La Dolce Vita Restaurant

Reviews 6

SH

Shaun K

So sad b/c this restaurant use to be one of my favorite "upscale" dining haunts (upscale for a student). This is tl;dr but this place was amazing so i feel i have to explain my 1 star. I have a friend whos a grad student from Italy who brought me here a year and a half ago. The food was amazing, the servers were knowledgeable and friendly and the atmosphere was relaxed. I tasted some of my favorite wines here for the first time. The head chef was Italian, the owner Italian and the sous chef was Italian. I went once a month or so w my Italian friend until he went back to Italy in June and didnt go back until December. Boy, what a difference half a year makes! The food was good but the service was atrocious. It was so bad I asked a stranger w a different server the next seat over how his experience was going. It seemed worst than mine. My girlfriend and I went back 2 weeks ago (b/c a place this good earned a second chance) and the experience was worst. This time, the food was awful, too. When we left we saw a cook and a server in the ally smoking and I approached them to ask where the head or sous chef was (1 of them or both were there every other time Id been). It seems they both have moved on to other ventures as have all the wait staff from the year that I went (makes sense, college town). The new head chef is american (and bad, he cooked for us that night), the owner went back to Italy for an extended vacation (lucky duck. maybe hell bring some talent back w him) and the service (I cant say this emphatically enough) would be bad for an Applebees on Monday night. I might look them up in a year if Im still here or sooner if I find out they rearranged their staff. Sad. Theres now no good authentic Italian in Athens anymore.

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JE

Jessica Riley

This was one of the worst date nights I have been on. We arrived with half the restaurant empty but only a few servers helping so they seemed the be short staffed. Our table was so small that our 2 glasses of water and 2 glasses of wine would hardly fit. Our server didnt tell us about the specials which were so clearly written on the chalk board behind her and also didnt bring out any bread until we asked for it since we were starving having to wait almost 30 mins for our apps to come out. So first off, they need more servers. It took way to long for just appetizers. Also be wary about theirs apps, no where on their menu did it mention family style portions. We ordered the meat and cheese app plate with a bottle of wine to get started. 30 mins later they bring out a Goliath wooden plank of very very very thick cut percuitto and other meats, my jaw was sore after a couple of pieces. Never have I seen any deli cut percuitto at the thickness of bacon. We honestly were too tired of chewing rubber meat and playing tetris with the plates and glasses on our table to order a dinner entree. So we asked for the rest of our apps to-go and left. Im really disappointed because we have come to this restaurant in the past for our anniversary and had a lovely time. I hope they take this review as a plea for good dinning and a love for Italian food. There are not a lot of top restaurants in Athens that I would consider for a date night. I just thought this was one of them.

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RA

raven bishop

The good, the bad, and the utterly horrific.... The good was the wine list.. it had the right wines at reasonable prices, well done...also, the staff was great... And friendly... Warm and attentive... The bad... The food was bad ... It was not home made pasta.... It was normal dried linguini ... It was over cooked ... It was under seasoned ... It was a disappointment. You shouldnt advertise hand rolled pasta and serve mass produced extruded dried pasta... That is insulting to everyone including yourselves. The utterly horrific... They talk about carpaccio on their website with love and passion and then offer it from a cheap cut, which isnt how it is made. Carpaccio is tenderloin ... And making it with eye of the round is a hate crime against Italian people worldwide. Their signature meatballs were barely seasoned balls of hamburger... The recipe for polpette should include plenty of cheese, herbs, and seasoning before its cooked ... Browning meatballs is an important part of the process... Grey, hard lumps ... Shouldnt be anyones signature dish. Im not mad... They were nice people and they tried; our waitress was adorable, and we tipped her extra ... But we were horribly disappointed and we will never go back

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BL

Blake Hartis

EDITED 2014: 2 stars I was previously a huge fan of this restaurant and recommended it highly to everyone that I could. On a recent visit, rather than honoring a coupon from a program that they elected to participate in, they decided to revise the terms of the program on the spot and embarrass me in front of my guest. The food is still fantastic, but I wont be returning because I dont agree with the way they decided to handle this. PREVIOUS REVIEW FROM 2010: 5 stars Everything about this La Dolce Vita was great. The restaurant is very clean and the decor is nice. The windows were open when we dined and it added a great ambiance to the restaurant. The servers are friendly and personable and provide great recommendations. The food is WONDERFUL, and I am not typically a fan of Italian restaurants. I may have to agree with another reviewer that this is the best Italian food I have ever eaten. We had a mozzarella appetizer (which was a special and I cant remember the name of) and the lasagna for the main dish. Great, fresh ingredients that were perfectly seasoned. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone that loves Italian, or anyone looking for a special dinner out.

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MA

Matthew Herring

This is BY FAR the best italian restaurant in Athens. For the appetizer me and my date had Involtini di Speck e Mozzarella which is the restaurants homemade mozzarella wrapped in smoked prosciutto, seasoned with arugula and herb citronette, and for main course Tortelloni ai Carciofi an Artichoke and mascarpone filled handmade tortelloni with brown butter,sage, and Parmigiano Reggiano. The prosciutto wrap and artichoke filling were seasoned EXCELLENTLY and accompanied the homemade tortelloni, mozarrella, and bread very well. Although this isnt a 5 star restaurant, their attention to detail with their in-house product preparation , friendly waiting staff, and untraditional atmosphere, it felt as if it was. A bit on the pricey side , but worth it when comparing to De Palmas, Little Italy, or god forbid Mirko Pasta. I would highly recommend it for a dinner date. Reservations are not required but preferred.

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JA

Jason Hewell

I made special plans for my wife for Valentines Day and had reservation for Saturday evening. When we arrived they had us down for Sunday instead. I explained to the manager that our reservation was specifically for Saturday since we had arranged childcare and planned on this evening but they said there was nothing they could do. There were three open tables but according to the manager they were held for "reservations". They turned us away and unfortunately we werent able to celebrate the night as planned. I realized the next day I had still had voicemail from restaurant confirming our reservation for Saturday (not Sunday as they had it) but they apparently wrote it down wrong. Ive reached back out to the restaurant 4 times since then and have received no response. Very disappointed. Mistakes happen of course but they dont seem interested in apologizing or keeping our business.

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