My husband and I went to this restaurant for the first time a couple of weeks ago. The sophisticated decor is very enticing and made us interested to see whether or not the food would be equally impressive. We scored last minute reservations on a Friday night. Both of us enjoyed our meals, but neither of us felt as "wowed" as we have been by other local establishments. My fish entree was tasty, but upstaged by the butternutsquash soup that I had as an appetizer. The wine list was pretty extensive and were pleased with our moderately priced selections.

The service was great and reasonably attentive. The atmosphere was pleasing and the place was pretty crowded and full of life. But, at the end of the night I felt like I had gotten overlycoiffed for an "ok" dining experience. It definitely wasn't the spectacular and special experience we expected.

We had nice time on our recent (and first) trip to Paradiso. The inside is really beautiful and well spread out, parking was not an issue, and our server was very friendly and knowledgeable about the menu and Italian dining. There were six of us in the party (two kids), and we had a good sampling of the menu. The portions seemed a bit small (which drives me nuts when compared to price - it is South Philly, make the plate overflow!), but my wife and mother-in-law couldn't finish their plates. I ordered a pasta dish and replaced the as-designed pasta with the gnocchi - and they really lived up to the billing! Everyone really loved the desserts (cheesecake and chocolate cake).

Bottom line: We'll go back in the Spring for brunch.

There were 5 of us and everyone thought "It was good". The salads were very good but the soup of the day, a seafood selection that 2 of us had, was the first of the ?good? but far from exceptional selections chosen. My Hudson Valley duck, again, was good. Others in the same category were the Grilled Tuna with Shaved Fennel, and the Speck and Aged Asiago Stuffed Chicken. The restaurant itself has a nice feel to it but there are many other places we have enjoyed more in Philly. We won't be rushing back. Cost with tax and tip around $50 per person.

Had dinner at Paradiso for the first time last week... and we will DEFINITELY be back! It was the most delicious, original, and authentic Italian that we have had anywhere in Philly. The waitress was professional and attentive, cocktails delicious, and selections -- so hard to choose! We have paid muh more for dinner in Philly and had meals not half as good as at Paradiso. Definitely try this restaurant!

I recently threw my wife a surprise birthday party at Paradiso. What a fabulous experience from beginning to end! I found the restaurant on citysearch. Now, I'm not a great party planner, so I was a little nervous about the whole thing. When I first called, the manager was unavailable, but she returned my call very quickly. She asked all the right questions and really made me feel at ease. She and the chef worked on a special menu that fit my limited budget. They took care of every detail-the cake, wine suggestions, ordered flowers and came up with a clever way to get my wife there! The dinner itself was fabulous and all of our freinds raved. I was really impressed with how proffesional the staff was-they didn't skip a beat-not one of our guests ever had to ask for anything! Then to top it all off they gave my wife and I a bottle of champagne and a gift certificate to the restaurant as a thank you. They really made me look like a super star that night!