Nina's Trattoria

This place is absolutely amazing! Every course was perfect! I couldn't decide which dish was the best because they were all great. The chef even sent out a sample of the special entree because he wanted us to experience it. I highly recommend this restaurant. The atmosphere equally matches the service, exceptional.

What a wonderful meal and wonderful evening! Three things contributed to it being perfect for a celebration dinner with 11 guests. First was the food - delicious and authentic. Second was the ambience and location - how can you beat a small cozy comfortable restaurant smack in the middle of the Italian market? Finally, the service is great and the owners David and Erin are so welcoming, they treat you like you are guests in their home - entirely focused on making you and your guests have a great meal and great evening. Because we had a large group, we just had Dave pick the menu and serve it family style, rather than having everyone order off the menu. The meal started off with a few pizzas for the table; followed by delicious salad and wonderful meatbals and stromboli appetizers; on to ravioli, chicken parmigian, and two types of pasta; and ended with tiramisu and zeppole for desert. All the food was delicious. Its a traditional restaurant, so if you are looking for highly innovative and precious nouveau creations, this isn't your destination. But if you love traditional Italian food that made from scratch and with full flavor, this is spot-on. It was one of my most enjoyable meals and fun evenings for all the reasons I outlined above all contributing - the combination of food, ambience, welcoming atmosphere. There are many outstanding Italian BYOs in Philadelphia, and this little place is right at the top in my book. Finally, this is also an amazing value. We could have easily spent 2x this for a comparable dinner at another Italian restaurant, but I don't think we could have beat how nice this was.

Awesome atmosphere and location. The family style tasting was out of this world. Our family got Meatballs and sausage along with a burrata salad and sautéed shrimp for the first course. Our second course we got a braised sirloin in tomato sauce with tagliardi pasta, veal parm and pesto gnocchi. Third course was tiramisu and lemon panna cotta. Overall the food was outstanding but my favorites were the meatballs and burrata for starters and the braised sirloin with tagliardi for entree. Both desserts were delicious and a perfect finish to dinner. So happy we dined here and we will definitely be back! Highly recommend!

Lovely, small Italian restaurant in the heart of the Italian Market with fresh, authentic dishes, on basic homey plating, reminiscent of a home-cooked meal. My friend and I went for a Groupon 3-course prix fixe menu: you reserve in advance so the chef knows and he selects several courses for appetizer, entree & dessert. Chef selected for appetizers, 2 jumbo meatballs, fresh garlic knots and an amazingly fresh frisee & balsamic salad; entree, cream based gnocchi & bolognese style fresh tagliatelle; for dessert: zeppole (Italian fried dough, like beignets) with a side of chocolate mousse & fresh whipped cream. Although the gnocchi was not as tender as I have had, everything was wonderful, incredibly fresh and delicious. Salad had me wanting more and the mousse was refreshing: both things I don't normally expect!

My family and I just moved to the neighborhood and this was hands down the best dining experience we've had in our four months living here. The service was second to none and the food immediately took me back to a meal my wife and I once enjoyed in the Tuscan countryside. Leaving the restaurant we had already begun to schedule when we would eat at Nina's again. The answer...Not soon enough.

Made reservations for the chef's tasting menu and didn't know what to expect. 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, and a dessert later we were fully satisfied! The hostess was super nice but not overbearing nor rushing us out. The gnocchi dishes are awesome and can tell it's freshly made. We can't wait to go back!!!

We went to Nina’s last night (a Sunday Night at 7pm) with a Groupon certificate for the three-course chef’s tasting menu for 2. There was one couple finishing up as we arrived and a group of four arrived shortly after us. That was it for customers. The water – I think his name was Dominic – came over and was very friendly. He took the bottle of wine we brought and opened it for us. He asked if we had any dietary restrictions since you received the chef’s choices for food. The tasting menu consists of two dishes for the first course and 2 for the second course and you are expected to share each course. (Small sharing plates are provided.). Both dishes are served at the same time. (I’d suggest that you ask them to be staggered to keep hot. The “First course) consisted of two meat balls (each the size of a baseball. In a red tomato “gravy”. They were very tasty. The other first course was a salad with lettuce, apples, hearts of palm, gorgonzola chees and (I think) some walnuts. Also fresh and tasty. And we were provided with house made “bread knot” to soak up the sauce. Next came two pasta dishes. One was penne and spinach in a white cream sauce. It was good though a bit under seasoned. The other was much better. It was small gnocchi in a park ragu, with lots of flavor. Both portions were substantial and we both agreed that – if we returned – we would order that (though it might depend on the price – we did not see an a la carte menu). Domenic continued to return to ask how things were and he brought more bread knots. He asked if we wanted coffee and, since the room was very warm (be aware there are only one or two A/C vents in the floor), we declined. He then announced that dessert would be two cannoli and asked us if we would like to have one packed “to go”. We chose that option. The cannoli that arrived was freshly filled with a blend of ricotta cheese and Nutella. Personally I would have preferred just ricotta or ricotta with chocolate chips. But if you like Nutella, you’d probably like it. The music playing while we were there was a good low level but fairly eclectic. It was French (in an Italian restaurant?), Sinatra and Dean Martin and lots of Motown. When the bill came we were aware that we had to pay the tax and tip. We were not aware that there is now a $5.00 corkage fee (It’s BYOB and CASH ONLY)/ We have been there for brunch before and never had a corking charge. The “retail value” on which the tax (and, of course our tip) was based on was $70.00. for the 6 items we had. The other people we saw there also ordered only pasta dishes and their portion size looked like ours. So I don’t know what the meat or fish dishes would be like (other than the meatballs). It was a pleasant meal and we might go back – but would probably order a la carte next time – if we didn’t have the Groupon.