Laporta's Restaurant — Restaurant in Alexandria

This was the first time at this restaurant. We booked early hoping to avoid people as this was our first time out in a year. We had an amazing afternoon/evening at this restaurant. We booked for 3:30pm, however upon arrival the staff told us they don’t open until 4pm. They didn’t miss a beat offering us a bar service table where we remained for the evening. We started with drinks. Their speciality drinks are amazing. My favorite was the strawberry mojito. It was the perfect balance between sweet and mulled minty goodness. My husband had the cranberry old fashioned. He said it was very good and the tart cranberries rounded the drink nicely.

We moved onto appetizers. Muscles verde and the stuffed portobello mushroom. YUM AND MORE YUM! The muscles were steamed to perfection, tender and flavorful, in their hot garlic basil bath. The oversized mushroom was stuffed with toasty goat cheese and served with grilled asparagus and greens with balsamic drizzle. Both were exceptional.

We could have stopped there and been content. But, alas we were out and loving every minute, so we ordered mains. We both ordered the specials. I had the salmon with crab and mango and my husband ordered the steak special. My salmon came plated like a work of art. It sat on a bed of spinach and broccoli (swapped out from rice for lower carb option) . The crab and mango relish on top of the fish, added the perfect flavor combination. Such a well done dish! My husband’s steak was cooked perfectly. It was a nice medium rare, tender and juicy. It was served with a nice roasted potato option, green beans and verts(carrots). Satisfying is too weak a word to describe this meal. The portions are large and we ate every last bite. It was so very good.

Even though we were stuffed, we sat and digested a bit, hoping for room for dessert. Still full, we ordered anyway. Our server suggested the lava cake and the carrot cake with cinnamon ice cream. Dessert is usually the most difficult course to impress me, but this restaurant did it! The lava cake was warm and oozed out the most decedent filling that was like a melted Godiva truffle. The carrot cake was warm and full of spice. It was such a nice contrast between the two. We shared bite after bite with spoonfuls of the ice cream as a chaser. Cinnamon ice cream is fantastic if you have not had it. It’s like cinnamon toast in an ice cream form.

Our bartender/server was well spoken, kind and offered exceptional recommendations. She is an asset to this restaurant. Speaking with the owner, this last year has been difficult. But, they have survived. I highly recommend you visit this restaurant and support this small business. The only bad thing I can say, is that our 4 hour night out had to end. It still amazes me that when the food and service are stellar, you lose sense of place and time. We will be back again and...

Made the reservation and noted it was for our anniversary, and they sat us in the bar. With the cheaper bar menu. No, I did not come here to save money. Asked to move to the other side with live music, the hostess said she couldn’t do that when there were less than 5 other tables full in the whole restaurant. She then came back and said the manager would allow us to live as an “exception.”

The waiter then explained everything on the menu to us as if this was my first time eating outside McDonald’s (It’s not). I know what a parfait is; I know what a NY Cheesecake is. I know that the empty bowl with seafood pasta is for the oyster shells.

The food? Overpriced for what is served. Ordered the Seafood Pasta Special and the LaPorta Pasta. The only thing special about the Seafood Pasta was the price, $38. Shrimp was poorly cooked - rubbery. Oysters were undercooked - bland/ tasted like dirt. The cheese was melted into one giant clump at the bottom of the plate. And the sauce was almost completely evaporated.

LaPorta Pasta - better to buy a TV Dinner from the frozen section at the grocery. It was listed as Penne with Italian Sausage, Red and Green Peppers, and Fennel. With a complimentary Basil Leaf. At $19, the sauce was overly acidic and ruined any taste that might’ve been present. The Italian Sausage - chewy and stringy. The penne - overcooked and almost mushy. The peppers - no taste, green and red indistinguishable, which made me wonder why they were part of the dish at all.

Ordering desert, as I previously mentioned, I was given the definition of a Parfait, NY Cheesecake, and what a Chocolate Mousse Cake is. Enlightening. Chose the Cake, the setting was nice and the strawberry was good. Cake - forgettable, especially for a single slice at $10.

I will also mention the music: the live jazz was great, come for that if nothing at all. The musicians really put in a great dinner show, and the song selection is perfect if you love the 40’/50’s catalog. But don’t stay after their set is done. The ambiance music is played 50% too loud, which means you actually have to raise our voice for conversation, with the table already being too big to facilitate any intimacy. And then they play nasty pop music. I heard one Michael Bublé song in the course of 75 minutes.

TL;DR An average restaurant not worth returning to, or even visiting in the first place - this is Alexandria, you can do FAR...

Was very excited to return to Laporta after a hiatus. I explicitly had asked in the morning if they were participating in restaurant week lunch menu and they indicated they were. I was excited to pay a great price of $22 for 3 course lunch menu at 3:30. However, when I called them they then informed me lunch menu was only offered during the weekday which was indicated on their website nor when I called and specifically asked about their lunch menu. So instead of $22, I paid the $35 for the dinner menu for the exact same option. Then to add insult to injury after I ordered 2 dinners and provided a a tip for takeout, I was almost denied the ice cream that came with my meal. When I informed the staff they initially insisted it didn't come with my dessert and they could charge me for the scoop of ice cream to go with my cobbler. How insulting after I spent over $70 and tip to support your small business, you would fuss over a scoop of ice cream, appalling! I had to literally pull up the menu on my phone to show them that I was correct and the dessert indeed came with the ice cream. The server came out with an attitude with a small scoop of ice cream. Disappointed in the way I was treated at the end, left a bad taste in my mouth before even eating my meal. Don't know if ill return.

Update 2/19 I week later just posting now though. I improved my first rating from 1 to 4 stars! Ths manager personally reached out to me after my review. He validated my complaints and apologized and accommodated with a gift card to return for a future visit. Felt much better after he made that extra gesture! In addition, my meal overall was superb and everything cooked to perfection. My steak well done not burnt and very tender and flavorful, salmon was very tasty as well as mac n cheese and cheesecake. Definitely would...