La Vita Italian Specialties — Restaurant in Sparta Township

I like La Vita. It’s a nice option amongst a town full of franchise pizzeria restaurants. We get sliced meats there and love the beet salad with hazelnuts. I hope this is taken constructively and not as harsh or overly critical:

When I get one arancini I’m always offered one very small side of marinara and never have been charged for it. It’s about a tablespoon of sauce in a small condiment cup. Now two weeks in a row I’ve gone in and asked for four arancini. Last week I was given two cups ( or tablespoons ) for four large risotto balls. Didn’t realize it till I got home. Today I asked for four arancini and was asked if I’d like marinara, said yes and was given one cup. I said I’d like one for each risotto ball and was told it would be extra. That makes no sense. One condiment cup for four large arancini. Said I’d pay but explained my point. Why not just increase the price 25-50 cents per ball and automatically include the sauce… and give a fuller cup of sauce ? It saves the unnecessary up charge which doesn’t make me feel good having to explain. Don’t know if I was charged because no receipt is ever given.

Also, the Caesar salad dressing has no flavor, it seems like no anchovy, lemon or garlic. Caesar dressing is a specific recipe and thought would be honored in such an establishment. Just offer authentic dressing and an “ lighter “ option. Also, when I ask for it to go why is it dressing is on the side? It’s like romain lettuce from the supermarket in a box instead of a cellophane bag… just at a higher price.

And the porchetta meal I had recently- while delicious was mostly fat and not much meat or fennel. Not a lot for the price.

Finally, I had asked for a caprese sandwich but said focaccia was too much bread and was offered a hero and said yes. I know, I know… Hero’s are huge and I wasn’t thinking because I said focaccia is too much bread. But I said I didn’t want a lot of bread. So, a hero wasn’t a good alternative- and without olive oil or balsamic on the bread makes for a very dry sandwich even though the arugula was dressed nicely and the ingredients fresh and tasty. It’s too much bread for a tomato mozzarella and arugula sandwich. I ate everything except the bread. Was there a better option?...

Ever since we moved to Sussex County 17 years ago, we missed the true Italian Food we had access to and would find in Essex County. Forget about finding good pizza up here as that is a complete lost cause. I won't eat at any pizza establishments up this way. It's all horrible.

I'm first generation Italian and my parents are from Italy so I know good/real Italian food.

When LaVita first opened I never even gave another thought and was like OK here we go again with another "wanna be" Italian food specialty store. Took me months before I even said "OK let me give it a shot" . The moment I walked in their door I was like wait a minute, this looks like the real deal. Sure enough, after giving my taste buds a chance I was completely blown away! LaVita is one of the highest quality traditional Italian specialty establishments I have ever eaten at. The food is so authentic and spot on that I felt I was eating my mother's and grandmothers cooking. The owner, who I spoke to for a while, is trained in the Italian cooking art and picked up his talent by also learning Italian cooking and training in Italy.

Everything from the meatballs, pastas, sauces, various focaccias, and everything else that there is clearly too much to name is exquisite! Spot on delicious!

Now I have to train to keep myself away because I would easily gain 10 lbs. eating here too often. Lol.

Do yourself a favor and try LaVita. You will not be disappointed and you will get hooked! I'm very happy we finally do have the real deal for an Italian Food Specialty store right close to...

I don’t like to give bad reviews but I just wanted to review what we ate. First of all Google said it was a restaurant and it’s just basically a deli with two tables in front. The people were very nice and friendly. The bread looked really fresh. There were not many choices for drinks - not even regular bottled water. Mostly sparkling waters which I know is an Italian thing but I think they were like four dollars each because I spent $38 on one sandwich one Panini two drinks and one piece of focaccia bread. My daughter is picky so the Americano had to be modified so I can’t really review that but I had the mozzarella and tomato Panini and I just felt like it didn’t have any flavor and the tomatoes were definitely too thick - unfortunately I had to ask for salt to see if I could get some more flavor but perhaps if the tomatoes were sliced thinner and there was more balsamic glaze? Sorry. Just thought others might need to be aware. thank you for your response below- I was referring to Google it says it’s a restaurant on Google and dine in but I was just saying it’s not exactly a restaurant but everybody was very friendly and by the way I heated up the focaccia in my air fryer today and it was...