La Piazza Ristorante Italiano — Restaurant in Tulare

Ok let's start with the positive. Service was incredible. I believe our waitress was Brittany. She was amazing. But unfortunately we have to move on. It was packed and we had heard rave reviews. We are new to Tulare. We moved from LA a year ago. And before that grew up in a small country town with large Italian community in northern Central Valley CA. My wife was also a chef for Wolfgang Puck as well as other reputable kitchens in LA for several years. I also worked in the food industry for a short time. So maybe our standards are too high. We love Braised here in town and the prices seemed comparable. Honestly we really thought we were going to get a delicious quality meal but what we ordered seemed like it had previously been frozen or just thrown together in a rush. We started with the arancini and bruschetta. The arancini were tiny. The smallest I've ever seen. And if I'm being honest this may have been frozen food #1. The bruschetta was mediocre. The bread was not toasted in any way. The tomatoes were of questionable quality. I know it's winter but there are still quality tomatoes available. I got the minestrone and it was the highlight of the meal. Great minestrone. My wife ordered the Cesar salad with gorgonzola. It was not great. She is a Cesar gal and was very disappointed. She mostly got the rib of the lettuce, it wasn't dressed properly, and the gorgonzola was like they gave her the bottom of a pre crumbled package. I love seafood and I was craving mussels. I had just had incredible mussels in Long Beach the weekend before (they were half the price as La Piazza btw). I asked for the mussel and clams appetizer for my entree. My wife ordered off the chefs special and got the braised short rib. The mussels and clams were tough man. I tried to keep going but I left almost all of the clams and a few mussels. I really hate to put it this way but it's the truth. These were the worst mussels and clams I've ever eaten. Small, rubbery, flavorless, and dare I say seemed previously frozen from a box. The short rib was ok. Not fall off the bone. The sauce was very good and would have been amazing if the alcohol had been cooked out a bit more. The mashed potatoes were way too salty. And that's saying something from a chef because they love salt. We finished with a cappuccino and dessert. My wife ordered the triple chocolate mousse. That was for sure previously frozen and ordered from Cisco. The plate was covered in chocolate sauce that wasn't good. I ordered the creme brulee and when I saw the depth of the dish it was cooked in my wife and I looked at each other and said "oh no". A creme brulee should be cooked in a shallow ramekin for a smooth and even texture. My ramekin was on top of a plate that was also covered in a caramel sauce. Which I did not understand because the ramekin was placed on top of the sauce. So the dessert wasn't actually touching the sauce. I wouldn't want it to but omit the caramel it serves no purpose. As suspected the top of the creme brulee was smooth and the bottom was over cooked. To top it off the espresso shot in my cappuccino was bad. I was a barista at one point and I love good coffee. So what I tasted was a shot that was poured and walked away from that went bad before used. An espresso shot has a short life. You must use it within 30-45 seconds of the pour or it will go bad. It was disappointing. My MiL raved about La Piazza and is urging us to give it a second chance. I'm sure we will because just like people restaurants have bad days. Plus the service was so top notch and that's important to us. Hopefully we will be updating this review...

UPDATE: 12/14/24 NEW OWNERS

Went there this past Saturday for my work party and the service was a little sub par compared to what it usually is or what it once was. I know they recently switched owners, but for starters on meals and or sides like salads you always got shaved parmesans to put on top or even cracked pepper and that wasn't even a option this time around. I ordered 3 mojitos which ended being 4 by the end of the night and the only one that was perfect or near perfect was the first one, all the others were 80-90% lemon juice. Couldn't taste the rum or the simple syrup, so not really sure what it had in it besides lemon juice. For my entree I had ordered a New York Steak with garlic shrimp with a temp of medium rare. Steak was cooked medium well and the shrimp lacked flavor, I would have sent them back, but they were bombarded with orders due to the numerous Christmas parties going on.

The QA or whoever was in charge of quality checking things really dropped the ball sadly.

The ambience wasn't too bad not that hot, but it was warm. Don't believe the AC unit on the wall was even on.

The bill was around $1700 and we still managed to tip $300.

I don't know, I don't think i will be back if I come by myself.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: OLD OWNERS

All the years living here I have never been to this place. Finally pulled the plug and went with my cousin.

The ambience is pretty much what you expect. Small and cute and gets busy real quick. They have two shifts available to choose from, lunch and dinner which they close in between.

The service was amazing and equal to the menu pricing. The drink “the godfather” I got was not what I had expected. It was good, but not what I would order. It does happen to go down smooth.

We split the New York Marsala which is a 16oz steak with veggies and we added fettuccini Alfredo and they also charge a $2.50 split plate fee fyi. The food was cooked perfectly medium rare and full of flavor. Made me realize what I had been missing out all this time.

For dessert I had their special Vino e Gelato. Pretty good and home made. A few scoops of vanilla ice cream with a red wine reduction sauce with a berry compote.

It was...

La Piazza Restaurant, known for its great food, unfortunately, falls short when it comes to service. Many customers have reported their worst experience ever at this establishment, citing a lack of attention and professionalism from the staff.

One customer, who spent a total of 173 dollars with their spouse, left without even checking the receipt to ensure they were charged correctly. This highlights the level of dissatisfaction and frustration experienced due to the unexceptional service provided.

When attempting to address these concerns by reaching out to La Piazza's consumer affairs department, there was no reply whatsoever. This lack of response only adds to the disappointment felt by customers who expected better from a restaurant that claims to offer fine dining experiences.

It is possible that there may be underlying issues within the restaurant's culture or generational differences that contribute to this subpar service. However, regardless of the reasons behind it, customers should not have to endure such gross service when paying a premium for their dining experience.

In this particular case, the customer was so eager to leave due to their dissatisfaction with both the food and service that they did not even bother checking their receipt before departing. Such behavior speaks volumes about how La Piazza has failed in maintaining its standards and catering to its clientele.

Overall, while La Piazza may still offer great food on its menu, it is clear that improvements need to be made in terms of providing exceptional service. Customers deserve an enjoyable dining experience where both aspects - food and service - are equally...