Trieste Italian Restaurant

We’ve been going to Trieste once a week for the last 40 years. The service is always outstanding and the food is great. Tony and his lovely wife are always pleasant and make us always welcomed. T hanks for being there.

Haven’t been here in at least 5 years. Mom and my self and my autistic son came in tonight for dinner. Food was ok. The amount of pasta to the amount of gravy. Needed more gravy. When our food was delivered, the server NEVER came back to check on us. The hostess came and checked on us and offered us free desert. I said I would have eaten more but the server never came back to check on us. Also the hostess told our server that she sat her another in which the server stated the she didn’t want another table. Clear as day, said that in from of our party. I might go back in another five years. Server name was Debbie K and was obviously annoyed. Being in the service industry, I critique. Your hostess is awesome!

Blah. That describes their food. There is no taste to anything. Its either too dry, it watered down. The atmosphere is terrible. Way too dark inside. Skip this place

I was quite disappointed with my last visit. For three adults the bill was $ 70 plus we left a $ 15 tip. The speghatti was over cooked, the
Rosa sauce must have been microwaved, because it was dried out and brown when served with the stuffed shells. The waitress got our order wrong; how can you mistaken cannoli for chocolate mousse? Plus, I was a little upset when I was charged extra for Alio and garlic sauce it was considered a speciality sauce. I don’t mind spending the extra bucks but don’t serve me jar garlic and crap cheep olive oil and charge me extra. Nor was I ever informed about the extra charge prior to ordering. I haven’t been to this place for a while because last time the food was overcooked also. I won’t go there again, overpriced. Plus my thought is shouldn’t spaghetti come with sauce regardless if it’s tomato, meat or garlic base?

Trieste is a great restaurant to know about. For more than half a century it has been serving up food and drinks in Prospect Park, Delaware County. It’s like a neighborhood restaurant where waitresses know their customers and bartenders remember what their regulars drink. These restaurants are disappearing so it is great that Trieste has survived. Now I’m not going to claim that Trieste is gourmet cuisine. I will affirm that what is served here is good and hearty Italian food. My only suggestion would be to add a dish or two from the real city of Trieste. Trieste is an international city with a noted Austrian and Slovenian background as well as Italian and their restaurants have some interesting dishes and wines and beers as a result.
At a recent lunch in Trieste, I enjoyed a tasty escarole soup along with their signature cut of sirloin called «The Ugly Steak» with a side of fettuccine. The delicious steak is anything but ugly … but it’s an easy name to remember and has become very popular. A small quibble would be that there was an extra charge which I didn’t realize for selecting a cream sauce for the fettuccine. I don’t think there should be an extra charge — what else do most people eat with fettuccine? By the way the bread accompanying the meal is both fresh and plentiful.
There are two parking lots — one behind the restaurant and one across the street. Trieste is only a couple of minutes off the Route 420 exit of I-​95. The service was totally friendly … the atmosphere is neighborhood Italian. And prices are very fair. I hope Trieste keeps going for another half century.

We’ve been going to the Trieste for over 40 years. We’ve never had a bad meal. Yes, the décor is out of the past but it makes the place feel like home, that place you go for comfort food. They have changed some with the times. The bread is fresh and warm. The dipping oil is delicious. On our last visit, my daughter had the eggplant special. She raved about it. My wife had the shrimp parm and had a large enough portion to take home enough for another meal. I had the baked zitis. Perfect. The waitstaff is friendly and anyone will serve your food in order for you to get it hot out of the kitchen.
I visit here 3 – 4 times a year and each time I leave with a smile on my face and a full feeling. Thank you Trieste.

Good food, great prices, excellent staff and a cool little bar. Don’t listen to the snobs who want to bash the place because it’s small and wasn’t renovated twice a year like their flashy fly by night joints. They give amazing reviews to the trendiest place in the city or main line, then it closes in 3 months. If you’re not a hipster tool, and can actually appreciate a decent neighborhood restaurant for what it is, you’ll like this place.

Never a bad meal! Been coming here for a few decades and always look forward to returning. Its a very charming little restaurant with exceptional Italian dishes. I highly recommend the gnocchi in rosa sauce! Delilcious!

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Please don’t review this business if you received a freebie for writing this review, or if you’re connected in any way to the owner or employees. My family has been going to Trieste for years. The food was consistently good. My favorite was the chicken cutlet! A thin cutlet, crisp on the outside and moist and juicy inside. Sadly it has gone downhill in the past year or so. On our son’s birthday dinner last week, the chicken cutlet was a hunk of chicken with no flavor and tough and chewy. I could not eat it. The spaghetti sauce used to be heaven. Now it is a chunky sauce that tasted like it was from a jar. The bread was tasteless. I’d rather have better food than a «free salad or soup» The spaghetti was not drained and made the sauce watery. The waitresses were always friendly and warm but the waitress we had complained about what a bad day she had and that she had broken some glasses and dropped things. Didn’t need to hear that. We have tried it many times this year and the experience has been the same. We will spend our hard-​earned money elsewhere!

Just had the perfect Fathers Day capped off at this great Italian Restaurant ! Our server was fantastic ! Very attentive ! Appetizers were quick but beautifully prepared ! Salad was fresh and tasty ! Dinner was fantastic ! Italian gravy as always was a delight. The lobster ravioli was sensational. I have no idea why this incredible restaurant is not standing room only. People you are missing out ! Just a fantastic dining experience.

Great food and atmosphere. Of course the bread served with dinner and Italian beer made it all good.

Food was tasty. Service friendly. I had stuffed mushrooms and lobster ravioli with garlic bread and a Caesar salad. No complaints.
Need a better wine selection to compliment the food.
Why is it that it is hard to find a good glass of wine at a fair price? Seems anymore all you can get is low end wines that are way over priced.
Hard to get into for parking in the rear
Nice enough atmosphere, comfortable.
Needs a makeover.
Worth another try.

This place is convenient for lunch, I just have to order ahead, but they tell you that on the menu allow 20mins, which I can appreciate, what they don’t tell you on the menu is that they are only open for lunch on Thursdays and Fridays. When I finally ordered on a Thursday I opted for a lunch sized gnocchi in rosa sauce with sausage. I also upgraded and got the red crab soup. I got there to pick up my food, it was nice that they have a parking lot, we walked into the dated establishment, it was empty, our food was ready so it was a fairly quick stop in. The customer service was pretty good, so thanks for that. I know I upgraded my soup but my meal ended up costing almost $ 15 which i thought was excessive for lunch that started out at 9.99. So of course I’m expecting a 5 star meal… so i get back to the office excited, unfortunately my anticipated excitement didn’t really happen. The red crab soup was really spicy, I can’t do spicy, but it wasn’t noted on the menu. The sausage in the gnocchi was spicy, again i cant do spicy, and the gnocchi wasn’t great, and the rosa sauce was bland. The star of the lunch was the roll, it was fresh delicious and i ate the entire thing… however was it worth $ 15, heck no… My friend had stuffed shells which she said was good, she enjoyed the red crab soup and loved the roll as well. I’ll pass on coming back, i guess good things dont always come to those who wait. Oh and I didn’t get the cannoli because it was lunch not dinner :(

I LOVE this place! I live in the neighborhood and have been going here for 15 plus years. If I can’t make a dine-​in visit, I can order out &pick up. The food is just as good.(and it’s GOOD)! The prices are very reasonable. The staff are ALL super-​friendly and very accomodating. We feel fortunate to have such a quality restaurant right here just a few blocks away. I highly recommend it.(p.s.I’m VERY picky).UPDATE: Just got a take-​out order. Ordered my usual stuffed flounder w/​white sauce & garlic bread, along w/​my favorite (NOT salty) escarole soup. My husband got the veal scallopini. The gravy (sauce-​whatever your preference) on scallopini is excellent. You can tell by the aroma as you walk into the room. I haven’t been here in a few months. This is my birthday week & this is where I chose to go. I’m NEVER disappointed, I’m picky, & I give 5 stars again.

Alright, this one was rough. We came here because of the recommendation of a nearby hotel and also, the Unilocal reviews weren’t too bad either. However, my experience was just downright terrible. Well, let me rephrase that. The whole experience was not a complete bust. The staff was awesome! Very, very nice and attentive. In fact, they seemed to care so much, that I couldn’t bring myself to complain directly to them. I don’t doubt for a second the good intentions of the waitstaff and the owners, but I am stunned at the poor quality of the food. How anyone, be it patrons or the staff can eat these dishes and enjoy them is beyond me.
The sauce was flavorless. The spaghetti was mushy. The ziti tasted like a cardboard box. The fried mozzarella were just frozen mozzarella sticks with a funky batter. The bread had a stale consistency. The butter was cold and hard and tore the bread up. The chicken cutlet was spongy. The salad was all kinds of bizarre (it had a many odd things in it like a beet, a slice of pepperoni, a small slice of cheese, tiny chick peas and it was drowning in dressing). My baked ziti was not baked at all. It was not lightly brown, bubbly, or crispy as it should have been. Instead it was chewy and sat in a puddle of soupy, oily sauce. Nothing seemed homemade or made with care. I suspect the microwave is heavily used here.
In addition to the food, the décor was odd and outdated. There was also a strange bathroom air freshener in the entry way which masked what should have been a welcome scent of food. The front of the restaurant had a fishy oder. Perhaps this is what they were trying to cover-​up with the air freshener? It really felt like I was inside of a Kitchen Nightmares’ episode. Honestly though, had the food been outstanding, I’d actually have embraced the décor and the quirks. I’d have found it charming.
That all said, I think this place survives on nostalgia and amazing customer service. Also, from what I can tell on Unilocal,it appears that many have been going here since they were kids and it’s pretty much all they know and what they’re used to. Others have said on Unilocal that the area as a whole does not have many dining options so this place is embraced as a neighborhood mainstay.

Very nice people and staff. Popular spot. Prices are reasonable. I was disappointed with the Caesar salad big time, over dressed with store bought dressing and croutons and no cheese. Main course was very good for all 4 of us. Place needs some cleaning and a bit of an update. I would go back again though.
I’m on the hunt for the best Italian restaurant in the Delaware Valley. This was place number 1

So the owner emailed me on my last review with apologies. I went back tonight and it was even worse than before.
My aunt and uncle were visiting from out of town, they used to come here on dates in the 70s and wanted to go and relive old memories.
Appetizer was good, roasted peppers with cheese and anchovies, nice portion of roasted peppers. Our entrée’s came, and they completely flubbed up our orders, especially my aunt’s. She got something she didn’t even order and we all got different sides. Our initial waitress was very nice and kind, but the second waitress we had (i think she was the hostess, she seated us) was very smarmy and kind of a bitch, like how dare we complain that you screwed up our order. When we finally figured it out and she walked away, she rolled her eyes, scoffed and shit talked to another waitress while we were in earshot and could see her doing it. That’s not good business at all. I think the portions have gotten smaller too. I ordered veal parm, I got one piece of veal. That’s $ 18. For that.
I know I’m being fickle and it was tasty and the sauce was good and very homemade, but we won’t be back.

Most of the abysmal reviews I’ve read for Trieste come from out-​of-​towners. I guess you have to be a native Southeast Delcoite, as I am, to understand this restaurant best. Yeah, the salad features white lettuce year ’round, even in the summer, and the place smells musty (50+ years’ worth of Italian-​food aromas are obviously permanently embedded in the walls and carpets), and the food is good but too simple and basic to compete with that of the more elegant restaurants of Philly and the Main Line, but that’s why most of the people in Southeast Delco love Trieste. This food tastes closest to the Italian food we’ve all eaten growing up.
You want something fancy? Go to Philly or the Main Line. This is basic Italian for those of us living in the gastronomic wasteland that is Southeast Delco. Trieste is where Southeast Delcoites come for what they call a fancy dinner, so keep that in mind. It isn’t a ritzy place, so if that’s what you want, look for it elsewhere. This is the place to come to if you want decent Italian food at a price that won’t totally kill your wallet.

Solid homestyle Italian food and attentive service. There isn’t anything exotic or over the top here, just an extensive menu of delicious Italian pasta, sauces, and entrees.
My ravioli in rosa sauce was good at dinner, but it! was even better the next day out of the refrigerator!

So maybe some of you who have seen my reviews before know one of my biggest laments. That is, I wish we could have great Italian restaurants in my area of Delco.
When I say that, I mean the general area south of Baltimore Pike, and east of the Blue Route. I’m fully aware that I could go to Media and land in a far better gastronomical world. I just wish some of that existed in places like Glenolden, Ridley, Morton, etc.
At some point I had to get a review of Trieste up here. I hadn’t been here in about 6 or 7 years. Maybe that’s because I never seem to have had anything that was memorable here in my life. But, I was willing to give them another shot. After all, I don’t remember a time in my life when Trieste didn’t exist. They’ve been around since 1960. At some point, you have to think the «They must be doing something right» corollary has to apply, right?
Right?
Well I’m going to do something mildly unique for this review, at least for me. Trieste is getting the direct comparison treatment from me against another Delco restaurant. And because they have the new found publicity from being on national tv, and I’ve eaten there recently to have something in my memory to compare it to, Trieste is getting the head to head comparison against the new Italian Village (post Robert Irvine makeover).
Let’s face it… they’re two of the oldest Italian restaurants in our general area. At some point we must draw the comparison.
So here we go, course by course…
Bread… If any of you saw my review of IV, you know that I killed them on serving stale bread. Trieste served good soft bread on the night I went. So good, that we ordered a second basket. Edge — Trieste.
Soup… It’s escarole vs escarole, can’t get more basic than that. I’d say that flavor-​wise it’s even. But, Trieste served me a cup that had at least 8 or 9 little meatballs in it. I can’t remember getting that many at IV. The meatballs swayed it. Edge — Trieste.
Caesar salad… the wife had this. IV upgraded theirs and I am a fan of it. Trieste’s salad, as my wife put it, «is what it is». Edge — Italian Village.
General entrée quality… I’ve had good and I’ve had not so good at IV, even in the new atmosphere. Tonight, at Trieste, I ordered a Baked Pasta Anton special. I’d compare to something I might get at a diner. Which is to say, thoroughly average in quality. The wife was OK with her sausage scallopini made to order in rosa sauce without mushroom, but she told me it wasn’t the best sauce she’s had. So just like every other Italian restaurant in Delco, we will call this even.
Gravy quality… had to do this category separately because it is so important. Maybe you know Italian Village’s flavor to their sauce. Pretty bold, a bit acidic, I know some people who swear by it, and some who can’t stand it. I’ve always fallen in the category of generally OK with it. But, after tasting the sauce Trieste served me tonight, I must say that I have come away with a new found respect… for Italian Village. Edge — Italian Village
Prices… I can’t say that I’ve combed over the menu and compared it price by price. Trieste still has that menu that looks like it has over 100 items to it. But I did pick out a few prices and can compare them to Italian Village’s. Spaghetti and meatballs… IV is $ 14, Trieste is $ 12.95. Chicken parm… IV is $ 16, Trieste is $ 13.95. However… Lasagna is $ 14 at IV, $ 14.95 at Trieste. IV has the occasional dish that comes in lower, especially on the appetizer menu, but Trieste with more dishes in the $ 12 to $ 14 range in general just has a less expensive feel to it. Edge — Trieste.
Service… I won’t compare this one. I’ve never had a problem with service at IV. I will just say that I really appreciated the nice service Trieste gave me tonight. They do have nice ladies doing the serving that seem happy. There they get kudos.
I did take advantage of the free cannoli via the check in on the Unilocal app. Not bad. The shell could have used a bit more crisp. But I’d eat another one.
Perhaps you could call Trieste the winner since they won one more category. But that gravy comparison is a biggie. Sorry, Trieste, but the sauce that came in the pasta dish tonight just didn’t measure up flavor or texture-​wise. Overall, I call it a draw.
Like I said before, they must be doing something right. With that huge menu, I’m sure there are some things that are good. I just am not sure if I want to take the trial and error time in life to find out.