La Traviata — Restaurant in Jalisco

La Traviata was the worst dining experience we had while in PV, though wasn’t all bad.

The restaurant is on the open air rooftop of a tall building with beautiful views, and is clearly popular (it was crowded when we were there).

We made a reservation for my wife’s birthday, and mentioned it was her birthday in the reservation. We arrived and were told to wait for our table; 15 minutes passed and we still weren’t seated, yet multiple parties arrived with no reservation and were swiftly seated. We were getting frustrated and I asked the hostess when we would be seated and why others with no reservations were getting seated first, and she apologized and said that she was waiting for a balcony table to open up, as she wanted to make sure we had a great seat because we had made a reservation. She then took us to a balcony table, next to other empty balcony tables; we saw some of the others who were seated prior also at balcony tables.

Once seated the waitress came out and we asked what vegetarian options she’d recommend; she clearly had no idea what on the menu was vegetarian, I offered “I heard the vegetarian lasagna is good?” and she said “yes, the lasagna is the only vegetarian option on the menu.” ?? Fortunately there are several veg options to choose from, but we realized the waitress would be no help. We ordered drinks, the lasagna and the vegan pizza.

While we waited for our food the tables next to us received water, but for some reason we were ignored. We had to flag our waitress down and ask for water (this was the case throughout the dinner - our service seemed subpar).

On the food: the vegetarian lasagna was actually quite good. The vegan pizza was not - I appreciate that they have that on the menu, but there was no red sauce, just vegetables and vegan cheese. Adding marinara sauce as a base would make it so much tastier.

Throughout the night we saw lots of tables apparently celebrating birthdays, with the sparkler candles brought out to their tables. As we had included the birthday detail on the booking, it would have been nice if they had recognized it was my wife’s birthday and brought out one of the candles with dessert we ordered (we got the tiramisu, it was ok).

Overall the dining experience left a lot to be desired. 2 stars for the view and the lasagna, but would not recommend nor would we...

After my dining experience, I can really only recommend this restaurant if you are 1) really, and I mean REALLY craving Italian food during your time in Puerto Vallarta or 2) wanting to blow off some cash. My overall experience was sub-par for a place with nearly three thousand positive reviews and my sentiment was shared across all 9 people in my group. Here is my quick breakdown:

Positives: Great view Lively environment Attentive enough staff Good drinks

Negatives: The food; and I mean everything besides the drinks

Here is the more detailed experience about the food: Once my group were seated in some uncomfortable chairs, we were greeted by our waiter and ordered drinks, appetizers, and our main course The mojito was pretty sour but very good and the sangria was alright, nothing special They served bread and butter, which were both good but was served cold... We ordered calamari after reading reviews labeling it as "the best calamari" they ever had. I think that person was PAID to post that review because our calamari was the tiniest, most over fried calamari I have ever had. It was 80% non seasoned batter and 20% squid, which I could barely taste. For my U.S. vacationers, Olive Garden does a better calamari. Olive Garden. And thats a low bar (if you want good calamari in Puerto Vallarta I suggest Riverside Cafe). My main course was the four cheese pasta with chicken and it was just meh. Chicken was cut into dogfood sized pieces (no seasoning either) and the overall serving size was surprisingly small for the price. Another member ordered the carbonara and her "bacon" was more like weird tasting ham, the sauce was not good, and the only redeeming factor was the 5 pieces of shrimp she ordered extra (after she finished the shrimp she didn't touch the meal) Another member ordered the Ribeye which was good, only 30% of it was fat and was inedible, it came with 5 roasted carrots, and the mashed potato "side" was a smear of potato beneath the steak. While the rest of the party ordered a variety of other dishes (ranging from a salad to the lasagna) the overall consensus was the food was just ok. Luckily, we were able to talk and laugh amongst ourselves to distract us from the fact we did not get what we paid for as we ended the night wishing we chose any of the hundreds of better...

I previously have loved the food, service and atmosphere of this restaurant. I split my time throughout the year between Guadalajara and Yelapa and enjoy the authenticity of their Italian food. But sadly, I will not be returning after the unfortunate way a situation was handled this evening. After my meal was completed, I went to pay with a credit card and was told they were unable to access the internet, to process the transaction. This seemed strange to me, since I had been using their wi-fi all evening...so I asked for an alternate solution, since I rarely carry cash. The server asked me to go to my bank to retrieve cash...Who asks a customer to go across town to their bank at 10pm, when the error lies with the establishment? I then spoke with the hostess, hoping she could put me in contact with a floor manager. She said there wasn't one in house...that alone was concerning...so I asked to speak with the owner. She informed me in the future, it was necessary to ask upon arrival if they accept credit cards...this is after I've payed multiple times in the past, using my cards. She was eventually able to reach the owner's wife, who was the only person to offer a simple solution...pay downstairs at the hotel front desk, via their credit card machine. I'm still unclear as to why this solution wasn't offered in the first place, but instead, was handled with an unempathetic/flippant tone that was not only embarrassing, but time consuming as well. The hostess is THE first and last impression of a restaurant...my impression of the staff, via the hostess, is that without a manager or owner present, they are at risk of losing customers due to their unprofessional demeanor. I would hope that the owner reconsiders who he has representing...