La Parma II Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Town of Huntington

Was recently invited by my sister and her family, along with their significant others, to celebrate a joint Father’s Day and my Sister’s birthday at La Parma in Huntington. I happily accepted, though I was a bit nervous—this being my first outing since my recent Cancer diagnosis

My sister, brother-in-law, and I arrived first and were seated promptly at 7:30 for our 7:45 Saturday night reservation. My nieces and their partners joined us a short time after

Unfortunately, things quickly took a turn: After waiting more than 30 minutes just to place our drink order, and after 45 minutes, the drinks still hadn’t arrived. My brother-in-law finally lost his patience and asked what it would take to get some service. Our server left abruptly, and the manager graciously came over to deescalate the situation, taking our entire order himself.

From that point on, our server Alex' attitude toward our table was noticeably unpleasant—a situation he had created through his own inattentiveness. Had he apologized and not continue his escalation with us. Our evening would have turned around

Meanwhile, a table seated after us, who were appeared to be regulars, received immediate attention: their cocktails arrived swiftly, and their orders were taken without delay. As they got up to leave, we overheard our waiter remark about hoping for “better people” the next day, given it was Father’s Day and directing to us

As we were finishing our meal, I noticed Alex standing with his arms crossed, glaring in our direction. I pointed it out to my sister, and the atmosphere quickly became uncomfortable. At that time, several other tables were still occupied with diners. We decided it was best to leave and asked for the check. Alex responded by tossing the check abruptly onto our table. In turn, when my brother-in-law was finished, he placed the check back on the table in a similar manner.

Sadly, the food became an afterthought in my review. La Parma was a place I frequented "often" in the 80s. Known for its exceptional service and as a pioneer family-style restaurant on Long Island. This visit, however, was a disappointing departure from the warm, welcoming experience...

Recommend by a close friend we picked up food on the way to visit locals.

This place confuses me. On one hand they advertise “Family Style” dining/dishes, on the other hand, they price their “entrees” mid range as if to draw you in, but prepare yourself as you will be disappointed from time to time.

At $29.75 you would think that’s a great price for a plate of Chicken Franchese that serves 2-4 ppl.

However(And I wish I had taken a picture), the portion did not commensurate with the expectation.

The dish was presented in one of those, normal, half tray like, containers you would get when you order catered food.

When I opened it up I found 3 regular sized pieces of Chicken, hardly enough for 2, nevermind, 4.

I’m not saying the food was bad, I enjoyed some of it, but if I went back there I would likely try dining in as opposed to take out.

I understand the Restaurant business is tough, and times have changed how ppl do Business.

But you’re in Huntington/Woodbury, no one is barking about prices. Just offer them the best experience possible and you’ll continue to see the doors swing open and closed.

Restaurants can no longer rely on history/reputation alone. The industry is extremely competitive and ppl are quick to take their dollar elsewhere.

11/7/22 -

Response to your reply to my review as I am unaware how else to show due diligence navigating through this site.

Thank you for your response.

Unfortunately, I did call shortly after I arrived home and opened the tray of chicken.

I spoke to an employ, identified myself, and questioned them regarding my order.

I was told that my order was correct, and, that was, indeed, the family size portion.

It was at that point I told them the Restaurant should be ashamed of themselves for thinking that would feed the advertised amount of ppl and...

just adding to address the response. I do take back that you didn't offer an apology, you did. Sorry.

However, our conversation and your response still do not address my chief complaint , which was not that your portion sizes were too large but that the person that picked up the phone should have suggested we had too much food and maybe we should cut back on one or tow portion sizes, especially since I made it clear how unsure I was and was looking for her guidance. That is the crux of my issue.

i have been a regular patron for decades, by dining in or in some or in this case ordered in. i asked the receptionist for some guidance for 6 people, telling her we wanted 6-7 dishes. We were 6 people with average appetites and half the food is leftover. i understand that 1.5 orders feeds 4-6 people but what the receptionist should have told me once she knew we were ordering that many dishes we should have ordered less dishes ordered the single size portion in some if not all cases. Case in point, she suggested 2 full size trays of garlic bread (which was horrible btw) and 3/4 of it was left over. I unnecessarily spent an exorbitant amount of money on a 6 person meal, trusted the receptionist and should have received better guidance when ordering that many things. when i called back 2 days later to express my feelings to the manager, he basically offered me a refund for the garlic bread, not taking any responsibility for being totally misguided. LP has been doing this for decades and should KNOW that the more the dishes, cut back on the portion sizes...... Had i received a bit more of a token gesture and a small apology, you wouldn't be reading...