PHLReview
Bistro Romano in Headhouse Square is aggressively old-school. They have a cavernous dining room with wine cellar-like brick and Italian tapestries all around. You’ll either sit at a round table with white tablecloths or almost church pew-like booths in the dark dining room. The food feels like an afterthought to the scene. Unfortunately, it tastes like it. The best things here are a nicely dressed, enormous caesar salad and the grilled octopus—which gets a little spice from the 'nduja vinaigrette. Everything else is solid enough to play sidekick to a good glass of red. They’re also a well-stocked bottle shop, so you can always grab a good merlot here and head to dinner elsewhere.
