Open since 1899, this is Philadelphia’s oldest Italian restaurant. It's overwhelminingly old school—think white table cloths and candlelight, chandeliers, black and white photos, and dining rooms throughout converted townhouses. The South Philly spot uses that century of experience to whip up top-notch pastas like the gnocchi romano, fettuccini filetto with filet mignon and sun-dried tomatoes, and a baked lasagna that’s the best in town.

Unlike other Italian places in Philly, this one serves an impressive meal and a story—the one about the region of Italy that inspired that night’s dishes. The five-course, $115 tasting menu features mostly pasta, but there are always guest stars, too, like the namesake buttery scampi or a luscious caesar toast. Head to the Queen Village spot to reignite your love affair with lasagna, and leave knowing the secret to the best tortellini in Bologna.

Paesano's on 9th Street gets less attention than the famous, old-school Italian restaurants in the neighborhood. But we find their food much more reliable. Plus, every Friday at 7pm, the throwback spot serves a four-course, family style tasting menu. It's $75, cash only, and changes weekly—think buttery focaccia, crispy arancini, and bucatini with a super savory amatriciana sauce. Come for a casual sit-down lunch or a intimate dinner with friends in a place surrounded by antiques.

If you ever wanted to know what it feels like to have an exclusive dinner party inside of your high school, head to Irwin’s inside of South Philly’s Bok Building. Even though the atmosphere is laid back and casual, the Sicilian dishes, like citrusy whole fish, tender agrodolce chicken, and handmade pastas feel like they could be served to somebody who lives in a palace. Come here for a fun group dinner and experience one of the best views in the city.

There’s only one restaurant in town serving a fantastic, five course, $100 tasting menu while My Chemical Romance plays, and that’s South Philly’s Heavy Metal Sausage Co. The deli-by-day, trattoria-by-night is laidback, but they take their food seriously. The result is unexpected, incredible dishes—like the beet gelato—that you won’t find at other Italian spots in town. The restaurant has perfected comforting yet complex food.

Vetri isn’t just the best Italian restaurant in Philadelphia—it’s one of the best restaurants in the city, period. The Center City staple can get extremely expensive, so it works best for a special occasion. As soon as you walk in the door, you’ll get an aperol spritz on the house, which feels nice until you realize you’re shelling out $165 for the tasting menu. The meal is actually worth all that money, though, because you’ll eat around 15 courses.

This tiny, tasting-menu-only spot in Queen Village feels more like a great dinner party than a restaurant. At its core, Ambra is all about rustic Italian, and delivers it unlike anywhere else in the city. You have the option to dine in the kitchen with the chefs, but the best seats are at the single communal table in the candlelit dining room.

With massive picture windows and bright green signage, it’s hard to miss this Kensington pasta bar and wine shop. But even if you don’t notice the couples sharing bottles of merlot as you walk by, the unmistakable scent of lamb ragu will draw you in. From perfectly blended cocktails and unique, affordable wines to pastas so good that you’ll consider proposing to the chef, this intimate corner restaurant should be your go-to for any time you’re craving carbs.

To get into this cash-only Italian social club in East Passyunk, you need a membership or a friend who has one and is willing to let you be their shadow. But it's not nearly as expensive or soul-sucking as the famous members-only club on Broad Street. Imagine an uncle's basement on Snyder Ave. from the 1950s that stays open until 3am and serves very good amaro, spaghetti and blue crab, and late-night stromboli. You can try emailing them nicely to ask about memberships.

Osteria is a spacious Italian spot on North Broad that has a beautiful covered greenhouse. It's flowing with flowers and a long bar that makes it an easy place to drop in before a show at The Met. The cocktails, pizzas, and handmade pastas are all excellent—especially their creamy and earthy francobolli ravioli that’s packed with robiola cheese and topped with large trumpet mushrooms. But we’re also big fans of the wood-grilled chicken.

Le Virtù is where you go in East Passyunk when you want to eat Italian dishes like arancini with spicy sausage and a lemony branzino, but don’t want to do it in a closet-sized room where you end up grazing a stranger's knee. There’s a lot of space here, including a lovely candlelit patio, so it’s a good spot for a weeknight group dinner where you pass a plate of spicy Abruzzese sausage with polenta around the table while sipping on a glass of red.

Fiorella is where you should spend all night eating pasta until someone tries to kick you out or demand rent. While the Bella Vista pasta bar has outstanding small plates like wild boar terrine with cherries, make no mistake:it’s the pasta you’re here for. If you snag any of the bar seats inside, you’ll have a great view of ricotta gnocchi, chestnut lasagnetta with goose, and their legendary sausage rigatoni being made right in front of you.

When you drive by Café Carmela, you’ll see a line that looks like PennDOT on the weekends. And it’s no wonder—they’ve mastered the carb holy trinity of pizza, sandwiches, and pasta. There’s not a bad dish on the menu (we checked), but if you stop by and don’t try the American Boy pizza with creamy mozzarella or a cheesesteak with thick cuts of ribeye, you’ll miss out on what everyone in that line is probably waiting around for.

There are plenty of old school red sauce places in South Philly, but L’Angolo is one of the best. They take reservations, which is a huge advantage, and with a few separate rooms in the back, they don’t mind if you bring a group and enough wine to have a good time. Plus, their menu is full of fresh pasta and seafood dishes that are easily big enough to share. For a little bit of both, get the spaghetti scoglio.

Saloon is an Italian restaurant, but it’s also a quintessential South Philly dining experience. It’s been around for 55 years, and is still outfitted with dark wood walls and candlelight, stained glass windows, and paraphernalia from 19th and 20th century Philadelphia. The staff has as much personality as the building itself (and most have been around just as long). The menu ranges from traditional steakhouse dishes, but we’re partial to the Italian house specialties.

Most Italian places in South Philly, even the OGs, feel more like tourist traps than they do old-school Italian hangouts. Villa Di Roma is the exception. Walk into this spot in the Italian Market and you’ll see pictures of customers and their families hung up on the walls and regulars who’ve been eating pasta here since it opened in the ’60s. The menu has all of the things you’d expect from a red-sauce Italian spot, including meatballs in gravy, veal francese, and different pasta options.