The Best Restaurants In South Philly - Philadelphia - The Infatuation

"Lots of places replicate Italian-American nostalgia. But Bella Vista’s Dante & Luigi’s, which has been in business since 1899, lived it. The restaurant has a maze of dining rooms in what feels like six rowhomes stuffed together. It's the kind of place that puts little mesh jackets on their lemons so the seeds don't come flying out when you squeeze, the sort of spot where the bow-tied spill gossip from decades ago. Sure, you can find eggplant parm and lasagna on plenty of Philly menus, but Dante & Luigi makes most other versions seem like egg noodles and ketchup." - candis mclean, alison kessler