La Pizzaria — Restaurant in Jackson Township

ATMOSPHERE: The restaurant has a unique decor. Eclectic Italian seems an appropriate description. We, however, could not take in much more than one overstated frame housing a tiny, average painting of fruit. We were tucked in a corner far away from the crowd. Our booth felt a bit like an afterthought. Somewhere where shady deals take place in plain view. The nearest table to us was filled with sophomore boys on their way to homecoming. We could hear their conversation: mostly just objectifying Freshmen girls.

SERVICE: Our server was very attentive. Not a kid in high school, but an experienced server with confidence and attention to detail. He filled out drinks regularly and answered all of our (limited) questions without hesitation. He was a 5* waiter and we tipped him generously for his efforts.

FOOD: We ordered from the menu opting for soup over salad. My wife ordered the wedding soup. I ordered the French onion. The presentation on the French onion soup was promising, but both were largely flavorless; a very weak broth and vegetables. (Like low sodium canned soup). We wanted to sample an assortment of pastas to find out what La Pizzaria made best, so we both ordered the Italian trio: Red Lasagna, Tortellini Alfredo, and Gnocchi in Pesto for $18.99.

My wife and I both finished the lasagna. It was meaty and the red sauce had good flavor. The tortellini was bland and unimaginative in comparison. Average at best. We barely touched the Gnocchi. They were prepared to a good texture, but the sauce was as flavorless as the soup.

If I were to return, I would ask for a table in lieu of a booth, order the Homemade Lasagna with a meatball, and try the salad with Maple Balsamic...

The atmosphere was welcoming when we arrived and the server was prompt to take our drink order. The noise level in the room was average for a restaurant. The food was disappointing. Our wedding soup was chicken, Celery, onions, chicken broth, miniature shell noodles and what seemed to be egg like in an egg drop soup. Definitely not the wedding soup we are accustomed to with the meatballs, spinach, and pearl macaroni. As well I was very excited for the side of mushroom risotto so I ordered it as an additional side to my balsamic chicken. It came out and I was very disappointed. Usually mushroom risotto is creamy, this was dry like rice pilaf as if it had no wine, no parm, no cream added to it at all. And on top was canned/jarred mushrooms. Not fresh mushrooms but those chewy kinds. Very disappointed, however the sautéed spinach with cranberries that came with my dish was very tasty. We had twelve guests with us and they prepared the wrong entree on one of our guests. He didn't receive his proper food until we were already finished eating. Also everyone that ordered pasta said the pasta to sauce ratio, left the pasta very dry. The meat sauce seemed to be browned ground meat laid on naked pasta and then topped with red sauce. The baked ziti had more cheese than sauce on it. My daughter and grandmother enjoyed their chicken Parmigianos. The server was asked several times for refills and forgot to bring lemons until asked repeatedly again. This was not a busy evening when we visited so there was no reason...

What a huge disappointment! La Pizzeria has been in business since 1949 in Canton and once was synonymous with good food, service in a pleasantly appointed dining and banquet rooms. My experience this afternoon for a private party was completely underwhelming. The room used for this event (35th wedding anniversary) is tired looking, unappealing colors and dirty worn carpeting from when they first opened over 25 years ago. Now let's talk about what they're serving for food. The sausage and pepper (note one pepper pet family style serving bowl) is extremely low quality grind with high amounts of fat and could only have been deep fried. The color of it was grey and undercooked. The flavor had a distinctive rancid oil flavor to it. Not edible. The rigatoni was cold, starchy and flavorless. The very pale chicken was also dry and flavorless. As it really difficult to mess up a roasted potato I will give them an adequate rating. I found the entire experience sub par. I strongly suggest if you are planning an event do not waste your money at La Pizzeria. I wish I could find something redeeming to report. My advice to this establishment is either step up your game or please close and let someone who cares about quality events, quality food and customer service take over. Such a shame this new generation has spoiled what was once a...