LaStrada Restaurant — Restaurant in Georgia

On Saturday August 2, 2025, we (two of us) went to La Strada Restaurant for dinner at 6:00 PM. As always, we called a day or so before to put our name on the "priority list'. The "priority list" is the way La Strada handles the seating of its customers; La Strada does not do reservations. It works perfectly as it has for years.

We have enjoyed the wonderful Italian food, wine, and cocktails since La Strada opened. We have never been disappointed with the food, service, and the outstanding environment. La Strada is our favorite restaurant.

Although we arrived about 15 minutes early, we were immediately seated. The restaurant was buzzing with the numerous people enjoying the restaurant. When we go to La Strada, the vibrant atmosphere always causes us to feel grateful to be there with so much pleasure surrounding us.

Next, we were greeted by our waiter Michael C. We knew Michael C. because he had been our waiter the previous time we went to dinner there. Michael is "special" and we consider Michael to be the "Cat's MEOW". He is one of the most attuned young people that we have encountered. At such a young age, Michael has learned what is required to superbly communicate with people. We told Michael C we were there to enjoy our dining experience that night and not to worry about the time it took to bring the food out. At that time, we were enjoying our very perfect Bombay Gin and Tonic. While discussing the menu items, Michael C recommended a very special red Italian wine to enjoy with our meal, and having only one bottle remaining he secured it for us. During our previous visit to La Strada, Michael recommended a wine from the same winery but a different variety. The winery is Argiano.

It's important to note all members of the staff at La Strada are exceptional at customer/people interaction. For example, Rebecca who had been our waiter on a previous occasion recognized us and with a warm gesture said hello, and we had a short conversation with her later. We had a question regarding an appetizer that we wanted to order to take home to eat the next day. Michael took the question to Nikolas Lefkaditis, the owner/ General Manager. Mr. Lefkaditis came to our table and described the intricate preparation and suggested we not order the item to take home as we would probably be disappointed. HONESTY! Then, we noticed he went to the next table to ask the people preparing to leave about their meal. We noticed he performed busing of the table after they left. All of the people at La Strada seem to work as one BIG Team.

After our favorite Gorgonzola salads and French bread, we placed our order of Veal Francese from the Main Menu and Softshell Crabs from the Nightly Specials. Both of these entrees were IMPECCABLE. The wine was extraordinary. Note we miss the hanging sign that has been used for many years that told you as you drove by: "Softshell Crabs" are on the...

A recent transplant to the area from Alpharetta, I have been searching high and low for a similar non-chain local Italian restaurant similar to the one I grew up with run by Italian immigrant owners as well as reminding me of the real Italian food I had when in Italy. This is it. For those who do not know, the owner, John Lefkaditis, is a former general manager for Buckhead's ultra high end private fine dining restaurant 103 West.

I'm always a fan of veal and these days it is getting harder to find in restaurants as social pressure from animal rights activists pushes their agenda on large corporate chains like Olive Garden to take it off the menu. La Stratda's Scallopini Saltimbocca is divine and everything I missed about my childhood neighborhood restaurant. For an appetizer I got the lobster ravioli and it was outstanding. The bisque sauce that I assume is made from shrimp shell stock rounded out everything to perfection.

Don't let the small dive-looking building fool you. If you go to Italy, the best Italian restaurants are family run and not the fancy schmancy white table cloth snooty overpriced ones. If you want a step up from the usual Italian chains and are in the general vicinity, this is it. Oh and speaking of price, a reviewer here said the dishes were overpriced. I disagree. Apparently that reviewer has not been to Carabba's or Provino chain of restaurants for dinner and seen their prices. It's so nice to have a gem like this in my area that has been a local favorite for many years.

If I had one complaint, it's that there is no Veal Alla Roma dish where veal is lightly dusted with flour, sauteed, and topped with prosciutto and provolone cheese in a white wine and olive oil sauce reduction (some purists say no cheese but I disagree having that version in a small family run B&B in Rome). The omission of the classic side staple Fettuccine Alfredo is somewhat disappointing as well which is another benchmark I use to judge the quality of an Italian restaurant with. That's why I give this review four stars over five, but those overlooks are not going to stop me from dining...

This place may have been good in 1990 when the sticker on the door says they won some type of acclaim. Everything we ordered tasted frozen, the bread they serve tastes like cheap French bread with garlic and olive oil and sadly it was the onley edible thing. The pork loin was clearly frozen at some point and tasted gamey. The chicken piccata was soggy and the lemon caper sauce was more like lemon water. They did however manage to not overcook my angel hair pasta and the service was great. Someone gave us a giftcard to this place but if I had had to pay for that meal I would have been pretty upset. The servers were great but when the manager came over after we sent our food back he told us the food was cooked perfectly and he had tasted it... he also bragged about how he does 1500 customers a week so it was no skin off his shoulders if we didn't like the food. Meanwhile, the place was completely empty at 7:30pm. The decor and the food is dated, if it was ever good it no longer is save yourself some money and visit another Italian place. Aldos italian restaurant is right up the street...