Via Vai Cucina Italiana — Restaurant in Carlsbad

A girlfriend and I had the pleasure of dining here last night, after reviews of a lovely experience by a friend of hers. Because it was a Tuesday, and I'm sure only because it was a Tuesday, it wasn't very crowded. This place is terrific! The staff (chef, who spoke with us personally after the meal; Aubrey the hostess/waitress; and even the table busser) all presented themselves as attentive, caring and friendly. The ambience is unpretentious and inviting. But the food! The food! It was both delectable and gorgeous. The sauce on my eggplant parmesan was wonderful...best eggplant parmesan I've ever had. My table-mate loved her food, too...neither of us left a morsel on our plates! Even the bread was perfect...crunchy crust and rosemary-infused oil for dipping. We can't wait to return with our families and order more food next time, when we're hungrier. And all of this lovely staff, attentive service and authentic food comes with a very reasonable price tag. Really, we can't wait to return. Keep up the good work, Via Vai! You gave us a...

My husband and I went to celebrate my birthday. They sat us quickly and brought us waters. The service was quick which was nice. We just weren't impressed with the food at all! My husband got the lobster ravioli, and we were unimpressed by the entree. The lobster tasted as if it were fake lobster and it was drowned in the sauce. The sauce was too thick and bland and made it hard to eat. Considering we were charged "lobster pricing" we should be getting smooth, tasty, buttery lobster. I ordered the spaghetti carbonara and it was tasty, my only issue was panchetta, the portion of panchetta was way more than the usual amount and it was so much fat, that it made it hard to eat. We were extremely unimpressed and felt the food was not worth what we paid. At the end my husband reminded them of my birthday and the lady brought the check. I guess they do nothing to celebrate birthdays. Considering everything, we will not be going back to this place and we will let our friends know not...

Really great service from everyone! The menu is small but fairly customizable, with delicious specials.

I had the Polpete Vegane, eggplant meatballs with tomatoes sauce and slices of roasted eggplant, and it was delicious. My boyfriend had a special their trio of Pizzettes, which he insisted I pressure them to adding it as a regular appetizer. Their bread was thin but delicious, and the pesto sauce was peppery and good. For our mains, my boyfriend had the Gnocchi with Nunziale sauce (tomato sauce mixed with pesto). He said it was earthy and semi-sweet. He enjoyed the gnocchi, in particular how large they were. I had the Oricchiette Pugliese, which had a creamy texture almost dripped over the pasta and sausage rather than poured. It was filling and rich without...