La Dolce Vita per tutti — Restaurant in Plainfield

3 1/2 Stars. We went there for the first time tonight. We normally go to Capri Sogno when we feel like Italian food and don't feel like cooking. LDV is much smaller than Capri and has a very different vibe. It's much more like an old familiar neighborhood joint. Joint is a compliment not an insult. Our server was a middle aged lady (we're old foggies fwiw) who took a little too long to get to our table once we were seated. Once she got us started, the service was most excellent, and she was really cool, laid back, and handled things perfectly. The food to me was a mixed bag. The fried calamari appee was good, fresh, and the portion was BIG. Served with cocktail sauce and lemons. The house salad is awesome. One salad on the menu and bingo, it's simple, fresh, and very tasty. My better half had some kind of broccoli rabe ravioli in a cream sauce. Portion size was nice, but I'm gonna have to guess they bring the ravioli in from a jumbotron restaurant supply house. It did not taste homemade to me. Still, a pleasant dish, but for the price, I expected homemade. If I'm wrong, I'd be surprised. I had Chicken Marsala w/mushrooms. Again, nice portion and it came with a side of pasta. (I had linguine with meat sauce, old school delicious, and not too much garlic. That was a nice treat) The chicken was cooked really well. it was tender with a nice light coating. The Marsala sauce was lacking well, um, Marsala. The dish could have used more mushrooms too. I will say everything was served hot and at a nice pace. They got that down once they get to you. FWIW, we walked in right as they peaked in their busy period for the night, so I can't really complain too much. Everyone who we encountered who worked there was very pleasant and nice to deal with. 3 1/2 stars is a solid rating from me. I'm kinda of a food nut and a very good cook myself, so I have certain expectations when we go out. I do like Capri a bit more than LDV, but make no mistake, we'll be going back to LDV on a regular basis. That old neighborhood joint vibe is one I've missed for years. it's been a long time since we've been to a place with that feel. Oh yeah, I'd be totally remiss if I failed to mention, their meat sauce was outstanding. They hit a grand slam with it. Old school charm, excellent service from a very good staff, and food that has a few misses, but in the end, it's well worth trying. I'm excited to try other things. If you feel better, you can call this a true 4 star review, but it's really 3 1/2 to 3 3/4 to me. I rarely , and I do mean rarely give five star restaurant reviews. Thanks for a nice meal and experience staff at LDV, we're looking forward to...

Where to begin.....the atmosphere was amazingly comfortable. I felt at home and that's saying something since we were the only POC in the building. We didn't have to wait long for a party of 3. The staff were so friendly and helpful. Every suggestion was correct. They didn't try to persuade you to get something more expensive because it benefited them. I love the owner. He was present and attentive. No loud music or distracting televisions. It was clean, it was classy, it was the perfect temperature. When you walk through those doors you are in modern day Italy. All smiles can be seen throughout the establishment. The smell is so clean yet homey. Like sunday dinner on friday! The silverware was clean as well as the glassware. The table was nicely set and they weren't too close for comfort but close enough to feel like you weren't alienated. They start you off with fresh baked bread. OMG there are 3 types of oil to use. I love them all. The wine tasted of Italy. 1 glass people, just 1. For appetizers we had shrimp and clams. Those were the largest clams I've seen in a while and the shrimp weren't farm raised. Great quality! The food is fresh. This is not olive garden. You will wait. Its not setting out all day so if that's what you want, ewh and this is not for you. I ordered the pork chop al vesuvio, my aunt had the chicken al vesuvio and my other aunt had the chicken parmesan. The meat was so tender. The portions were crazy large. The vesuvio was so delicious. My mouth was watering while I ate it. My aunt said that was the best chicken parmesan she ever had. They came with salad which was authentically Italian. Love the olives and dressing. They also come with pasta sides. We all had spaghetti. Perfecto! I have now had real Italian food. Thank you owner, staff, cooks and bartender. We were too stuffed for dessert but the oreo cheesecake sounded divine. My experience here was perfect and I will never forget this little piece of Italy right...

Not our best experience there. It used to be one of my favorite go-to places and honestly speaking just once in my life I’d like to go out to eat where everything works out nicely. My husband and I sat there for at least 10 minutes before our server approached and asked if we had been waited on … and it was obvious in a very small room, that we hadn’t and SHE was our server. Moving forward my wine didn’t arrive until we were finally waited on and almost 15 mins. later which I had to ask for, however, the hot bread arrived almost immediately by the young person who serves the bread which was a plus, thank God. Once the salad arrived that was supposed to be for both of us that is usually served in an endless serving bowl, I was the only one who received it in a dish and it was soggy, full of dressing. Had I known I was the only one getting that salad I would have asked for dressing on the side. Granted my husband ordered a different salad with the sliced tomato & mozzerella which isn’t the complimentary one but we should have received enough of the salad for two in a bowl. The eggplant was tasty but full of breading so that too has changed. The young boy who poured water etc let our dishes pile up before finally taking them and we were running out of room on our small table. Anyway after several apologies throughout the evening for all the bumps we incurred, I’m sure my husband tipped generously but that type of service shouldn’t be rewarded. We should have been compensated especially when you’re told the wine was being poured after asking for it and it still took another 10 minutes to get it. There were periods of time when our server disappeared for several minutes. In short several tables were empty, other guests were tended to with the upmost care so all I can say is that I now hesitate to return nor bring my friends as had been planned to treat them to my once favorite go-to place that I had been...