Dining Restaurants As Venues: There's Music On The Menu

In the '50s and '60s, it wasn't uncommon to dine while violinists strolled among the tables or pianists plunked out tunes. In some Italian restaurants, arias were as routine on Sundays as lasagna and braciola.

It's not like it was in the "old days," but music seems to be making its way back onto the dining scene. For those who enjoy syncopation with the menu, here are some restaurants in and around the city that feature a bit of music. (Credit-card symbols are: V for Visa, AX for American Express, MC for MasterCard and D for Diners.)

ALFIO'S 15 Limekiln Pike, Glenside, 885-3787. Live opera with a fixed-price

menu at 5 and 7:30 p.m. Suns. Italian specialties, including fresh fish and lobster tails. Dinner, Tues-Suns. Moderate. Major cards.

BABE'S 3400 Aramingo Ave, 423-6000. A Port Richmond warehouse turned steakhouse where lights glitter and the likes of Al Martini provide the musical background for the 24-ounce aged porterhouse steaks. Good food and a raw bar. Expensive. Lunch, Mons-Fris. Dinner, seven days. Major cards.

BORGIA CAFE 408 S 2d St, 574-0414. It's not only intimate, it features live music nightly. The multilevel dining areas add a cozy dimension. Reasonable. Dinner, seven days. V, AX and D.

GENERAL LAFAYETTE INN 646 Germantown Pike, Lafayette Hill, 248-3014.

Crabmeat dishes, veal Oscar and duck are some of the specialties. Piano music and dancing Fris and Sats during dinner. Moderate. Dinner, Mons-Suns. Major cards.

GENTILE'S VILLA, 1919 E Passyunk Ave, 462-4255. Fine Italian food with a strolling accordion player on Weds. Dancing to a live band from 8 p.m. to midnight Fris. Moderate. Dinner, Tues-Suns. Major cards.

HAVANA 105 S Main St, New Hope, 862-9897. Music seven nights a week, from jazz to ragtime. Regional American cuisine. Inexpensive to moderate. Dinner, seven days. Major cards.

IL GALLO NERO 254 S 15th St, 546-8065. Piano music with classical and cabaret overtones accompanies the well-prepared and artistically presented Northern Italian cuisine. Consistency is a hallmark here. Expensive. Dinner, Tues-Sats. Major cards.

LIBERTIES RESTAURANT & BAR 705 N 2d St, 238-0660. A jazz group entertains

from 8:30 p.m. until past midnight Fris and Sats. The bill of fare is American, including pecan pork, stuffed trout and rack of lamb. Moderate. Dinner, Mons-Sats. Major cards.

LONDON RESTAURANT 2301 Fairmount St, 978-4545. On Wednesday and Friday nights it's jazz and blues with dinner. Moderate. Lunch, Mons-Fris. Dinner, seven days. Major cards.