Best Restaurants for Birthdays in Little Italy / University Village

Truly a wonderful dinner. Staff was great and our dishes were much better than expected. Menu options for every taste. A great place to share conversation with friends while enjoying great food and service.

The food and vibes were great! Our waitress, Casey, was amazing. Only thing that was really annoying was their obvious urge to turn tables over. In a matter of minutes, we had 4-5 separate people try to take our food that we were clearly still eating (literally said “no thank you, we’re still working on that” while we were mid-chew). The same thing happened with our drinks. We had a bottle of champagne in an ice bag that we repeatedly had people take out of the bag to check how much was remaining. Other than feeling rushed, this place was awesome.

First off, I will start off by saying for those of us with NO allergies, we had a lovely dinner. The food was SO DELICIOUS. THE MAIN ISSUE WE HAD WAS WITH 1 IN OUR PARTY WHO DID HAVE A SEVERE FOOD ALLERGY: We came in and were super excited about our meal. We had 1 person who is severely allergic to gluten/ is Celiac, which we mentioned in our reservation. We called ahead to discuss the options on the phone, we messaged the restaurant about it on OpenTable ahead of time, and spoke to our server about it when we sat down, who then spoke to the House Manager about it. We were assured that "it would be treated like a peanut allergy, as though it could kill someone". After ordering from the Gluten-Free menu, my friend had to take 6 Benadryl in the middle of the night because her eyes were swollen shut and now is so sick that she cannot keep anything down. I am not saying the food was bad in any way (for those of us that do not have any restrictions), but the fact that we were assured 4x that there would be no issues almost sent her to the hospital and that really upset our entire party. I have worked in many restaurants and we did our due diligence to make sure she would be accommodated and the restaurant completely failed her, especially on a $600 dinner.

I have been going to RL since they first opened. Always lovely, comfortable, clubby, excellent. It is a joy to be there. It is hard not to have the Dover sole. My favorite. And tonight. Joseph was our waiter. He was superb. Attentive but not too much. Classy. Friendly. But not too much. Works on the west side of the restaurant. I would ask for him. Can’t wait to go back.

I had a delightful lunch at Gibsons Italia with my friend, and it was an experience to remember! From the moment we arrived on the 3rd floor, we were treated to excellent service. The staff was attentive, friendly, and ready to answer all our questions—including explaining what gold-extruded pasta meant, which we found fascinating. The food was absolutely delicious! The salads were fresh and flavorful, the portions were just right, and the baked potato was a standout—so good that I’ll be thinking about it for a long time. The ambiance, paired with the gorgeous riverside view, made it hard to leave after our meal. Instead of heading out right away, we decided to continue our stay at the bar, and I’m so glad we did! PJ, the bartender, was exceptional. His service, engaging conversations, and the memorable baked Alaska he recommended truly elevated our experience. He even crafted some amazing drinks that were the perfect finish to our visit. From start to finish, Gibsons Italia exceeded our expectations, and I can’t wait to return—especially to see PJ again for another round of his amazing hospitality. Highly recommend!