La Strada — Restaurant in New York

If the food wasn’t good then i would have given one star because of the service from Salvador and Edwardo, it was absolutely horrible! I was just here at 4:50 8/24/22 with my mother. With Edwardo I’m assuming his job was to refill glasses and clear empty plates from the edge of the table? He couldn’t do either of those things without me asking him to take the plates or for a refill our glasses every time he past by. There were only two other tables being served and one of them were a table of 5, they were given a pitcher of water. So there was zero reason why we had empty glasses of water while we were eating our meal. As for Salvador(Salv) he took us to our table and never came back. When we first came in, to be dramatic, there was not one living soul in the restaurant then, Salvador finally came up when we began to turn around and leave. We were probably in the restaurant walking around asking if anyone was in there for a good 2 minutes. We assumed the place was closed because we could not see any customers in the restaurant either. After he sat us down he had his back turned to us talking to his colleague. When I was trying to call him to take our order 15 mins after sitting us down one of his colleagues had to tell him that we were trying to get his attention and even with his colleague letting him know his table is calling him, it took him quite a while to come over and take our order. He never acknowledged the situation. He waited till we were just about finished with our food to ask if we needed anything else. At this point we were really for the check and he left before we could even ask for it. And when we wanted to get our food package for Togo Salvador was no where to be found. We were waiting again for another 15 mins for him to appear. I finally saw him walking in from the back and I waved at him. He turned the corner to the kitchen and almost didn’t acknowledge that he saw me. Then when he came back out for a split second I waved at him again and Instead of coming over to see what we needed he responded, “Do you really need me?” HA! Well yeah I fanned you down, that means I need you… so again if the food wasn’t amazing I would be giving a one star review. We won’t be coming back because of the service but you should give it a try because you can have a different experience. And once again the food is Great! Although the bread they serve before the meal could be a lot better, kind of tastes stale and grilled on one side. For what they charge for meals the service should be a lot better as well...

Waiter was very accommodating in the beginning of the meal when we were sat in the second dining room. I had stepped outside to mitigate the stress of a loud child at another table, and upon seeing that we had put on jackets, he offered to lower the A/C which we declined. I explained that I had mostly been taking a breather from the noise and he graciously offered for us to move to the first room. Ambiance was perfect in there as was the temperature. I felt like I was in an Italian restaurant instead of a daycare. The food was spectacular. Mozzarella en carroza was cooked to perfection with ideal bread to cheese ratio. It came with a thick pureéd sauce. The Veal Saltimbocca was not traditional (veal, prosciutto, sage and white wine and butter for the sauce) but their take was a nice change. Thin veal cutlets topped with prosciutto. Halved grape tomatoes with what I believe was salami. This was on a bed of spinach sautéed in garlic and oil. The dish also had 2 halves of a hard boiled egg (overcooked, but not an issue as I don't eat them.) Their gnocchi was cooked perfectly as was the penne vodka and each arrived in a trough. No one would leave here saying they didn't get sufficient portions. The only thing to which I took exception was the decline in service after the entrées were served. I was glad there was a water pitcher on an adjacent table and refilled my own. The bathroom was clean with a kohler sink and toilet. The toilet was running and would not flush, however, I was able to easily remedy this by lifting the tank lid. I had expected the chain to be disconnected from the flapper, but the flapped was actually lodged in the flush valve opening. I dislodged it, the tank filled and it flushed without issue. The time before we were asked which dessert we chose was so extensive, I had given up and stepped outside for a moment, and unfortunately, the dessert order was taken in my absence so I did not get a chance to try the espresso or bread pudding or get a candle in my boyfriend's tiramisu for his birthday. We made do and pretended with a cocktail straw and sang "Happy Birthday" anyway. We will, of course, be back and I'm certain the next experience will get the extra star. Street parking is free after 5pm; metered parking...

I have been coming to La Strada since the 90s. Classic delicious Italian food. And considering how many Italian restaurants there are in Staten Island, this says something about this restaurant. I know many people agree with this. So it is heartbreaking to give them a mediocre review related to my most recent episode at this establishment.

Christmas 2020 was upon us and well, my small family did not feel like cooking. We thought we should support some local business. We call La Strada a day early to pre-order 2 appetizers and 4 entrees.

I also realize others are feeling the same way about Christmas cooking and hear the phone ringing in the background and people entering the restaurant as the person taking my order is bombarded with questions from others during my order. I am completely mindful of what a popular place La Strada is and definitely feel grateful he is even taking my order because he almost wasn’t going to! Realizing this opportunity I am feeling like I am gonna be expecting a lot of people waiting with me tomorrow. 1pm , he tells me, and don’t forget your order number. Great, see you tomorrow.

I get there 15 minutes early and a queue is forming outside. 10 minutes later a man asks for people’s order numbers and says, “ we’ll be working on your order now.” What? NOW? I proceed to wait another 30 minutes. We check the food and the baked clams are cooked but the container is ICE COLD, another entree has the same issue, no bread and some strange container of melted butter (didn’t go with any of our orders).

As first world of a problem this is, it is still disappointing we experienced this. I love this place but will avoid La Strada on any major holiday,...