La Dolce Vita Ristorante

Pricey but worth it for a special occasion. The Few times I have done this I have simply allowed the chef to serve me his meal plan… it never fails. I plan to go back soon.

Loved it! Amazing food! Went for Valentines Day, it was a different menu but it was delicious. Well worth the money. The atmosphere was wonderful. Had a beautiful tomato salad, risotto with prawns, a whole trout and amazing dark chocolate cake!

Great Italian food, great service, warm and friendly environment, an overall pleasant experience, make sure you try this place if you are a fan of Italian food!

I went here for Valentine’s day, and it is indeed, probably one of the top 3 most romantic places in Calgary to go for Valentine’s day or on any date.
The food, service, and ambiance are all excellent quality. I actually found that the prices were completely reasonable as well, we had a 1998 bottle of wine for only $ 60 and it was a great bottle.
We had the multiple course meal during our visit. The bruschetta was fairly good, I definitely have had better bruschetta, but everything that followed was very good. The pasta was homemade and fresh and it tasted delicious. I would definitely recommend getting pasts here, I think that is definitely their real strength.

La Dolce Vita can be considered as one of those classic Italian restaurants, with a bit of an upscale flair. Rustic italian in theme, they’ve been serving fine dishes for decades in the city.
Fresh made pasta and sauces, attentive service and more importantly, a heck of a wicked tiramisu, all of these are simply outstanding. And as for fresh, well, just like Rouge Restaurant, this place grows their own herbs and vegetables specifically for the dinners. There’s farm to plate, and then there’s the back yard to plate. Can’t get any better unless you’re actually IN the garden.
The menu is structured very much like a classic full italian dinner, though you do have the choice of just having a dish from here or there. There’s the appetizer, then the pasta then the first entrée, then the second and finally dessert, and if you’ve never been to a traditional dinner before, it’s a hell of a meal. Of my favorites, the ravioli dishes and the veal… simply sublime, tender enough to cut with a fork and totally stunning to the palate. Oh, and in case if I didn’t say it enough before… TIRAMISU!
Just a quick word, this is the original resto I’m the ground floor, not to be confused with their LDV Pizzaria on the second floor. That place I’ll review another day, a pizza place opened by the La Dolce Vita owners based on Neopolitan pizza to appeal to a younger audience.
Review #8 of Unilocal’s 30 Day Challenge 2012

This is a great, old fashioned Italian restaurant run by a southern Italian that knows traditional dishes perfectly. Reminds me of San Bartolomeo in Galdo… where my family is from. Strongly reccomend the gnocchi and scampi dishes.
Specials are always on the money. Wine list is overpriced…

Best Italian food in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and the US, no easy feat!!! Would travel out of the US and have considered moving here just to eat Franco’s culinary genius on a piato. You have not had gnocchi until you’ve had his and be forewarned you will never like gnocchi except his again! His sauces are divine whether a simple tomato basil, or one of his creamy concoctions say over veal. As for his wife’s chocolate cake, just order it and you’ll understand perfection. The chef/​owner Franco trained extensively throughout Italy in every region and his cooking skills show true Italian cuisine at it’s most elegant. I cannot shower enough accolades on this gifted man and what I wouldn’t give to be able to cook at this utmost of levels, let alone have a restaurant of this caliber in Chicago, although a size 2 – 4 would no longer be tenable if either wish came true. If you’re in the mood for adventure have his special menu of the day. Of course his menu is both vegetarian and carnivore friendly, but trust me you cannot get to dinner here fast enough to this rare hidden gem and it’s a lot cheaper than touring Italy in search of this finest of Italian cuisine. Even Spiaggia and Alinea with an additional decimal place, pales in the comparison! Franco only uses the finest and freshest of ingredients and be forewarned upon going here, the food is truly love at first bite, and could form a serious addiction for those with a delineating and high maintenance palate, who have yet to be satiated until now!

I was at LDV last night, found out that they are open for the EuroCup matches!
Their food is amazing, their staff is great. Revamping their beer menu a bit, but still a great selection. Will definitely be back.
They are an amazing combination of bar and restaurant. 5 TV’s for games (any sport) but still nice for a date.

What an evening! My husband arrived home in time from work for me to whip on a t-​shirt and jeans as we had an errand to run where we live in Bridgeland. Low and behold on the way home, we passed Dolce Vita AGAIN and wondered what it was all about. We always crane our necks to look inside up and down and around but can never see in! A couple of nights I took the time to look up the reviews on this place and the news wasn’t that good. So, we have lived in this hood for about 4 months and have avoided it. We thought we would step inside tonight on the way by and have a peek in. We were warmly greeted and invited to go check out the new 2^nd level «pizza bar». (LDV) It has only been open for 1 month. OK, I thought I could have been dressed better to sit downstairs anyways and I wasn’t, so upstairs we merrily went. PLEASANTLY surprised. The upper level is warm and inviting and by the time we left (we got there early around 530pm) it was at full capacity. (Many X-​mas parties) The upper area is nothing at all like the lower area where it appeared dark and unwelcoming. But I could be wrong about the main level, we did not venture in down there too far… So, we were greeted by a new waitress and kind of seated ourselves by the window and menus were brought to us. Fireplace roaring, the place was fresh and clean and I was surrounded by manly black chairs but warm wood and fixtures. I loved the beams in the ceiling. My husband got to try out a new beer tonight which he loved from Austria (Stiegl) and he was even given the option to sample first! He wanted to try one other but the Keg was out, no biggie. I tried a Chianti red wine to start and it was lovely. Mozzarella balls (fried) on the appy list was not missed by my husband (a mouse in his former life according to him).I KNEW these would have to be ordered. The waitress advised we should have the focaccia bread with it to add to it but, not my fave so we skipped that but ordered the balls to come out with our pizza. The balls were large (2), fresh tasting and nicely breaded. A great score. The pizza — thin crust, Napolitana style, wow, you can see that huge oven as soon as you walk in. THIS is pizza I have been looking for in Calgary, fresh ingredients, good selection. We ordered the San Francesco style pizza which has a trufflle oil base, arugula, prosciutto, asiago cheese and grape tomatoes. ($ 16) YUM! No guilt! It was like a salad on barely there carbs! The pizza was not overloaded with the pricey toppings but was just enough. We loved having the mozza ball sauce, nice and tomatoe-​y to dip the pizza in. I really could not believe how many beer they had there but my husband ordered a second Stiegl and I ordered a red wine, valpolicella. Very nice, even more body than the first one and went well with food as the waitress had in fact mentioned. She could not comment too much on the food as she was so new — this is why I believe anyone starting in a new restaurant as a server should have a scheduled tasting of everything. But, that is my opinion — we were on our own to order and we did well. We had a great time. This spot had a true Italian feel to it and I felt like I had been transported back a bit in time to another place. Not cheap but not overpriced and no frills EX, no candies come with your bill at the end! We have to commend our server though, as true foodies, we took our time with everything and she was ever present and gets an A for effort. The bill without tip was $ 63 including GST for 2 drinks each, a shared appy and shared pizza. We looked at the dessert menu but we will save that for another time. (No tiramisu!?) And there will be another time, very soon!

I enjoy this restaurant, always on the mark, specials are usually wonderful, menu dishes very good, a great selection of veal dishes in particular.
Staff is friendly and capable,
Try the calamari in marinara sauce, the pasta shells if the special does not click
Round it all off with a grappa to settle the tummy from overeating ;-)

This is another one of my neighbourhood restaurants within staggering distance to my Condominium. My wife thinks that it’s terrific and I am unfortunately less delirious. I’m torn between rating it between three and four stars.
Why? The restaurant is an institution and has been around for decades. Any restaurant that can survive Pompeii has to be acknowledged for its tenacity and longevity. Franco must have done something right, and obviously continues to do something right, which brings back the diehard culinary supporters.
When I go there, I feel I am entering a Roman Arena knowing that I am going to be fully and sumptously entertained for two or three hours by gladiators who will ensure my sensory pleasures. I guess everything is predictable and good. It’s heavy, it’s full bodied, it’s wholesome, and it’s like my Italian friends would like to treat me.
After all these years, little has changed, just pure good cooking with no pretension, and little new world flair or fusion flavour. The ambience is colourfully olde world kitschy Italian… the menu is extensive and the wine list varied with lots of Italian choices.
Pricy? yes. But what the heck. How can I not recommend this Calgary dining experience??? Try it. you’ll love it.

It seems a bit silly to be writing a review of La Dolce Vita… a bit like writing a review of the Roman Colosseum… it’s been around for so long that you just can’t imagine that someone hasn’t already been there once or twice. Also a bit odd when the food of a restaurant is completely upstaged by its Chef and owner… in this case Franco. It’s REALLY hard not to like Franco… and it’s hard not to come away feeling like you’re absolutely special and part of The Family (add the ‘Badda Bing’ here if you like) and Franco has been doing this since forever. As far as the restaurant goes, it’s completely old school Italian. the kind of place that your Nonna and Nonno probably still go to for a ‘fancy dinner’. It’s also HUGE! Like, you could cut the place into four stand alone restaurants and probably still have room for a wedding some place. It’s that big. Food wise, I can say that I’ve never had a bad meal at La Dolce Vita and quality of ingredients is superior (Franco lives in the Bridgeland ‘hood and you can spot him from time to time raiding the gardens of his friends in the neighbourhood for something that shows up that evening on the menu). If you’re willing to trust the Chef, Franco will simply cook dinner for you. So with all this, it pains me to only give 3 stars… probably more of a personal bias against Calgary’s ‘Grande Dame’ restaurants (read: La Chaumiere; Caesars; La Caille on the Bow — pre reno). While very good, it would be difficult to call the food ‘inspired’ or ‘innovative’ or even ‘clever’ and when I’m spending TOP dollar (and really, you are at La Dolce Vita… it’s not inexpensive) I want to feel like standing and clapping at the end of dessert. This said, it’s difficult to be tooooo hard on a restaruant that has lasted so long or with a Chef/​owner who is so hospitable (or could get me whacked). If you want to take your parents out for dinner somewhere and you don’t mind spending a bunch of money it would be hard to go wrong with La Dolce Vita.