La Strada — Restaurant in Reno

My family and I visited La Strada on 04/20/2024 after spending a weekend in Reno. We had been here previously and had a great experience the past three times we had been there.

I'm unsure if they switched owners, chefs or staff in general as our experience this time was very much different than our previous ones.

To start off, my drink was forgotten about until I mentioned it to our waitress (who was very sweet). It wasn't too much of a big deal and the waitress apologized and stated we wouldn't be charged for the drink was it had been forgotten about.

I ordered the Viel Chop which I had gotten before and knew I had loved it. What I received was a porkchop (which was dumb of me to not notice since the beginning). I wouldn't have had an issue had the porkchop been good, but the sauce was very salty and the plate was not good overall. On top of it, there's a heavy price difference between the viel chop and a porkchop.

My family had ordered the chicken parmesan and they stated it was dry and flavourless. Again, these were plates we have had and really enjoyed in the past.

Going back to my drink, it was garnished with a cherry and an orange, the cherry was spoiled, which I noticed towards the end as I kept getting a very bad smell from my drink.

When the spoiled cherry was mentioned to the waitress, she again apologized and stated she would verify in the back to make sure no one else would be getting a spoiled cherry.

When it came time to pay (we were a family of 12), the kind waitress stated that because of the inconvenience, she had not charged for a few of our ordered items which we appreciated. Our mistake was not asking to review the charges prior to paying - we were charged for all of the items (except for a kids ravioli).

We're not ones to really complain as we rather avoid confrontation, but it's very disappointing to go to a restaurant that is considered on the higher end, with 12 people and receive food that does not meet basic expectations. We could expect these issues from a restaurant like olive garden, but not one that's promoted like this one.

When we left our table I was left with this really bad gut feeling and felt the need to bring this all up to the manager on duty. When I was explaining everything to her, she just kept nodding her head and at the end just said "I'll mention it to my kitchen staff" which to me was not the proper way to handle something like this.

All in all, I can guarantee my family and I will not be dining here again. Our waitress was super sweet but the "manager" should have handled this whole situation better. At the end of the day we were a large family who spent close to $500 and who were seeking to have a nice family dinner, like we have had...

Wow! The potential that this place could have to be the #1 Italian restaurant destination in the Reno area is limitless. Unfortunately, the reality is quite a distance away from this marker. A fairly busy Friday evening we expected to watch bit for a table and we did. Once seated it took a good 15 mins for someone to acknowledge us and bring water. Finally, the bartender came over to ask if anyone had helped us yet. We let her know that we were ready to order. She didn't have a pen or anything to write on so she said she would remember. We ordered and she repeated it back. We waited another 15 mins and the assistant brought some bread. We wolfed down the bread and our waters were empty. We again did not have anyone check on us for another 15/20 mins. Our waters were refilled and we asked for more bread.

The bartender came over again to ask how the appetizers were. We hadn't been served any yet. So she went back to check on them. She returned immediately with the plate of frito misto and our shared caeaser salad. Clearly the appetizer had been sitting under the warmer as it was obvious that it didn't just come out of the fryer. The Calamari was over cooked. The salad was looking a bit old. The dressing looked dry on the romaine and was also clearly sitting for awhile. Service was so S L O W! At this point we had finished our salad and appetizer. She came back to let us know that there was a "mix-up" in the kitchen and wanted us to repeat our entree orders. (Was this truly the case or did she forget our orders since she didn't write anything down? I'm not sure but...) Other customer's orders were brought out way before ours who arrived significantly later than us.

Once we got our food the Entrees looked like they had also sat under the warmer for a bit. We Had to ask for bread for the third time.

By now our wine glasses were empty but not once did they ask if we wanted another glass. The shrimp ala vodka sauce was decent. I ordered the Orcchicette with broccolini and Italian sausage. While eating I found a shrimp shell in my food! That's kinda weird eh?

Overall, it was a huge disappointment. I realize that they were short handed but the service was horrible. The food delayed and it affected the taste and visual presentation. I probably won't return for awhile especially unless I get feedback that big changes have happened. I hate to hold this against them but they need to step up the game for the prices that they are asking. Shrimp shell in the sausage pasta...

The food, service, and ambiance was classy and thoughtful. Some of our favorites included the fried artichokes and ravioli with porcini cream sauce.

The staff want your experience to be great. We first selected a wine that we ended up not enjoying. The staff happily let us select a different bottle while taking the other bottle off our ticket.

Couldn't have been more pleased!

Update 12/4/21: We have been twice more since the last review, which includes today. The food, service, and staff continue to deliver. Thanks again to the team and Nicole. We can't wait to come back!!

Update 8/11/22: We are back to enjoy La Strada again after 9 months. Michael, Nicole, and our server Antonio made our visit extra special. We always look forward to a delicious meal and decided to make La Strada our final meal of this trip. We weren't disappointed. In fact, we were treated to incredible service and excitement about our return trip. Trust me, you will be hard pressed to find a better experience here. Don't pass up the fries artichokes, caesar salad, porcini ravioli, lamb chops Scottadito marinated in figs and balsamic. Finish your dinner off with some tiramisu and delicious port wine.

Can't say it enough. We love this place!!

Update 6/4/23: We have returned after a year and La Strada still delivers. Nichole, Michael, and their entire team make this a wonderful experience. We celebrated a special occasion and couldn't have been happier with the service and experience. We can't say enough good things about this place. We stop here every time we come to Reno. The wait staff is knowledgeable, kind, thoughtful, and want the experience to be pleasurable. We will continue to go to La Strada every time we come to town. This is without a doubt a must-stop no...