La Famiglia

Slow service, arrogant staff. Food was average

I didn’t like too much. The food was just ok. I ordered a chicken pasta and it tasted good, but my boyfriend ordered a normal pepperoni pizza and I didn’t like. The price is quite normal for Helsinki area, but quite hight for quality. The service extremely slow. I didn’t like the place. The two stars are because the food was just good.

We arrived with a group of 8 without a reservation. They sat us in a quiet corner at a large round table which was perfect. In addition each couple requested separate checks… no problem. The service was great and the food was delicious. It is pricy but well worth it.

This place easily has the waiters with the worst attitude of any restaurant I’ve ever been to in Helsinki. Incredibly rude, complete with tapping of feet while waiting for you to say your order and eye-​rolling! Very surprising. My party and I had to wait an exceptionally long time for a table of three despite there being several empty tables in the dining room and there is no good place to wait unless you want to pay extra for drinks at the bar. We went during Syö-​Viikot so they had deals on the pizzas, but I thought the sale price of 10 Euros was even perhaps a bit pricey for what you get! I would never pay the normal 16 Euros for the parma pizza I ordered, which while good, was pretty light on the toppings with a very so-​so crust. Too bad!

The food was delicious, although, in my tomato mozzarella salad, the tomatoes were quite salty and in my main course (caesar salad with beef) the caesar dressing was also quite salty. But it didn’t bother that much. The stake was cooked perfectly though!
The location of La Famiglia is great! It’s so close to the massive department store Stockmann, and it’s in the centre. But that also means that it’s often full, you may need a reservation. I was so lucky to get a table without it, but there was only couple of small tables free.
The service was okay, although I got this — notverygood — waitress, who didn’t see anything, and didn’t even glance at me. I had to seriously wait very long until she’d notice me.

Food is great. Atmosphere is casual and service is reaaaaalyyyy slooooooow

Italienisches Lokal gegenüber von Stockmann in der Fußgängerzone. Die Atmosphäre ist recht ansprechend, aber auch nicht sonderlich gehoben. Das sind dafür dann aber die Preise na gut, in Helsinki muß man auf alles gefaßt sein. Pasta und Pizza waren in Ordnung, nicht ganz Kantinenniveau, aber auch keine große Küche. Wir haben auch zuerst die falsche Rechnung bekommen, aber OK, sowas passiert manchmal.

Uriger Italiener im Herzen von Helsinki, gleich gegenüber vom noblen Kaufhaus Stockmann. Flinke, freundliche Bedienung, hoher Geräuschpegel, Finnland-​typische Preise, die Pizza Seafood kam auf 14,80 Euro. Dafür gab es einen hauchdünnen, knusprigen Teig, sechs Garnelen und ebensoviele Miesmuscheln in Schale. Also eigentlich eine Portion für’n hohlen Zahn, aber wenigstens lecker. Und als Vorspeise reichte man Brot, Olivenöl, Salz und Pfeffer, unterm Strich hat’s also gereicht und ein Glas Lapin Kulta III (ein einheimisches Bier, 0,4 l 6,20 Euro) löschte den Durst.
Damit waren 21 Euro verbraten und jeden Wirt einer Pizzeria in Deutschland hätte ich gefragt, ob er noch alle Espresso-​Tassen im Schrank hat. Doch für finnische Verhältnisse und Helsinki insbesondere war ich noch gut bedient. Denn bei dem folgenden mehrtägigen Essen– und Trinken-​Marathon auf Firmenkosten durch teure und sehr teure Restaurants der Stadt zeigte sich, dass man noch erheblich mehr Geld ausgeben kann, ohne wesentlich mehr dafür zu bekommen.
Deshalb vier Sterne für La Famiglia.

I have nothing to complain about the service or the food. Basic semi-​italian fair. Then again, I didn’t eat pizza or pasta. Stake portion that I had was actually good and cooked medium as I wanted it. It is not always so, even in better places.
Restaurant was packed when we (8 adults+3 kids) were there and we had no trouble at all getting service. Well, of course exactly that might be reason for it — waitress was looking for a big tip from the big family, and got it too.
Like the name of the restaurant says, La Famiglia is for the families. So, it is decent place if you got bunch of little kids with you. You won’t get eyeballing from the snobs sitting in the next table or from the staff if your children make some noise and run around. On the contrary. There is even a little playing corner for the smallest customers. That’s always nice, since kids always need something to do while we adults talk bs and sip wine.
So, La Famiglia is defenately not for a couple seeking a romantic italian dinner in candlelight, but for the families it is nice enough.
Considering the location, prices are also decent.

I agree to the above. bad service, bad food. Pizza crust is ok, but pizza itself tastes like nothing. Pasta experience wasnt any better either. Servive very slow and not friendlya at all.

this place has been around for years, so we decided to pop in one night. its very well located opposite the top department store in Helsinki (the equivalent of Selfridges in London or Bloomingdales in NYC). ordered a martini, and though tiny, it was actually not that bad. oh, but the real surprise was yet to come… service slow and amateurish, and when the ‘food’ finally arrived, it was the worst Italian food (I think the Italian nation should sue this establishment for defamation) we’d ever tasted. My pasta with glops of nasty red sauce was clearly stirred in from an industrial sized pre made barrel. The dish was made memorable only by the presence of about 2 tablespoons of WHITE PEPPER, which made the dish strangely and uniquely repulsive. I suspect the ‘cooks’ in the kitchen are uni students making minimum wage just heating stuff up. Who knows, maybe we were just unlucky, but it was definitely the worst food we’ve had for a decade or more. I’ve tasted much better from a can of own brand pasta in sauce. Avoid.