Coppola's La Fantasia — Restaurant in Town of Lloyd

I want to begin by saying that I attempted to contact the restaurant to discuss my experience and no one responded to my request.

My family and I have eaten here several times and the food has always been great, so we decided to cater with them for Christmas Eve this year. We ordered half trays of penne ala vodka, chicken Parmesan, caprese salad, and baked clams oreganata. We also requested gluten free penne for a family member. On the phone, we were quoted $250.

When we picked up the food, the actual charge was $320, which did include an added single order of chicken Marsala ($26). The remaining upcharges were $25 for gluten free pasta (which was not penne), the cost of a FULL tray of caprese salad which was an error on their part, and extra charges on all of the other trays due to inflation (understandable, but would have been nice to know).

This may have been tolerable had the food been amazing as we had expected. It was not at all. The clams were good, so I can say that. However, I am including pictures of the rest.

The chicken parm was pounded so thin, had very thin cheese on it and was actually difficult to chew.

The caprese salad did not use ripe almost beefsteak-like tomatoes and sat on a bed of shredded iceburg lettuce. We were expecting ripe Roma tomatoes with the balsamic drizzle and basil like usual.

The (not) penne alla vodka was the worst. It tasted and looked nothing like a vodka sauce and the pasta was all chopped up and over cooked.

I did not return the same day because we were in the midst of festivities and it was Christmas so I wanted to keep in the holiday spirit. However, since I received no response from the restaurant, I wanted to share my experience with their catering. I do hope the restaurant will consider my review...

*Update - Went back on Thursday, July 20th, 2023. The prices have gone sky high. What's worse is there's a 6% surcharge for using a credit card that is not posted anywhere - it just appears on your bill after you pay. $3 extra for crumbly blue cheese on an iceberg lettuce salad! There was no other vegetable on the salad. $13 for a very small glass of inexpensive wine. Absolutely not worth it anymore. You can get just as good a meal at Milanese in Poughkeepsie for much cheaper. They've lost devoted customers.

I'm very particular about Italian food but Coppola's in Highland was phenomenal. Among moderately priced Italian restaurants in the area, this one deserves top honors.

First they served garlic and Italian bread to snack on ‐ the garlic bread was very good. Then came the house salad which was fresh with cucumbers, tomatoes and carrots. The only negative was iceberg lettuce and I didn't care that much for their house dressing, but they offer plenty of other dressings.

I had Chicken Sorrentino, which was absolutely the best I've ever had ‐ ANYWHERE. It also came with a side of pasta. Their red sauce contains meat and has a delicious tangy flavor. Really EXCELLENT...

We are frequently customers for years. I recommended it to my sister to celebrate my brother in laws birthday. She had ordered a buffet and pay by the head for 16 people. Unfortunately we had an emergency at the restaurant and was not able to stay there so they packed the food to go. Which was all fine but didn't get the amount of food she paid for. A few of us made a plate before the emergency but not many. When we got home it seemed like they took the half trays off the burners and just put a lid on them. The food in those trays would not of fed 16 people. Where's the rest of the food she paid for? I know this because I have had parties there and know what she should of gotten. And a 175.00 tip for waitress (which by the way were wonderful through this emergency). But only service was to pour water and bring a few drinks. We were only seated for maybe a hour. Yes they should get paid, but 175.00!!! This is hard for me to write because we always had a great dinners there with great people. It's also sad that I recommended this to her and she had this experience. We will not be going back along with everyone...