in Philadelphia, PA
For dessert, we hesitated a bit, the tiramisu being a natural choice, but we finally ordered the Albanian Three-Milk Cake. It was close to a tres leche, made with a sponge cake, espresso infused milk and caramel on top. Good, but not as good.
Albanian three milk cake at Branzino in Philadelphia, PA
So, overall, we had a good meal at Branzino. I would certainly go back and this time try their fish…or not: their squid ink pasta was delicious and I might not resist, this time again…
Enjoy (I did)!
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Branzino - 261 S 17th St, Philadelphia, PA 19103
