Elma

Elma was fantastic! The food, service, and ambiance were incredibly unique. Each item we got was delicious. The restaurant is small and cozy with only about 7 tables. The kitchen is open allowing you to see the passion going into each dish- along with the fun being had by the chef. The chef, James, was heavily involved (in the best way) constantly circulating through the restaurant greeting guests and checking in. He is the epitome of anticipating guest needs (noticing we had a lot of sauce left on our plate and needed more bread to “sop it up”). His attention to detail and concern for the guests enjoyment was much appreciated and not commonly seen in most restaurants. Our server was also fantastic noting our friend was googling an ingredient and immediately coming over to address her questions stating “ask me! I’m your Google!”. Elma was a great experience and a must visit!!

Incredible food and a unique setting. We loved everything we ate. The pork chop was wild in the best way. Tangy and spicy and perfectly cooked. All the pastas slammed and I am still thinking about the Thai flavors of the crab pasta. This place is tiny and our server Maureen was friendly and helpful. The chef visited all the tables multiple times while we were there (it is an open kitchen) and you could tell he really loves the food. I will be back again very soon! Make sure and save room for dessert.

This is a very nice small BYOB Italian restaurant in the Fish town area. The food and service were exceptional. Love all the dishes we ordered. The prosciutto, focaccia and marinated tomatoes were all, excellent as starters. The Spaghetti pomodoro was perfectly cooked, especially the spaghetti. Claim linguine was cook to perfection and the claim was so fresh. The fried chicken Caesar salad was so good. Highly recommend to try.

A great meal at Elma for the a la carte night. We will be back for price fix! The pasta was great, chef/owner was super personable and spent time with all diners. Highly recommend stopping in! (Also once a month, great sandwiches on Sundays!)

Stunning thoughtful delicious food with improvable friendly service and an intimate vibe. Each course was well planned and explained with ingredients that were chosen with intention. The small space never felt small but did feel intimate and cozy. If there is an additional course available I would highly recommend indulging.

Elma offers top tier bites with cozy small dining room service. The food is incredible- especially the pasta- and the energy of the staff who run the place really makes for a memorable dinner experience. Make a reservation here for the pre-fixed menu, bring a bottle of wine, and take some photos you can share (like I did). I will definitely be back!

Wow. The meal I had at Elma was honestly one of the first ones I ever had that I had to lick the plate clean. Not only was the food amazing, the service was superb and the atmosphere was so welcoming and full of great energy. If Philadelphia had a Michelin Star ranking it would be shocking if this place didn’t have two of them. The food was that good. I can’t wait to come back again and again and again and again. It is literally worth every single penny. Keep in mind, I very rarely leave reviews but this place was so amazing, I just had to.

My boyfriend and I came here for the first time for an elevated date night. Wow!!!! Service was lovely and chill. No frills and authentic. Food spoke for itself. We loved the full tasting menu. Definitely coming back!

Food excellent preparation according to our taste not too hot Service too Lovely interior

What an experience! Elma has the option for 4 or 6 course menu and I am so glad we picked the 6! The service is incredible and James and the rest of the team made our experience top notch. The food was incredible and just enough to keep us wanting (and having room) for more. I love that it's a BYOB and love the small intimate setting of the restaurant. Can't wait to come back!

We had an incredible experience at Elma! Chef Nardone ensures he and his staff are only delivering the best, with their pre-fix/rotating menu. For 6 courses at $100 a head, it's also very reasonable (+BYO). It is pretty cool to see what they created out of a small space. It is an intimate setting, thoughtfully done and clean...bringing in only 2 seatings a night with a max of 12 people. Simple decor, but the open concept is brilliant, as you have a consistent sneak peek into the kitchen and preparation. Also has a solid playlist going throughout your meal. Their dishes covered the gamut - fish, pork, beef, pasta, shellfish, etc. What a ride! Everything was delicious, but if you've followed the chef at all, you know pasta has deep roots into his culinary expertise, so those dishes stood out to me the most. Major love for their one server who took care of all the tables. She was super attentive to any small need, personable, and very friendly. Definitely made the overall dinner that much greater! Something really cool that they do, is they will use ingredients from the night before to then serve creative breakfast concepts the following morning. You gotta love the sustainable approach, but it also gives you a chance to double down on something you may have particularly liked and try it in a new dish. As a small side note, reservations can go pretty quick and a nice feature is paying upfront when you make the reservation (including tip). As you close out dinner, it was much appreciated to just get up and go.

We had dinner at Elma on Oct-27. We had been wanting to try it for some time and were excited that the stars finally aligned. I was a little surprised to find only one other couple at the 8:30 seating. The owner/chef was super friendly and told us about some recent and upcoming changes. For starters, apparently they had been requiring the full cost of dinner when booking. That has changed to only charging $50/person. Secondly, they have started allowing for day of/ last minute reservations. In the future, they will also be introducing some more traditional ala carte options to make the menu more accessible. Apparently this place really listens to their customers' feedback! The menu on the night we ate their consisted of steak tartare, crab cake, ricotta gnudi, barchette, an optional tagliatelle in a bolognese bianco (which we opted for), a NY Strip, and raspberry tart for dessert. Everything was incredible, but our favs were the steak tartare (mine) and the ricotta gnudi (my wife's). The optional tagliatelle was served family style and in my eagerness to dive in, I forgot to take a pic. I had never had a bolognese bianco before and, except for being super stuffed at the end of the meal, was very glad we opted for it. In general, all of the dishes were unique and the flavors were well balanced. The courses were well paced and the staff was super attentive. At each course I grew more surprised that the place was not at capacity - people really don't know what they are missing. We will definitely be going back!

Had dinner on Elma on 7-15. The food was spectacular! Crab gnudi and the semolina cake were particular favorites. Incredible value for money - as other reviewers have said, they could be charging way more for what you get. And love that it is BYO! Note that, because the meal is prepaid, there is no need to settle up at the restaurant. (Kind of wish they had explained that, it was a little confusing at the end.) Also, the AC was broken when we were there - but they did have fans going and the door propped open to circulate air. Minor service critiques aside, we had a great experience. Will definitely be back!

We absolutely love Elma!! If we could afford it we would go every month when they change their menu!! For now we will continue to come here for special occasions and look forward to it every time!! Wish we could give it honors because it deserves more than 5 stars

Great spot. Authentic Italian fare. Super small spot but well executed. Looking forward to coming back here.

What an inspired and inspiring new restaurant for our neighborhood. The dinner tasting menu at Elma is all the things you want in a fine dining experience (and please don't avoid Elma for fear of the worst excesses in this strata of restaurant): unpretentious, inventive, seasonal (without being over predictable because of it), delicious, occasionally challenging but never atypical just for the sake of it. Elma isn't trying too hard but it's definitely trying in the right places. We'll be back for the next menu set and we'll bring two bottles of wine this time because it's an experience that deserves to be savored.

Next level deliciousness in a setting reminiscent of your own kitchen. The space was so intimate, we were able to conduct a running conversation with the staff. Take advantage of the BYO option...this place is not to be missed.

We had a wonderful dinner and dining experience this evening at Elma! My goodness...every course was thoughtfully designed and amazing. Lots of seafood tonight and everything was just delicious. And add a fantastic blueberry dessert...wow. The staff is so great...very friendly and also so informative if you are curious about their preparation and technique. Highly recommend!!