La Dolce Vita — Restaurant in Siesta Key

La Dolce Vita: An Authentic Taste of Campania in Sarasota, Experienced from the Heart of the Kitchen As Executive Chef Giuseppe Urbano, I recently participated in a full service at La Dolce Vita, not as a typical patron, but as an active member of the kitchen team alongside owners Chef Mauro, Tina, and Nunzio. This immersive experience, encompassing both the kitchen and dining room environments, offered invaluable insight into the operations of this exceptional family-owned Italian establishment. Stepping into La Dolce Vita, even as a working member of the crew for the night, felt like entering a genuine Italian home. 🥰🇮🇹🏠 The small dining room exudes a clean and inviting atmosphere, fostering a sense of intimacy and connection. ✨😌😊 What truly stands out is the palpable family dynamic – everyone is deeply involved, contributing to a service that is both seamless and heartfelt. 🥰👨‍👩‍👧‍👦👍 Witnessing the creation of their fresh pasta firsthand was a revelation. ✨🍝😋 The care and dedication poured into each strand are evident in the final product – a texture and flavor that speak volumes about their commitment to authentic Italian techniques. 🇮🇹👨‍🍳👏 Their attentiveness to dietary restrictions is also commendable, reflecting a genuine desire to cater to every guest with thoughtful consideration. 👍😊💯 The emphasis on fresh, high-quality ingredients is undeniable throughout the menu. 👍😋👏 As a native of the Campana region in Napoli, the heartland of family-style Italian cooking and renowned for its exceptional seafood and pizza, the Chef-Owner brings a special expertise to seafood recipes. 🍕🍝🇮🇹 This regional influence shines through in the vibrant and authentic flavors of his dishes, a testament to his deep culinary roots and extensive experience honed in Italy. 👨‍🍳🌟🇮🇹 His proficient cooking techniques transform simple ingredients into vibrant and flavorful creations. 🪄✨😋 The fresh dessert and bread section is a delightful showcase of their in-house capabilities, offering tempting finales to a truly satisfying meal. 🍰🥐🍞. What struck me most is that despite the exceptional quality of the food and the attentive service provided by the entire family and staff, the prices are remarkably well-balanced, offering excellent value. 👍😋👏 From my vantage point within the kitchen and interacting with the front-of-house team, it's clear that La Dolce Vita is more than just a restaurant. It's a labor of love, a testament to Italian culinary tradition, and a place where guests are treated like extended family. 👨‍🍳🇮🇹🏡 My evening spent working alongside them has only solidified my enthusiasm for collaborating with Chef Mauro, Tina (wife) and Nunzio (son), and the team to explore and expand their offerings towards a skilled healthy eating program for longevity here in Sarasota. 🤝💪😊 La Dolce Vita is a true culinary gem, offering an authentic taste of Campania and beyond, and I wholeheartedly recommend experiencing its charm and exceptional food. 🌟🍕🇮🇹 Buon appetito!

Reviewed from Executive Chef Giuseppe...

My review reflects the type of service and quality of food me and my dear friend experienced at La Dolce Vita on 02/20/21. I am well endowed with Italian cuisine as I have had my fair share of some of the best Italian foods there is to offer on Palm Beach Island in Florida. It goes without saying this isn't my first rodeo. These are MY honest opinions and personal experience, visit at your own discretion. I'm giving La Dolce Vita 2 stars due to their poor treatment and quality of food. The food was simply subpar. I had high expectations considering the owners pride themselves on being true Italians and cooking authentic Italian cuisine. Our food was both bland, lacking depth in flavor, and salt. I had the Pappardelle alla Bolognese and unfortunately my bolgnese sauce was extremely acidic and bitter. My friend had Petto di pollo alla Sicilian and it to lacked in depth of flavor and salt. Both dishes came with great portion size that reflects the menu price. We also had Bruchetta. It was plated beautifully on a bed of fresh arugula but lacked salt and also did not come with mozzarella. That's ok as their menu never said the bruchetta was dressed with mozzarella. As far the service and treatment, it was very poor FOR US. In my experience if you're not of a particular age or Italian you will not be acknowledged. The owner never held a conversation with me or my friend. I watched the owner (female) look directly at us and simply walk off and entertain and laugh with every other table except ours. I am not sure what the reason for this was but I will refrain from assuming. The restaurant is a small, well decorated establishment that has live music. The only reason our experience was not a complete waste of time was due to the amazing hostess. For all I am concerned the hostess should be the owner of the restaurant. The hostess who also was the songstress was absolutely sweet, personable and she embraced us with her conversation and genuine acknowledgement. She also had a terrific singing voice. Again, this was me and friends personal and...

Cannot recommend this place enough. My family of 6 has very high standards for Italian food, and La Dolce Vita blew us away. We are from Rhode Island, which has calamari as its official state appetizer, so we have lofty expectations there as well. We got two orders of calamari for an appetizer, and it was delicious. It was very fresh, perfectly crisped, and had (to our delight) legs in addition to loops. Two of us ordered the Frutti de Mari; one had the Parpadelle alla Bolognese; one had the Linguini, Vongole, e Pomodorini; one had the Lasagna alla Bolognese; and one had the Saltimbocca di Vitello alla Romana. Everyone was very impressed with their meals. They tasted very authentic, and were clearly prepared with a great deal of care. We also had a lovely conversation with one of the owners, Tina, during our meal. She was very sweet and welcoming. She told us that she and her husband, who have lived in Italy most of their lives, visited Florida in 2015. Upon their visit her husband said, "this place needs a good Italian restaurant," and they certainly delivered!!!

Later on we learned that Tina makes the restaurants' desserts herself, from scratch! We tried just about every dessert offered, as well as a latte and a cappuccino. Everything was incredible, and my whole family stated that they want to go back again, despite only having two more nights of vacation. Multiple servers attended to our table throughout the meal, and all of them were lovely. Zero complaints, and lots and lots of great things to say about La Dolce Vita. Definitely...