La campagna — Restaurant in Haycock Township

After having not visited La Campagna for a while, we looked forward to returning for a good Italian meal.W hope some things were still excellent, there were others that disappointed. The calamari was fried to a delicate crisp and accompanied by their delicious light and fresh marinara. So far so good. The Caesar salad, our next course was brought to the table on top of the appetizer. Not good in a couple of ways. First we felt hurried and second the salad was dismally bland and somewhat soggy. No piquant flavor of anchovy or cheese, nothing. While my husband's Vongole( pasta with red clam sauce) was ok, my dinner was a big disappointment. I ordered Al Santo- pasta with " veal, fennel and light sauce". I was expecting maybe strips of sauteed veal and fresh fennel, not bits of chewy ground veal and fennel seed. Now the flavor was fine if you like mild Italian sausage. The pasta was al dente and delicious. But the lack of recognizable veal and real fennel an unpleasant surprise. The next surprise was when the server walked by and asked as an aside are you all right and my husband said yes and we were handed our bill...... miscommunication maybe, but not being asked if we wanted coffee or dessert was unusual. We did get 2 decaf coffees and a piece of tiramisu. There was not a drop of any kind of liquor in the cake, just the flavor of simple sugar syrup. And those two coffees and 1 cake cost $15.00 and there was no breakdown of the charges on the bill. Because we were sitting close to the lobby we could see 3 couples waiting to be seated and we felt rushed to finish up and go. Not a stellar evening by any stretch. We have had some wonderful meals there in the past, but this one?...

So you might ask why am I giving 1 star. The main issue was the hostess/owner. We initially made a reservation 2 days prior for 7pm when we were told there was no availability earlier. On the day that we were supposed to go, we called at 5pm and asked if there was availability or a waut to be seated as we really needed to eat early. We were told sure, come on by as soon as possible. We arrived 10 minutes later and told them we wouldn't be needing the 7pm reservation anymore, thanks. The hostess all of sudden was huffy and said that this is throwing off their schedule. Anyway, there were at least 5 tables open at 5pm and most of them didn't fill until we were done an hour later. Then we get the bill and each item we ordered was priced on the handwritten receipt $1 more than was listed in the menu. When we asked the waitress, she said that's odd let me check. The hostess then came back and pointed to the fine print on the menu that said prices were subject to change. At the end of the day, a few extra dollars doesn't make a big deal but if the prices indeed had gone up, why no heads up when we were ordering or why wasn't the waitress aware of the price increase. This is truly a case of the hostess being pissed that we threw off her schedule. And to top it off, the meals were so so. The Margherita pizza had little cheese and it was under the heavy tomato sauce. The penne pasta dish was ok but covered in melted cheese, not as described in the menu. So, if you go please don't get on the bad side of the hostess. She'll upcharge you and blame it on prices are subject to change. The one positive note, all the waitresses were nice...

We went to La Campagna last night for our anniversary dinner and it was a very positive experience. Our first visit eight years ago, shortly after they opened, was disappointing.

We started our dinner by sharing an order of Sautee di Cozze, mussels in a white wine sauce. The mussels were cooked to perfection. Our next course was a Caesar salad which was delicious and which we also shared. For our entrees: my wife had the Lasagnetta De Mare (seafood lasagna) which was packed with perfectly cooked lobster, shrimp, scallops, crab, asparagus, cheese, and some pasta. I had the Frutti de Mare which was loaded with mussels, calamari, clams, shrimp & scallops in a white wine sauce served with linguini. This also was loaded with perfectly cooked seafood and not too much pasta. In some places you get mostly pasta and a little seafood; not here. We finished-off our dinner with Cannoli and espresso. The filling in the cannoli was very creamy with a hint of lemon and they push a great espresso.

The service was excellent, and there were enough servers checking on everybody, so, I am sure that what ever you needed was brought quickly. They brought us everything we needed before we asked and all our food was delivered hot.

When you decide to go, (and you should) I suggest making a reservation because La Campagna is quite busy, about 90% occupied last night.

We will be...