Calabrisella - BENSALEM

This place is my favorite Italian restaurant! The pizza is excellent and the dinner options are as well! I recently had one of the specials, the Osso Bucco Milanese, and it was wonderful. It is served over a risotto with saffron sauce and was very tasty. Everything I’ve had here has been homemade and delicious. The service is also wonderful and the environment is friendly and inviting. Definitely recommend this place to anyone, families, couples, etc. :

Having recently relocated to the Bensalem area I sought a fine Italian restaurant. The choice for the evening was Calabrisella. Seemed like a cozy quaint place and the specials posted on the board piqued my interest. My waitress (generous description) opined between two possibilities suggested the Lobster and Shrimp Francese. Sounded interesting as I had a hankering for Veal Francese which was not a menu option. OK, I thought, let’s go with the seafood version. I ordered an appetizer which was Hot Italian sausage with Spinach. The salad came first. This was the first clue that I was in for a gastronomical letdown. The salad arrived and had all the appearance of the pre-packaged version one finds in a supermarket produce section. Every piece of lettuce was cut into strips, lacked texture, and was utterly bland. This was accompanied by a few shreds of carrot and one lone cherry tomato. Sampled and then sent it back to the waitress. After what seemed ages, the appetizer arrived. The Sausage was heavily salted, and the spinach was flooded in pot liquor. As such, the appetizer had a soupy base. Dreadfully trying to remain optimistic, the final course arrived: Lobster Shrimp Francese. At first glance, it was readily apparent that the “delicate” pieces of seafood were heavily floured. This struck me as odd as I am quite familiar with how this should be prepared. Absent was any slices of lemon and the sauce was not commensurate with any conceivable expectation of fine dining. My first slice of the seafood was the flour encrusted shrimp. Much to my displeasure, the tails of the shrimp was still intact (covered by the flour) and had to be dislodged from my mouth. I laughed to myself and quietly exclaimed: “After all, this IS Bensalem, right?” I asked my waitress to refill my water glass. Should I have had to ask??? She grabbed my glass, removed the straw with her hand and placed the straw directly on the table. I was mortified. She returned the filled glass and didn’t provide a fresh straw. I pointed this out to her and she responded “Oh”. Well, needless to say that was the last straw….poor service, protracted wait time, flavorless food, high prices………Absolutely NO VALUE!!!

I'm not sure what happened to this restaurant. They used to be a reliable choice for us. We used to order pizza from them every Friday when we lived in Morrell Park. We decided to give them another try...

This restaurant always delivers. It's our favorite spot for Italian cuisine. The waitress is consistently attentive and helpful, whether we're ordering a sandwich or pasta.

The customer service and food quality at this restaurant have declined since the owner, Luigi, passed away two years ago. I recently ordered takeout with two meals, appetizers, and a salad...