La Strada — Restaurant in San Pablo

La Strada was fabulous. My older brother had missed my daughter's and my birthday, so he invited us to dine at La Strada yesterday. We had dined at this restaurant for many years when it was under a different management, and we were thrilled to discover that the quality of food, service, and atmosphere didn't suffer under the new management. The restaurant is still beautifully decorated, starting from the foyer to the dining area, and one can hear the soft music playing as one enters in the restaurant. We were immediately greeted and led to our table, and we were handed our menus. After giving us enough time to view the menu, the server approached and informed us of the special dishes of the day, which included the halibut. However, I myself had already decided on the Capellini Pomodoro, which I felt would be the perfect portion for me to consume. I had eaten at Nation's Giant Hamburger with my daughter close to lunchtime earlier, and I wasn't feeling too hungry. My brother selected the Calamari and the Minestrone soup, and my daughter chose the Veal Piccata with the Clam Chouder soup. All three of us loved and enjoyed our meal, right after they had served the delicious bread with the olive oil and herbs. I didn't take a photo of the main menu, but I took a photo of the dessert menu, which was a much smaller size, and from which my brother chose the Vanilla Ice Cream accompanied by an espresso, my daughter was full and she opted not to have dessert, however, when I saw that one of my favorite desserts was listed on the dessert menu, the Crème Brûlée, without hesitation I opted for that. The only other restaurant they have this dessert and which is equally delicious is at Jack's in Pleasant Hill. Fatapples used to have this dessert on their menu, but they unfortunately discontinued it. I will list the photos of the dishes my family savored at La Strada along with a couple of photos of the interior of this gem of a restaurant with...

I went here with my family for my mom's birthday, and we had been wanting to come here since it was popular amongst our friends and neighbors, so we had high hopes for this restaurant.

I had looked at the menu online beforehand and was excited to try some of the items. Some notes about what I tried: -bread for the bruschetta wasn't toasted -I ordered the rib eye. On the menu, the rib eye comes with peppercorn sauce or herb butter, potatoes, and spinach; sounds great! Our server didn't ask if I wanted sauce or butter. The steak was alright, and my spinach was cold. I'd honestly spend $40 for a better steak elsewhere... -I also ordered a side of pesto pasta, which is $10, and that wasn't a big deal. BUT, when my food came, they had replaced the mashed potatoes with my rib eye with the side of pasta I had ordered. I was a bit confused and thought it was a bit odd to pay an extra $10 for a side of pasta, even though I didn't receive 1/2 of the sides that were supposed to come with my $40 steak.

Other things to mention: -Our server was nonexistent for our whole dinner. No one checked on us to see if everything was okay, if we needed anything, etc. With that service, it seemed a little unfair that they added an 18% gratuity for our party of 6 but also didn't really provide much service? -At the end of our dinner, a staff member was helping clear the table, and as he picked up a small dish of olive oil for the bread, the spoon from the oil had fallen from midair to the floor. He apologized for dropping the spoon but didn't apologize for the large splatter of olive oil on my mom's blouse. It's unfortunate because it was 1. Her birthday and 2. A new blouse she got for her birthday. See picture of said blouse attached.

I'm sure every restaurant has its good and bad days, and I don't doubt how this place is a nice spot for locals, as mentioned in other reviews. But, it didn't hit the mark for me, and I will not...

Don't let the unassuming location of being part of a strip mall fool you. This is an elegant and fine food Italian restaurant. You enter to a beautiful lobby, and the restaurant is decorated beautifully, with white tablecloths and comfortable seating.

Our server was very pleasant and informative. She made us feel welcome, answered our questions, and checked on us regularly to ensure we were enjoying our food and cocktails.

The food was exceptional. Our party ordered different specials, and we're not disappointed in any way. My companion had a melt-in-your-mouth bone-in THICK steak with mushrooms that was the finest he has had in a long while. I and another person had polenta with our meal, which almost made me send the rest of my food back so I could get a large bowl of just polenta. It was perfection! Everything was cooked to perfection and had just-right portion sizes. If we hadn't eaten so much of the delicious bread and foccacia, we probably wouldn't have skipped dessert. We are from out of state, so it will have to wait a while. If you are within an hour of this place, I recommend it highly. It would be perfect for date night, anniversary celebrations, birthday parties, or even office celebrations.

It costs about the same as the __ Garden, but is at least 10 times better on all aspects.

It is handicap accessible and...