Modo Mio, Il Pittore, or Amis?

[Chessman]

Coming to Philly next week and looking for a nice but not stuffy Italian restaurant for dinner. I've been to Barbuzzo and Osteria, both of which I liked a lot and are along the lines I'm looking for. Looked online and seems like Modo Mio, Il Pittore, and Amis might fit the bill (although since I've been to one Vetri restaurant, thought I'd branch out a bit). Thoughts?

[Chessman]

Thanks so much for the feedback. I probably should have added that there are 5 of us, including three teenagers, so the size and mood of the restaurant makes some difference. Which leads me to wonder if I should expand my search. Any thoughts for old-line red-sauce Italian?

[Bacchus101]

Other Philly CHs should offer up some great old-line red-sauce (or in South Philly "gravy") choices. I can only offer a "Beware of Ralph's". I would be surprised if some do not disagree on this but for us it is a complete disappointment at a relatively high price in wasted time, dollars and lost opportunity.

[Bigley9]

I am one of the few here who don't love Modo Mio - I found the food to be very salty and I am generally not salt sensitive (and the host just said "oh" when he asked why my table hadn't eaten our mains and we all said they were very salty). I enjoyed Amis (been a while though) and haven't been to Il Pittore. Just another opinion.

[Hungryin theBurbs]

I don't love it either. I have found the food to be excellent, but have had several terrible service experiences. That, in combination with the cramped size and extreme noise (I don't mind noise in a bigger space, but it is so tight in there) means it is never at the top of my list when looking for Italian.

[barryg]

I havent been to Modo Mio in about a year but it's true that McAndrews heavily salts his food. You can tell them to go easy on the salt when you order. Otherwise I think it is fantastic food at a fantastic value.

[Delucacheesemonger]

My pick would be Modo Mio, similar to Il Pittore at less than half the price and their bread is worth the trip alone. As noisy as Modo Mio is, it is far quieter than Amis, plus parking is easy and free. It is also BYOB which may be good or bad for you, it is good for me.

[tfalbo]

I've had the pleasure of eating at all 3, and enjoyed each. I don't think that there is a clear winner among them. I was very pleasantly surprised by Il Pittore. The meal there vastly exceeded my expecatations.

It's been the longest since I've been to Modo Mio, so my memory is fading there a bit. But I remember the food to be quite good (and I promise you won't leave hungry).

I like Amis maybe better than some other folks on this board. We have had good luck going there and kind of grazing through things (esp. the Meatballs), so it's one of my favorites in the city. I do think that Osteria is better though, at least by my tastebuds. I prefer the bar area to the proper seating area at Amis, it's a bit more laid back, and while you're just as crowded as in the general seating area, it feels more natural near the bar (to me anyway).

I don't think you can go wrong with any of them.

[Bacchus101]

Of your three noted choices I have only been to Amis and that was a couple of months ago. Here is a link to my thoughts after that visit. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/816114.

Craig Laban(Award winning Philadelphia food critic) and Anthony Bourdain gave it good reviews. Heard great things about Modo Mio. Good Luck