L'Anima

"L’anima is an Italian BYOB in Grad Hospital, and on any given night, it’s an easy option. It’s bigger than most other Italian BYOBs in the city, they serve great pasta, and you can usually get a table without a reservation. The best part? They have a large patio with a ton of tables, and Carpenter Green park is right across the street for a pre-, mid-, or post-dinner game of tag. " - alison kessler

"L’anima is a Graduate Hospital spot from the people behind Melograno, and unlike most other Italian BYOBs in Philly that are dark and cramped, this one is huge and well-lit. Basically, it’s perfect for meeting a few friends and complaining about who works the most hours. The food—like the Roman-style pinsas and creamy cacio e pepe—are the best reasons to come here. The second best reason is for the huge outdoor patio. It’s the perfect spot for a summertime date, and if there’s a sudden drop in temperature, they even have heat lamps so you don’t have to move inside for your last glass of wine." - candis mclean

"We’re taught from a young age that you should always choose the tougher path when given the option. “Take the road less traveled” and “If it doesn’t hurt, it isn’t working” were printed on poster-sized Shutterstock photos and plastered to the walls of every elementary school. But we think sometimes it’s not only okay, but a totally valid option, to choose the easy course. In fact, we might even make our own motivational poster that says, “Taking the easy way out is okay sometimes, Mrs. Keffer” and hang it up in the cubicle we share with three other people who also gave up on their dreams to sell PVC pipe for a living. L’anima is an Italian BYOB in Grad Hospital, and on any given night, it’s an easy option. It’s more modern and spacious than most other Italian BYOBs in the city, they serve great pasta, and you can almost always get a table without a reservation. Plus, it’s one of the first legitimate restaurants in an area that’s just starting to become a place where people actually want to hang out. Will you leave feeling like you just had an unforgettable experience that you want to shout about from a rooftop? Probably not. But on most nights, you’re not looking for that anyways. You’re just looking for a good place to bond with a few friends as you recount every time you’ve ever called someone by the wrong name. On those nights, L’anima is where you want to be. L’anima is from the same people as Melograno, and it has a similar concept: Italian comfort food that focuses heavily on pastas and classic antipasti dishes with ingredients like pesto and mozzarella. The only notable difference with L’anima is that you’ll see a lot more seafood on the menu than at Melograno, like a swordfish skewer appetizer that’s served over garlic bruschetta and topped with salsa verde. It’s the best antipasti on the menu, and you should get it even if swordfish isn’t your favorite weapon-themed fish. Where the food really shines, though, is in the pasta section, which includes a mix of traditional and modern options, and they’re all great. But if you have to choose just a couple, the vaccinara and the cacio e pepe are the way to go. The vaccinara is pappardelle tossed with a braised oxtail ragu, and you’ll likely be scraping the sauce off the plate even after the pasta is long gone. And the cacio e pepe is exactly what you’d expect from a cheesy, peppery pasta, but the al dente noodles and creamy, light sauce make this the one dish we’d place a repeating daily order for if any delivery company offered that service. The rest of the menu, which consists of Roman-style pizzas called pinsas and a few entrees, is fine, but you could pretty much fold the menu in half right after the pasta section, and you wouldn’t miss out on much. It’s not that the rest of the food is bad, it’s just that if you want a pizza, you’d be better off going to a slice shop on South Street, and if you want a steak, we’d recommend one of the dozens of steakhouses that inhabit every other building in Rittenhouse. We’re not here to step all over the idea that you should choose the harder route - there’s a time and a place for creating a 13-step plan to get the toughest reservation in town. But on most nights, it’s more enjoyable to throw your kindergarten teacher’s lessons to the wind and just go eat some great cacio e pepe." - Sydney McElwee

"L’Anima is an Italian spot in Grad Hospital from the people behind Melograno, and it’s about the size of four average Italian BYOBs put together. It also looks like it had the design budget of four places put together, with a big, open floor plan and lots of colorful furniture. The best reason to come here, though, is for their huge outdoor patio that’s perfect for a date during any season (since it’s heated). They also have good food, and their Roman-style pinsas and cacio e pepe are definite highlights that will pair with any bottle you choose after picking out your best outfit. " - candis mclean

"Philly boasts some of the best Italian food on the East Coast and L’Anima is a true testament to this claim. Each dish on its contemporary menu is beautifully composed, bringing artistry to flavorful pasta dishes like the tonnarelli anglione (made with crab meat, chili pepper, garlic puree, and plum cherry tomatoes) and fresh seafood like the grigliata di pesce (a combination of grilled branzino, octopus, and shrimp simmered in a tomato sauce)." - George Banks-Weston