Via Emilia — Restaurant in Mobile

If you want quality food and service, do not show up past 7:45. We called because we wanted to be considerate and make a reservation. We made our reservation forty minutes before closing time. They called back and informed us that they closed at nine. Okay, so first problem- the restaurant needs to specifically make their last reservation for 7:30 to give their customers time to eat and their kitchen the 40minutes it took to make an app and 2 entrees. To have the hostess call us back to let us know they close at 9 was absurd. She said someone forced her to call us back and tell us. Again absurd.

This was confusing because there is absolutely no hustle in getting the food out, and no attentiveness to the tables. We literally sat there for over 10 minutes waiting for our server or any server to take my money so I could leave.

So we arrived earlier than the reservation time. The appetizer took an easy 20 minutes from the time we were seated. They were out of multiple apps……..The appetizer was cooked throughout.; there needs more sauce on it. So it was friend green tomatoes, a plop of red peppers, and a couple of random Romain leaves. They were seasoned well but were dry.

The chicken parm style- good chicken portion but I asked for extra sauce because the sauce always soaks into the breading. The pesto pasta should be called pasta with a pinch of pesto. The pasta was dry and cold and reminded me of what you would feed a toddler at dinner to prevent a mess. I asked for more sauce so I could eat my pasta in which I was told there was no more red sauce. How do you run out of a staple component that goes with half the menu????? Or is it that they just refused to heat up anymore red sauce? The zucchini was apparently the reason why our food was held up. We must of had a special edition because the zucchini was black as night. It easily took 30 minutes to get our food. Again, the phone call was completely pointless because it was the restaurant who lacked any hustle in ensuring they would close at 9. The dish has potential to be a great tasting dish…… it definitely missed the mark. Had they informed me before I ordered that they were out of red sauce, I would not have ordered this dish.

The eggplant Emilia- everything was cold except the eggplant. Apparently, the midnight edition zucchini held this up also. However, the eggplant was executed well. It just had nothing else to compliment it on the plate because it was cold……

The reviews looked promising and I may try it again one day but it will not be on my dime and definitely…. Can you guess what I’m about to say? Not be Past 7:30.

Service- inattentive, don’t expect refills, and good luck finding your server.

Credit card fees- they charges us a 2.75% fee for using a credit card. Nobody said anything nor is there anything stating this in the restaurant. At least inform the customers before they sit down and give them the option to pay cash.

Also, it’s really loud in here so anyone who has hearing issues, may not enjoy sitting inside. Parents that bring their babies to date night, you may want to come an hour before the babies bedtime. Your baby will not sleep, and you won’t get to eat.

Overall 2.5 but not close enough to 3 stars....

This is a small restaurant with about a dozen tables inside and another half dozen under a covered patio. This place feels a bit close, so be advised if you take the kids. If someone acts the fool (adult or child) then everyone is going to see it and hear it. Do not expect chicken fingers, mac n cheese or burgers. If your kids are finicky, then this might not be the best place to eat.

There is no real set menu (which is written on a chalk board), but usually contains about 8 to 12 entries. I think this is fantastic. Why? They do not have an endless supply of whatever stored in a freezer. The food I have received in the past has always been fresh. When they run out of an item, it is taken off the menu. Sometimes they will put something in its place but most of the time it is just erased. If you are looking for an endless menu with tons of frozen product heated and called "fresh"... Via Emilia is not for you.

À la carte is the watch word. If you want a soup, salad or desert then expect it to be on the side. The chef is going to include what he thinks fits the entree best. Again, this is a win in my opinion. If you want something substituted ask (they have done it for me in the past) but I have not been disappointed with the combinations that were brought out.

There are usually three servers in this restaurant. They are very personable and exceptionally knowledgeable about the food. I am not a wine drinker, but I have taken friends who did drink. All of them were pleased with the pairings the servers suggested.

Via Emilia is perfect for a night out, especially if there is a show/concert at South. Gives you a chance to walk off a bit of the indulgences when going to the Performing Arts Center for a show, the Mitchell Center for a basketball game or Stanky Field for baseball. I envy the students and staff who work at University of South Alabama, for this gem that is sitting just off campus.

Parking: Poor at best. We park on campus and walk across Old Shell Road to eat. That said, I do not go to a great restaurant for parking. I go for the food and atmosphere. I don't mind walking a bit when I know the food is going to be outstanding.

Price: Salad/appetizer run about $4, entree averages $15 and...

We made a reservation for my birthday. We were seated outside and it was very pretty.

Our server kept walking back inside and would disappear for at least 20 minutes at a time. We had to flag him down and we didn’t get to actually order until 30 minutes later since he was nowhere to be found.

The bread we ordered was delicious, we got Alfredo sauce to dip which was also very good. Our entrees, however, were a different story.

The entire meal tasted like they only seasoned it with black pepper. The veal piccata tasted only of black pepper and the pasta was just capers and butter. There was no hint of lemon at all which is essential in a piccata.

The crab stuffed flounder was just a crab cakes laid over a very thin piece of flounder. That would have been ok if the crab cake and the fish weren’t bathed in black pepper making it impossible to eat. The only ok thing on that plate were the green beans and the spaghetti with red sauce.

The chicken Marsala tasted of pure sugar. It was the sweetest Marsala I have ever tasted, truly could not eat it and had to exchange the chicken with the chicken from the tortellini Alfredo chicken someone else ordered. The mashed potatoes were ok as far as mashed potatoes go, but again heavy handed with the black pepper.

Truly the tortellini was probably the best dish, however again the chicken that came with it was bathed in pepper.

This restaurant has potential and I’m not sure if maybe they hired a new chef that isn’t as experienced based on the previous great reviews, but this is by far the worst food I had in a long time. And it wasn’t just one plate, it was several, so it seems like an across the board issue. We saw another table letting the server know their food wasn’t good but we didn’t want to cause any issues when they had a full dining room. If you’re eating here order the bread and the tortellini with no protein, it’s the safest bet and...