La Cosa Nostra — Restaurant in Danville

Last night was my third and final attempt with this restaurant. It is such a beautiful place, and has (some) good reviews, but I have yet to have a good experience. I have tried something different each time I've gone, and was horribly unimpressed with the quality of the food, lack of flavor and the outrageous bill to follow.

Last night we started out with the Eggplant Caprese, and were served four very thin, burnt pieces of eggplant. For the entree, I had the Chicken Saltimbocca. I will say, the chicken portion of the meal was decent. It was served with parmesan potatoes and spinach. My potatoes were black. I thought at first maybe they were purple potatoes, but no, they were just VERY burnt. The small spoonful of spinach that was on my plate was steamed, and tasted to have been soaked in wine I'm assuming? The alcohol/chemical taste took my breath away. After a disappointing meal, we were handed an $80 bill.

Even the couple next to us had a horrible experience. They had shared with us that it was their first time eating there. They received their food, and I could overhear them saying "Well...my rice is soft, but this whole plate tastes like nothing," and "This tastes like noodles sitting in lemon water." They barely touched their food because it was so bad. After receiving their bill the gentleman said "I feel like I got robbed."

Our server started out great. She took our order and that was about the only time we saw her. She came by once to refill my boyfriend's beer, but left me with no drink for most of the meal. She finally came back to the table well after we had finished eating to get our check. I put a $100 bill in the folder, and waited for what felt like forever for her to come back. She was at the bar talking. My boyfriend finally walked up to the bar to pay our bill, and stood there for several minutes before he was acknowledged (it was all employees sitting at the bar). She gave us back a single $20 bill. I had to ask another server for change, and it took almost ten minutes to get that. I have worked in the food industry and normally would have left the change for a tip, but not for the service we received last night.

This restaurant has so much potential. Maybe if they had someone in the kitchen who knew how to make better quality food. I have zero problem forking out money for an expensive meal, if the food is worth it, but this isn't the case...

There are no words to express the amazing meal we had tonight. There are no words to express the hospitality we received , like we were family not patrons. Tonight my co-stars and I found La Cosa Nostra because most other restaurants were not open. I called as we were headed there and asked the amazing and kind Desiree (* sorry if I spelled that incorrectly) if she could seat 6 of us. She said she could and when we arrived we were greeted with biggest smile and hug. She sat us promptly in what was once a beautiful bank and as quickly as we were seated we were greeted by Nate our server. He was gracious, knowledgeable, and so incredibly kind. He made sure we knew the history of the restaurant, informed us of the specials and even seated us in the vault area after we expressed an interest. Not only was he amazing but the owner Beau came out and made it a point to introduce himself express his love for the menu and make sure we were taken care of all night. The food was out of this world amazing. We had the bruschetta, pancetta wrapped goat cheese and the most mouthwatering Arancini balls I have ever tasted in my entire life. Everyone’s meal was amazing. I had the shrimp and scallop lobster de fravola and I will 100% make a point to come from California to eat this dish. Also count yourself lucky if you get to have a hug from Nate’s daughter Ava who is the sweetest darn sweet pea in the planet. La Cosa Nostra is exactly the kind of restaurant Everyone should be supporting. Good people who love food and serve it up like your family. You would be missing out if you don’t have a meal cooked for you be the talented and lovely chef Joseph 10/10 and the only place I will be eating when I get...

First and foremost, this isn’t my first time here. The first time- GREAT. They offered a variety of things like balsamic pearls, caprese salad and cacio de Pepe, that were PHENOMENAL.(they were still pretty new at this point.) Second time- October 2024. The garlic bread was great, my lasagna was great. The didn’t have tomatoes to make the ONLY thing my husband wanted, caprese salad. My husband’s chicken parm was sub-par at best. The chicken was slimy and the mosaics had no herbs in it. Very bland. Which brings me to tonight- our family birthday dinner. Our waitress, Dakota, was very sweet. This is NOT a reflection of her. We ordered our super expensive skirt steak with chimichurri, “mashed” potatoes and asparagus. My husband and I got the same thing this time. The steak was more like gelatinous goop, the chimi was basil pesto tasting and the potatoes were cold and had HUGE lumps. Not small little ones, like half a potato. It was not great. When we got our checks, all three tickets had a “cake cutting fee” on them. I asked to speak to our waitress, she wasn’t around… so the hostess got Ellie. I very nicely asked what that fee was for..($25) she RUDELY informed me that if a patron brings in a dessert, you get charged that fee. She got super defensive and said,” it’s posted on our website, the menu and the door.” Well Ellie- hate to say it, it’s in NONE of those locations. I didn’t appreciate being quietly yelled at or your attitude, after having a terrible dinner. Thanks but no thanks. This will be the last time we...