La Focaccia Italian Grill — Restaurant in San Antonio

Update: we went this past Saturday for the first time since covid and were very disappointed in the change in food taste, portion sizes, prices, and staff. The marinera was very bland like came out of a can with no seasoning, making the $15.95 for a single by itself 2x2 slice of lasagna even more ridiculous (it came with nothing else). You had to pay $3.95 for a tiny side salad like some leaves 2 small tomato wedges and slice of purple onion. Then he brought out one with the wrong dressing but i was afraid to send it back with how rude the waiter already was, that he might spit in it or something so kept it. All the meals that did come with pasta, the pasta was served in a small sauce bowl and the meat would come on a separate small plate. My spouse got the carbonara, the bowl was tiny. This is not how they used to do it. It used to be amazing food on a plate all together, good portion sizes, not sure if they're trying to hide how little amount of pasta they are giving you or what. Our waiter was too busy trying to be a snooty man that we couldn't understand him when he did decide to stop by our table. We'd ask for something, wait for awhile, he'd walk by several times with us staring at him, finally we'd wave to get his attention and he literally waved back at us dismissively that he'd get to us eventually then go to several other tables before coming over almost annoyed we dared bother him, we'd ask for same thing again, he'd forget again so we'd ask someone else and they would tell us to ask our waiter, we said we have multiple times to which that person would go tell our waiter who'd look at us annoyed and finally bring us what we had asked for, more than once this happened. He never informed us that the bread was $4 each time he brought more until we got our bill or maybe he did but we couldn't understand his mumbling and snide comments. I had to stop elsewhere to fill up my teens after we left because they were still hungry. But hey for 4 ppl we got to leave irritated, annoyed by the service and bill, and hungry for only about $140....will not be going back. Which is sad they used to be amazing...oh and there's a $3.99 charge for not using cash, this place just nickels and dimes you to death. I just looked at my receipt again to verify prices and saw we were charged for 2 beers versus the 1 we actually got because he never brought us the 2nd beer we kept asking for. They think they are making money by being sneaky with all these charges when in reality just losing customers and getting bad reviews. The place needs a deep cleaning as well, touch-ups, and clear out. I hope they actually read all the reviews and return it to its former glory days.

Very good. My spouse and I will come here on a Friday or Saturday night for date night or a Saturday/Sunday afternoon with the kids for a meal. Everything we've had has always been really good. Not sure if they still have him or not but use to be on Friday and Saturday nights, a piano player that took requests. The booths are the huge old fashioned leather ones. They have traditional style Italian pizzas as well as dinners and a salad bar. It's a great...

Ok, so we dropped in bc of the good reviews, but we ended up leaving after 1.5 hours and not getting our food.

I try to write balanced reviews, the kind I'd want to read. I understand if it was an off night, but idk, this place is like something out of Kitchen Nightmares. There are Halloween decorations outside in December.

Note: this was at 6:20 on a Sunday night. The restaurant was at about 60% capacity, there were plenty of empty tables, it wasn't crazy busy. We ordered a Caesar salad, minestrone soup, eggplant parm and fettuccine with shrimp.

Pros location is cute the large chandelier inside is pretty the server, when she was able to come by, was very nice

Cons we waited over 10 min for someone to come to our table after being seated. She brought water and took off even though we were ready to order. then it was another 20 min, yes, 20 min that we waited. My husband had to get up and asked the hostess if our server could take our order. Another 8-10 min went by and she eventually came and apologized which we understand, it wasn't her fault. 10 min after THIS we got some bread, it was just ok we waited again, truly, another 20 min! the bathroom is gross, in desperate need of some repairs. the Caesar salad came - and it was DRENCHED in a honey mustard dressing. Like really, all 3 of us tasted it, and it was not Caesar. You'd think, "Why didn't they say anything?" Well because the server neve came by again and at this point we've been here an hour and we were hungry. the minestrone soup came 15 min after the salad. Ok, I understand everybody has their own recipe, but this had SPAGHETTI in it. And it was clearish, yellow, like a chicken noodle, not at all thick tomato based. My husband and son were gagged and I tasted it. Sooo salty and it was barely lukewarm. Look, it didn't need to be steaming, but this was just above room temp.

And at this point we called it. Our main dishes weren't even close to being ready, we asked! The soup and salad were genuinely awful. We checked our phone and we had spent an hour and a half there. So we paid for the $4 diet coke and left. Honestly, we could have just walked out and no one would have noticed, but that's not who we are.

The tables around us were all having the same problems. There was a table where the young woman had a walker, and they had to flag someone down twice to get their check. We saw them outside and she said they missed their bus bc the check took so long. There was a table of 3 adults and 3 kids that was seated around the same time as us. They also didn't get any food or get their order taken forever. I was watching bc if the server came there we could have flagged her down.

I know businesses have trouble finding staff etc. But even if you add some buffer for an "off night," this was crazy. We're not really picky people, but it's reasonable to expect your soup to be hot or your food to come after you've been sitting for an...

La Focaccia Review

This is truly the definition of a neighborhood gem. My wife and I have been coming here for about nine years, and the food is always fantastic, the service is always personal and the atmosphere is always relaxed and welcoming.

La Focaccia is located in the heart of Southtown and is a staple for locals. This is the kind of authentic spot restauranteurs TRY to recreate when they build a neighborhood Italian restaurant. The decor is not fancy or pretentious. The menu is not complicated. The people are not following a script. This is the real deal, folks - just how it's supposed to be. From the moment you walk in you feel welcome and at home.

The star of the show is, as it should be, the food. I've had a pretty wide sampling of their fare over the years and I can honestly say that I've never, ever been disappointed. Everything is made to order and is fresh. You can taste the love in every bite. The chicken parmigiana is rock solid and is one of my go-to staples. The veal is tender and well seasoned. The pasta is great. They use an excellent Italian sausage with just the right balance of spiciness and sweetness. I've enjoyed every one of the many seafood dishes I've had here. Really, you can't go wrong with anything on the menu.

The owners, the chef and the staff are all excellent. They are personable, engaged and very, very welcoming. I can't tell you how many times the owner or the chef has stopped by the table to chat. The servers are also warm and friendly and many have been here for quite a while, which says a lot about the work environment. You can tell people genuinely like what they do here.

The wine list is not large, but it always has a strong selection of quality wines and the pricing is very, very reasonable. They typically charge 50% to 70% per glass what many other local spots charge. The same applies to the food. What might be a $20 plate a few blocks away is probably $14 here.

When we moved to Southtown in 2010, this was one of the only places serving Italian in the neighborhood. Now there are quite a few choices, many offering five-star cuisine, exotic dishes, first-class service and elegant decor. That's great, and we enjoy dining there as well. Sometimes you just want to have a nice meal served by people who love what they do in an atmosphere more akin to your own kitchen. That's...