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Vesuvio Restaurant & Bar
Rating Details »
Neighborhood: Bella Vista
736 S 8th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 922-8380
736 S 8th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 922-8380
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good for:
- Dinner, Late Night
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
26 reviews for Vesuvio Restaurant & Bar
While many of the less than flattering reviews hit some truths, I guess when it comes to this place, I just take it with a grain of salt.
While I've never been to one of the dance parties upstairs - nor do I EVER plan to - the downstairs bar is generally a decent place to kick back and relax. There is also plenty of outdoor seating. But the best part? Their $4 drink deal. No beer or liquor exceeds $4. So if I want a mixed drink or shot with the top shelf stuff, I'm not paying more than $4. 60 Minute IPA? No more than $4. I can get used to this deal.
While I've yet to have a meal here, I did steal a bite of the Cheesesteak BLT and it was tasty.
If I want some no-nonsense drinks - and/or want to sit outside and enjoy the views of Cianfrani Park, this is my go-to spot.
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I've been to this place three times and had completely different and not particularly good experiences. The first time was fine, I met my father there for a drink on a weeknight it was pretty empty, the bartender wasn't memorable.
The second time I was already out, someone invited me there because the drinks were cheap, and I ended up in some crazy mirrored wall coke den-looking room full of bike messengers paying like $3 for PBR that came out of a tub of ice sitting on the bar. What?
I mean I've had worse experiences at bars but nothing kills a good time like wading through the over-inflated egos of a hundred college dropouts who deliver mail on bikes for a living.
Yesterday was the third time I was there. They run a $1 PBR special until 11pm so we went around 7. The place was completely empty aside from two couples seated outside.
The bartender saw us coming and walked straight back to the kitchen before we could sit down. She came back and forth a few times without giving us a second look until I finally stopped her and asked her to get us drinks. She begrudgingly got them for us and then immediately went back to reading a book at the end of the bar.
A few minutes later I had to ask her if we could see some menus since she didn't bother to offer. Three seconds later she asked if we were ready to order and when we said no she waited approximately 30 more seconds before she asked again.
Basically the entire experience was annoying. The bartender blatantly acted like we were imposing on her personal time the entire time we were there. Even after the shift change we got a new bartender who was equally annoyed by the presence of people in the bar. He finally warmed up to us but only after 11pm when the beers went back to regular price.
I realize serving people $1 beers in an empty bar isn't every bartender's dream, but come on. Don't run a damn drink special then if you're going to take it personally when people take advantage of it.
Oh, and whoever voted that BLT steak sandwich "Best Cheesesteak in America" was clearly not from Philadelphia because that is not a cheesesteak and putting aside Philly bias it was still only OK.
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Don't get me wrong, I love digustingly grimy dive bars any day of the week, if not prefer them, but this place could not even be saved by the reasonably priced PBRs. As if the music weren't bad enough [house? uh. REALLY?] there were foul smelling shirtless dudes dancing around to it. I am not a nightlife elitist by any means.. probably the furthest thing from it. But when I walked into this bar, I was feeling great because I was with all my best friends from Philly I never get to see; however, when I left, I was so mad it was 2 am and I wasn't in NYC, my homeland, to go get my drink on somewhere else, to erase the memory of this place.
No thank you.
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So not impressed by brunch here. I had a couple of bloody marys and eggs benedict. The bloody marys were only $4, but small and not as good as some I have had around town where a pint is $5 or $6. The eggs were supposed to be served on an english muffin. I have never seen food plated so poorly except perhaps in a cafeteria. Both the eggs were on top of one half of some sort of biscuit thing, and there was a handful of mediocre breakfast potatoes tossed on the plate. The eggs were actually cooked very well, but I like to really soak up the yoke with whatever bread they are served on, and one half isn't cutting it for two eggs. They were understaffed so the service wasn't so great. Thank god it was a nice day so sitting outside was very pleasant. This place is going to have to try a lot harder to bridge the gap between nuisance bar and decent brunch spot.
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Wow I don't know why people are giving this place such shit ratings. Just come drink beer guys, it's a bar, it's even a kinda nice bar.
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I ate here with the lovely Sara C. one fine day. Everything was great - reasonable prices and an AWESOME steak sandwich. There was something on the menu about this sandwich being on the "Today" show so I figured "what the heck?" and went for it.. DELICIOUS! Would totally recommend it. Can't wait to go back!
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So, my first ever review on Yelp, and its for Vesuvio's. Weird, right? Well, we've lived 2 blocks away from this joint for the past 5 yrs, and have been going throughout its various iterations. Not because we particularly loved it... but it was 2 blocks away, and nice to sit outside in the summer.
We've been consistently moderately disappointed with both the food and the decor there... but as of this month, no longer. Not sure who this new chef is (Charlie? He came over and introduced himself last time we were there), but wow. This is actually good food. Menu has been completely reworked, and the specials were actually that. Grown up Mac N Cheese with spicy chili? Philly Veggie sandwich with fried zuchini, roasted red peppers, rosemary goat cheese and sweet onions? Ummm, at Vesuvios? What the? We've been there twice this month, and were wowed both times. I can't believe I'm saying this - forget the $4 drinks, come for the food. Please ignore the good morning america "best sandwich in america" everyone who has been knows its not, but explore the rest of the menu. Really. For people in the area, Devil's Den and For Pete's Sake are good comps and I'd put the food above DD. If you are a vegetarian, you'll find a lot to like here, including tofu dishes, black bean burgers, 1-2 vegetarian specials, etc...
As for ambience, well its still Vesuvio's, but I guess it has its charm. Still not my favorite place to sit and eat for a meal, but great outside during the summer.
I'd sum up this review as - wow, where the hell did that come from?
I am judging my experience on just the one time I've been here for "The Scene." "The Scene" is a new monthly lesbian party that has occurred four times this year so far, each time at Vesuvio's.
I started off with a drink at the downstairs bar and got an appetizer so I could hold more liquor. I ordered the chicken fingers and fries. They were decent tasting, and you get a LOT of food for that $8 platter. I am little, yet at times can eat like a 250 lb man, but there was no way I was going to be able to finish all that food. (Vesuvio's boasts on their website that their cheese steak BLT sandwich was voted the best sandwich in America - I don't eat red meat, so I'll take America's word for it.)
As a whole, Vesuvio's seems like a pretty cool place. On the main floor, at street level, there is a bar and restaurant area, both of which are moderately sized. There was also outside seating. Upstairs there is another bar, and a very tiny dance floor. Don't come here expecting to dance.
There are no parking garages in that area of the city where Vesuvio's is located, and I drove around for about half an hour before I found a tight squeeze in the Italian Market. The worst thing about Vesuvio's is trying to find parking.
No, I take that back. The worst thing about Vesuvio's is that by around 12 or 1 in the morning the women's rooms toilets were overflowing and the entire bathroom was an inch deep in water. My friends and I went into the men's room and we got bitched at by a very bitchy drunk gay man. Heeee-larious.
(And, and for inquiring homo penises, the gay clientele for "The Scene" is almost all women. If I were a gay man, I wouldn't come to this event hoping to score.)
As for the women who came to April's "Scene" party, there were some familiar faces, but definitely a younger crowd than goes to Sister's. Most people there were in their 20s and 30s. I had a blast with my friends, met a couple of fun new people, and would totally go back to this party night. As for going to Vesuvio's to eat, if for some reason I happened to be in the city I wouldn't mind going back, but I wouldn't go out of my way to dine or drink there.
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Armed only with my GPS's random nearby restaurant list we headed into Bella Vista looking for food @ 9:30pm after catching a movie at the UA Regal Riverview. This was a last resort stop after being turned away from nearby spots that were closing. So we came in and sat at a high top table near the door. The bartender greeted us after a few minutes and gave up menus. We ordered drinks & food and waited. This was a Thursday night so it seemed pretty dead. The music playing in the background was a good mix of alternative and hard rock. There are pool tables in the back and apparently bathrooms downstairs. The buffalo wings were pretty good, decent size and average sauce. The black bean burger I ordered was rather tasty for a veggie burger. No real complaints but nothing I would go out of my way to come back and have again.
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The first time I went to Vesuvio it had just opened and was at the time just another run of the mill Italian restaurant in South Philly. My family and I came here with pretty average expectations. Since it was a really long time ago, I really only remember two things about it. The mashed potatoes were soo good and my sister ordered something in parchment paper and I thought it was weird. (I was like ten...?).
Anyway, I hadn't given Vesuvio another thought until recently when my friend got a job as the doorman and told me I should visit him at work sometime. The place is seriously two blocks away so I took him up on his offer and came early one Saturday night with two of my girlfriends. We were going to a party later and thought this could be a good place to pregame. Wrong. When we got there it seemed like it was a good time- some good ol rock n roll playing in the background and tons of bike messangers (shh..I have a not so secret soft spot for them) Seriously, TONS. The three of us girls felt so out of place ( we were not only the only girls in the bar but the only ones without messanger bags, too). It seemed like we were crashing someone's private party. At least the bartenders were friendly. I ordered a vodka tonic and it was $7. I thought that was a bit steep, or maybe the places I usually go to always have cheaper drinks? Well regardless, after my first I switched to beer since my wallet these days is not exactly the thickest.
After our second round we were told that there is a dance floor upstairs and immediately needed to check it out. A ha! So that's where everyone was going off to! When we went up, there was a DJ spinning and people around, but no one was dancing. My friends and I looked at each other in confusion and then decided after our pints we were outta there.
I'm sure this place is a lot more fun later in the night and it seems to be getting a lot more attention these days so maybe I'll come back at a more appropriate time.
UPDATE: Shut down over the weekend because of serving minors.
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Too bad this place stinks - bad service and food. I mean, I live soooo close but can NOT go there b/c of it's lack of service and ability to serve decent food. I'm waiting for new ownership as I just can't imagine this place staying open for that much longer.
Why don't these bartenders get me my beer - i'm the only customer in the place. see ya
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This review is only for the bar. I've never sat down to eat here.
I don't have a problem with Vesuvio. Sometimes they run out of certain menu items because I guess all their ingredients are fresh. That can be kind of a bummer if you are looking for something in particular, but whatever.
I went there last night to sit outside and have a few drinks. The staff was really attentive, but not overbearing. It was a solid place to sit and chill out and watch people and a lot of people with dogs.
They have some decent happy hour specials if you make it that early, like half price sandwiches and pizzas. Lager drafts are always $2 from what the flyer in the bathroom told me. This was a pleasant surprise because that's what I was drinking.
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Honestly love the possibilities for the place, but it isn't all it chould/should be. Tried the food once, but was wasted already so I'm certain anything would've been tasty at that point. Reggae night on Thursday is good times;)
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when the sprog was first hatched, we would meet up on sundays here with pals for brunch.
eh..the french toast i ordered was..well, it just was. it was expensive, and i make better at home, i suppose.
therein lies my beef with vesuvio. semi-okay food, slow service, AND i am paying a premium for it? i don't think so.
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Met up with some friends and had a few lagers, ordered a pizza. nice place, but the pizza tasted like it came out of a box from the frozen food section at ACME or something....not too impressed. Decent place to stop in, wouldn't make a night out of it though...again frozen pizza does nothing for this Brooklyn DiFara's pizza disciple...
Apparently The Today Show rated one of their Sangwiches the best in America...Who knows..
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Call me crazy (after reading these other reviews) but I think Vesuvios is a decent place to go and grab a drink or watch a game. They have some cheap happy hour deals ($2 lager, $1 pbr) and select 1/2 price apps. Nice outdoor seating across from the dog park.
I am so glad we agree on this.
This place has everything it needs to be a hit (huge place, great location and outdoor seating).
The service is meh. They would rather be talking to clientel at the bar than bringing out your appetizer.
The food was either surprisingly bland or the taste was off-putting.
Skip this place.
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I would like to put the owner in a tiny closet and lock him in for life.
FISHTANK
There was this poorly kept fishtank with ONE VERY LARGE FISH. The poor fish can not even make a turn in the tank without hitting the tank walls.
Scumbag comes to my mind.
FOOD
The food well it is good but not for the price. We hung out for serveral hours drinking pricey beer and watching other patrons receive heffy portions of food. We decided to order (we annouced we had a coupon) and next thing we know we have half portions.
We complained to the server, in turn the manager comes out and tells us after much complaining by us, admitted they were low on stock. We eventually received more food then we could eat, however the experience left us without an interest in eating there ever again.
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Well my friend brought my here before a concert and I was actually very unhappy that she had picked this place. We didnt have time to choose somewhere else so we were kind of stuck there. The only times she had ever been to Vesuvio was to drink so supposedly its a good time on the weekends. The food was less than mediocre........nothing special or even close to it. Its bar food---13 dollars for a chicken salad that had no veggies on it......it was sad. I was mad- haha.....well disappointed. With such a great name and good south Philly location, i really expected something completely different. I wont ever eat here again unless Im drunk and want to order a pizza or cheesesteak (and ive never tried either). blah.
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I've eaten food from here probably three or four times. The first time was takeout. As a vegetarian, I was excited to see a restaurant that provided many options, rather than the typical 1-2 options. The pasta was a bit hard, but the flavors were decent, so I figured that might have been a result of takeout.
The second time, we were given complimentary bruschetta because the food was slow coming out (we didn't notice). I don't think it was the one listed on the menu, though, as it was a medley of different types. The primavera was good, though my friend's vegetarian "chicken" parm was essentially the patty that you can get in the grocery store, nothing particularly tasty. The manager asked us at the end how everything was. We appreciated the attentive service.
Another time I brought my brother and his two teenage kids. There were maybe 3 or 4 other tables and we had to ask for water several times, ask for pepper several times. My pasta was hard (like it had been sitting around for a while and dried out a bit before sauce was added) and the sauce was sparse. It was disappointing.
I'd still go back, but I'm not dying to go there. The service has been spotty. The food is ok. But since they have so many vegetarian options along with meat choices, it makes this a better choice than many other restaurants.
The upstairs decor doesn't seem to match the downstairs though. Upstairs seems like it's attempting to be classic, while downstairs is attempting to be hip. I think it would work better if they picked one theme and ran with it.
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i was only here once. a long time ago. my friend and i were the only people at the bar. and we could not get a drink. the very young, very cute girl "bar tender" was no where to be found. she finally came back. got our drinks and disappeared again. we had to go into the kitchen to ask a staff member to find her for our check. 15 minutes later she shows up. its a shame. not many places to go in that hood. but i wont go back. it was re-god-damned-dicuous
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Went on a Friday and heard what had to be the absolute worst Djs on the planet.The bar wasn't bad and the food is above average,but whoever came up with the idea of really bad music on Fridays,needs to be smacked across the face with a bottle of Hoegarden.
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my husband and i decided to come here because i heard that they had several vegetarian options (he's vegetarian). during our 1 week in philly, we had some awesome food, but this was the worst experience.
the ambiance sucks. there are some framed 80's style paintings on the wall, perhaps next to neon beer signs. we were seated in a booth with our backs to a large fish tank with way too many fish for the size of the tank (MORE ON THIS LATER).
while we were greeted nicely, our server was not very attentive. i had the eggplant parm - which was very bland. the penne it was served over was overcooked and also bland. huge portion, though. i don't even remember what my spouse had, but he wasn't thrilled either.
they were out of many items on the menu - including some of the wine, appetizers, and dessert. we didn't find out until we ordered (and had our minds made up...).
as we were about to leave, a fish fight started to brew in the tank behind me. one of the too-large-for-the-tank fish began to flip around quickly, the water sloshed, and nasty undermaintained aquariam water splashed over the edge of the tank, and down the back of my back and pants. it was quite disgusting and surprising.
i am giving this place 2 stars since the manager on duty comped my meal since i barely touched it. i am not a very finicky eater, and was quite hungry - so that says a lot....
don't go here if you're looking for good italian food, good ambiance, or good service...
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I've only been to this place once and that one time was a very pleasant experience. Perhaps my expectations were so low going in that it became impossible for me to have a bad time. I also was on a two or three day bender and this was the first stop on a Sunday day-load. I found this bar relaxing; not too crowded, very comfortable, and all the girls working there were pretty. I suggest going here while hungover or just depressed. It wasn't too expensive and everyone that i was with enjoyed their food. Don't stay too long though, it's not an all day type of joint. It starts like a kiss and ends like a curse. Eat, watch the game, apply a primer coat and then roll to the nearest Irish bar. Be good or be gone.
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I don't know if this restaurant was named after the volcano or after the restaurant in the Soprano's. Either way it's as if something unpleasant erupted in there. I'm not talking about the food. The food, as Frank Z. pointed out, is not bad. I've actually had some things in there that were really good. It's the whole package. The decor is mid 80's Italian mafioso (in a lame Godfather 3 kind of way) and there is just an air of crappiness about the whole shebang. They do have $2 Hoegaarden specials (or at least they did) which would be fine if it was somewhere else.
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OK, if they cleaned up the place, acted like they really cared, and were a little more timely with the food, the restaurant might warrant 3 stars. We went for brunch, and were seated at one end of a pool hall in a rather dingy room. We were told the main dining room wasn't set up yet because of a big party the night before. But, even still, they could have at least had tablecloths on the table. The sad thing is the brunch menu is pretty decent, and the food a slice above average. I had a great variation on the currently popular stuffed french toast - filled with marscapone cheese, a peanut butter spread, and fresh banana. The combination really worked, and - had I not waited for 45 minutes and been served stale coffee with it (again, I assume, from the party the night before!) - I probably would have been more than satisfied. Bottom line: get your act together, or give up trying.
