Little Nonna's

Little Nonna's
1234 Locust St, Philadelphia, PA 19107 (215) 546-2100

Little Nonna's is a welcome addition to the Midtown Village area of Philadelphia (12th/Locust) which features this venture by Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran, two prominent Philadelphia entrepreneurs who are also responsible for Grocery, Open House, Lolita, and Barbuzzo.  The restaurant once seated inside has an immediate homey feel-- as the name would suggest. "Nonna" is Italian for grandmother.

Gorgeous, Italian market incandescent bulbs on cables light the interior giving everything a warm orange glow, just like grandma's house.  The walls are decorated with quaint country style portraits and the plating is purposefully mismatched--your plate will have a different look then mine--reinforcing the idea that this is just a casual meal at grandma's house and we are not in fact out at a restaurant.   Outside is beautiful al fresco dining under glass skylights.

Note the addition of a random picnic table that does not match the other tables at all.  This purposeful design "flaw" highlights the sense of homeyness and "grandma's house" decor found consistently themed throughout the restaurant.

UNCLE SAL’S CHOPPED SALAD $10 gem lettuce, roasted peppers, soppressata, crispy chickpeas, pepperoncini, locatelli*, olives, zesty italian dressing.  Probably the most interesting items in the salad were the locatelli and fried chickpeas which were reminiscent of popcorn.
*Locatelli has been a brand name synonymous with the best quality Pecorino Romano. Most famously known as a grating cheese.

NONNI’S SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS $16 B+V+P fontina stuffed meatballs, braised pork marinara, parmesan, basil. This is Little Nonna's signature dish and quite frankly enough for 2-3 people. The meatballs are fist sized and the pile of pasta is arguably the leaning Tower of Piza of pasta piles. Absolutely delicious, and my friend and I were able to quickly polish this dish off.

GRILLED SWORDFISH $22 fava, shaved asparagus, radish, wild mushroom farro, salmoriglio. This was pleasing but nothing special.  Swordfish was well cooked and tender and the accouterments were adequate to the task.  Interesting fact: the Salmoriglio is a Southern Italian condiment made of lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, chopped oregano and parsley, salt and pepper.  Those are the yellowish-green drops of sauce you see on the plate.
As an aside, take note of the plate and compare it to the plate the spagetti is on.  The mismatched china is apparently china the owners found at antiques markets and it certainly produces the desired effect: a much less pretentious meal and much more like "supper at little nonna's [grandma's]."

It would be foolish not to take a moment to appreciate how far the designers of this restaurant took the "grandma's house" theme.  Exhibit 1: The wall above our heads as we ate.

I recall my own grandmother's house having knick knack shelves just like these and random pieces of china hanging on her walls.  It is eerily similar.

Behold the bathroom. It reminds me of a trip to the Barnes Foundation.  I only came in for a #1 but ended up staying there for a #2 just so I could admire the fine scenery able to be beheld from the porcelain throne.

In summary, a great intimate 40 seat restaurant featuring grandma's homestyle Italian cooking with modest pricing.  Dinner for two came to $80 with tip.  We did not drink however so that should be noted. The wine list after a brief perusal was extensive enough to satisfy any sommelier.  All in all, I would recommend this restaurant and would return to eat there again.