Cucina Maria South Philly

Came here on the StrEats of Philly food tour and so glad that they introduced us to this place. The spinach gnocchi with blush sauce is the best gnocchi I have ever had. I can't put it into words but you MUST order the gnocchi. This place is BYOB so our group enjoyed a few bottles of red wine we brought with us. This place will be a must for me anytime I'm in Philly.

Went with a group of colleagues for a work lunch. I had the spinach gnocchi which was very tasty. Everyone enjoyed their food. The desserts were pretty good too (we tried a bit of everything). They have a nice lunch menu with some regular dishes for half the price. The service was excellent and personal, and I plan on coming back. Thank you!

Very happy to find a great spot in the neighborhood. The gravy (sauce) was simple and delicate and all of the ingredients were fresh. There was a farm-to-table-esq feel, especially with the house made pasta and bread. We had an appetizer, 2 entrees and desert for under $100. I took half of my entree home. Was so focused on enjoying the food I didn't pay much attention to the decor, but I did notice the fresh roses on the table which were a nice touch

A scene taken out of the god father, the sauce does not disrespect you! Authentic and amazing Italian, you can tell the pasta is homemade. The seafood is super fresh and that sauce…… Just put it on everything! The pasta is superb, all the seafood was amazing, the bread is super fresh and soaks the juices up nicely, and the atmosphere and size of the place makes it great for a romantic dinner.

This place may have had the worst Italian food I’ve ever had. Went for Father’s Day I definitely regret it for a $331 meal. None of the food was fresh it was barely edible. It’s hard to mess up Italian food, but here are the particulars:The fried calamari was under fried Sat ontology of what looked like last weeks mixed greens. The marinara sauce seemed like canned tomato paste with some olive oil.The porcini risotto was bitter bland probably dried mushrooms pre mixed/boxed risotto. We bit into the mushroom got mushroom water (yuck!)The gnocchi was over cooked, mushy fell apart.The bronzino was bland had no taste it’s probably the farmed version of bronzino. The parpadelle was gummy stuck to each other. Probably overcooked.The langoustines looked old not fresh. They were not cleaned properly served on a giant plate of the same gummy parpadelle.And everything was over garnished with parsley.The waiter server were 2 kids they tried but clearly they don’t know table service how to take orders because they came back a few times because they forgot what we ordered.Decor was dated, but that’s not a problem because some of the best meals I’ve ever had were in hole in a wall spots however this place has no business being open.