La Dolce Vita

Food was incredible! You could tell it was fresh! Service was a little slow, they were crowded it was live opera nite. But food made up for it.

About a decade ago this was the best Italian in the area and at the same time the only one where you could get food that any Italian (I avoid using the word «real» because it’s not worth getting shot for a Unilocal review, but let’s say ‘an Italian born and bred in Italy’) wouldn’t burst uncontrollably into tears and would have to be lead away from the restaurant by supporting friends, holding him or her handkerchiefs to cry into.
But that was back then and now is now.
The owner runs around with a saucepan, stirring something that smells, tastes and digests like a combination of flour, salt and grease and looks like old fashioned glue.
He means well. Maybe.
IF you grew up on that sort of food and it is linked to happy childhood memories then this will be the place for you and naturally you will leave fulfilled and probably very full, a little too stuffed, and WHY NOT really.
Then again, if you want excellent authentic Italian food that does have other things to offer than calories and cholesterol this is probably most certainly not your place; then again, sadly so, there is none in Little Italy right now at least.
So you might as well eat here, because they have a bar and a nice space to sit outside and inside besides the attempt to turn into a sports bar with rambling TV, inside could be OK too.
The owner is trying hard to give off a local Italian old time gangster feeling with great success, but I could not say if that is authentic or not.
The place used to be expensive, in the past that was justified, now it is still expensive.

Go anywhere else but here in Cleveland’s beautiful Little Italy. A screaming manager yelling instructions; forgotten entrée delivered 20 minutes after the other diners’ food; and the food — yuck! How can you screw up chicken parmesan? Answer: watery pasta and tough, rubbery chicken! Ravioli had odd meat squares in the sauce alongside the pasta. Even the Italian wedding soup tasted, according to my tolerant daughter, like water with a few meatballs in it.
The bread was good, and once you got past reading a wine list scribbled on an extra piece of paper, that was OK too.
Couldn’t wait to leave.

Our first time in Cleveland and to this gem of a restaurant. The owner, Terry, was welcoming and the staff was knowledgable and friendly. The food was great — the pasta to a perfect al dente and the chop was delicious. If I lived here, this would be my go-​to spot.

Little Italy has quickly become one of my favorite areas to eat in Cleveland because of places like La Dolce Vita. The ambience here is very welcoming, exactly how you’d expect from a family owned Italian restaurant. The owner, Terry, came up to our table and made sure everything was up to par. He also made sure we got a complimentary dessert for one of our birthdays.
The appetizers we ordered, Baked Meatballs and Caprese, were DELICIOUS. Everything was obviously fresh and made on the spot. For dinner, I ordered the lentil soup while the rest of the table ordered pizzas. The soup was great, but the pizza was even better. Perfectly sized, a perfect cheese to sauce ratio, and a delicious crust made the pizza amazing. The dessert, a tiramisu with mascarpone cheese and strawberry and chocolate drizzle, was the perfect ending to our meal.
La Dolce Vita has everything you look for in a family owned Italian restaurant: friendly atmosphere, great service, and delicious food. I will definitely take another trip here when I’m in Little Italy.
This place has everything you

Local and family owned Italian restaurant in Cleveland near the Cleveland Museum of Art. We had an amazing family dinner there after s long day at the museum. Get there for dinner early lest you wait an hour for a seat – or make reservations. The owner was very friendly, visiting every table at least once during your dinner to come chat and say hello. Love love love! Don’t forget to ask him how he’s doing after he asks you;)

Wonderful small restaurant. The owner, Terry, suggested a wonderful wine upon our arrival and the meal to follow did not disappoint, especially the tiramisu and fruit plate for dessert. One of the best restaurant experiences we’ve ever had.

The last time my girlfriend and I ate here we had a nice experience — the food wasn’t great but not bad either, and the staff was kind and even went out of their way to surprise us with a free dessert. Consequently, our next visit to Little Italy we were eager to give it another go. Sadly, we were sorely dissapointed.
To start, no bread was brought to our table. Last time I remember receiving bread with different butters, and the tables around us all had bread… but okay. A little strange for an Italian place, especially one at this price range. My girlfriend’s ravioli was good, but my meat pasta tasted like something I would’ve made at home, and I am not a skilled cook. We waited forever to get our bill, and waited even longer to have it taken back. I’m not even sure who was waiting on us, or if anyone really was at all. We were seated by the hostess and then our orders were taken by a waiter, who after that basically disappeared. The hostess brought us our food. Nobody checked on us, nobody refilled our waters, and nobody asked about dessert, though there were only 3 other tables filled in the entire restaurant. It really bummed us out. We will not be returning.

The complaints about service seem a bit harsh. This place was swamped, had several large parties, and our table of four was still finished within and hour and 15. Our waitress disappeared a few times, but that wasn’t unexpected given how busy it was. The food was awesome. We had ravioli, pollo pomodoro, fettuccini fellini, and pesto pasta with a bottle of Chianti, and everything was warm, well presented, and tasty. A very filling meal before the orchestra.

I really wanted to like this restaurant… Truly. My first experience wasn’t that great, so here I was a second time in hope for a better outcome… unfortunately that wasn’t the case.
In a line: the service is TERRIBLE! You would probablyl get better service at a self serve joint. Yes, it was that bad!
Upon entering the restaurant, which wasn’t too busy for a Saturday night, our party of 4 was left standing at the entryway for over 10 minutes (yep.10) before I had to walk over, f lag down a server and ask if we should seat ourselves or would the MIA host/​hostess miraculously appear at seat us. At least that managed to secure us a table however we were again left sitting, twiddling our thumbs even before we got water for the table!
Our assigned server, Tony, had other bigger party (10 people) to serve and he spent all his time hovering over that table, catering to all their needs. Now, while I understand that a bigger table means more tip revenue, the server seemed to have forgotten that all customers are equal and can end up being potential bigger groups and repeated revenue generators if they have a good experience.
The owner/​manager was the only person holding fort to this place, filled with roaming servers but no service. He himself tried flagging down Tony several times before he got us some bread, took our order, got us some drinks. He also tried to keep us engaged while waiting for our server to show by trying to converse with us, bring us some complimentary pasta.
Unfortunately the dining experience was so bad that I don’t think anyone at our table, judged the food unbiased. We tried the calamari, fettucine, primavera, ravioli all that were good… but nothing to write home about.
My previous experience at La Dolce Vita was similar. It seems the only way to get decent service here, is to go in a big group, else expect to wait forever before getting any service. All that the servers here seem to care about is the tip and they don’t care about being obvious about it. I think this restaurant’s management should invest more time/​effort in getting/​grooming servers to be better at their job if this restaurant intends to be close to or at par to Mia Bella which is across the street.
Overall: I think anyone looking for a decent dining experience should give this place a pass… not worth your time or money.

One star for the location in Little Italy and one for the owner/​manager. Nothing else seems to be working for this place.
We decided to get some grub in Little Italy (kind of last minute). Our go to Mia Bella had a one hour wait so we thought of giving La Dolce Vita (LDV) a try. Ok, we enter in and there is no host/​hostess. Waited 10 minutes and finally had to go ask someone if we could be seated. Bartenders have eyes, they can call someone or help us (at least greet us). but no, not in this establishment. They all seemed extremely busy talking to each other (and trust me there is no shortage of servers/​bartenders/​staff).
Ok finally the owner comes up and seats us next to a big table and from then our experience went downhill. Our server, a guy with glasses and a weird beard shows up after another 10 minutes of us being seated to ask us for our drink order. There wasn’t a slight hint of politeness in his tone. Maybe he was too focused on the big table (big tip).
We order our food but we forget to order a sauce for our ravioli (and our server could care less). We sat there while other tables got better service (big table and other tables with different servers). Finally the owner comes over and gives us a sample of some pasta which he prepares for each table, and engages in some light conversation while scolding our server for not bringing any bread.
Cut to the chase, our food comes. It’s ok. I ordered the fettuccine and it was clunky. While flavorful, I was already turned off by the service. Had to made an effort to ask for some more bread and some salt and pepper to decorate our food. Portion sizes are good and the food is ok.
I would never return to LDV even if this was the last restaurant standing in Little Italy. The owner is great and I wish him the best of luck but service is a major part of the restaurant industry. This is one instance where I would leave no tip, but I did with a big note (see attached picture).
For all those visiting LDV in the future, if you get the same server (glasses and beard), find another table, restaurant or make sure you demand better service!

Good restaurant, on my top list of Cleveland, eggplants and fruit salad are super good,
Word limit Word limitWord limitWord limitWord limitWord limitWord limitWord limitWord limitWord limitWord limitWord limitWord limitWord limit

My friends and I were visiting Cleveland from Columbus, and as we were talking to the hostess about what kind of food they serve, the owner, a fellow Buckeye, came by and talked to us. He proceeded to seat us on the outside patio, and throughout our dining experience there he was kind and cordial. He brought us different salads and pastas to try before we ordered our food, while talking about his time abroad in Rome. The aforementioned appetizers, which were on the house, were absolutely delicious.
The main course (I ordered the gnocchi in a creamy, tomato-​y sauce) was as good if not better. I paired with a nice Italian Pinot Grigio. The service from our waitress was excellent as well. Our waitress, other staff, and the owner himself were all very kind and attentive. I loved this place and will definitely be visiting the next time I am in Cleveland.

I have always loved coming here. The food is excellent and the wine selection is just right. The owner Terry is a true gentlemen and demonstrates how an owner should act. He took the time to stop by our table and say hello. Terry even brought a new pasta dish by our table for us to try. They even accommodated our friend who was gluten free. I only wish the service was faster. However when I was in Italy, it was typical for service to be slower allowing everyone to not be rushed to truly enjoy the experience. If that is the goal here, then it’s perfect. This is still one of my favorite places to enjoy Italian food. Give it a try and go back more than once! You will fall in love just as I did.

Well, I guess I am going to have to give up on Little Italy in Cleveland. I had my second mediocre meal in a row.
First, I ordered wedding soup and a pasta dish, they came out at exactly the same time. Who does that?
So besides poor service the soup was likely made in 15 minutes since it had little taste. The panceta in the pasta sauce was under cooked and while they claimed it had gargonzola cheese I could not taste it.
I will give them credit for at least cooking the pasta al dente.
What is sad is that there is no better Italian food in Mentor than Little Italy.
I used to love coming here, what a shame.

A very bad night for this restaurant. Apparently issues with personnel in the kitchen but service staff did not compensate. 30 minutes before anyone spoke to us and 90 minutes before apps showed up.
Owner, management tried to make up for it but too little too late. Took 20 bucks off 300 dollar bill. Promised to bring dessert on the house but did not happen. This was fine since we were ready to go.
Food hit miss. Calamari very good but bruschetta was somehow cold tho we waited forever. Chicken parmigian was bland

One of my fav Little Italy spots! They always treat you like family! The sangria is divine and all of the pastas and pizzas are to die for! Always fun to sit outside in the summer! Love it here

Found this place on Sunday morning quest pizza. The café vibe struck my interest, even though it’s definitly a full service restaurant. The menu is a smaller but offers soups, salads, pizza, and large dish entres.
We went 2 large pizzas, which sounds like a lot for 2 people but it was really the perfect amount. They’re flat bread pizzas, and a large is only 8 inches. The spinach and artichoke pizza was okay, the pepperoni was definitely better. They were filling without the dough — belly shame.
While the food was alright, the company was spectacular. Our waiter was super attentive and friendly. Even more so, the owner was amazing. He stopped by multiple times during our lunch just for good conversation. If the food won’t bring you back, he will, especially when he mentions plans to start serving brunch. I’ll definitely stop on by again for that.

I, as all of us, love Italian food! Terry’s restaurant has the feeling of being in Italy while vacationing. The neighborhood is great, the restaurant has a nice décor, mood, lighting, and perfect music.
The bartenders are very customer-​friendly and will make any drink you ask for. The food was pleasant for presentation, the temperature was right, wine selection was above average and the taste was old-​fashion traditional great Italian food!
You know that you are in a fine establishment when the proprietor comes to your table and inquires about your experience.
5 STARS OUT OF 5 STARS!!!

Food was good, but did not reflect the prices. Found a few things odd, like I wanted to change to Linguini for the Chicken Parm, but it was a $ 12 up charge because «it comes pre packaged»?? Someone else at our table added chicken to her Gnocchi and that was $ 9? Lastly they rounded up the sales tax on the entire meal to an even number? I don’t get that one. Never heard of a business «rounding’ up the sales tax. Gee, who benefits on the overage there?
For what its worth, the food was decent. Nothing spectacular for the prices, but for the prices on the menu I would have expected a lot more. Service was 4 out of 10. We had to ask for anything extra like bread, or parmesan cheese, but they did keep the water’s full! And it wasn’t busy, we were the only table on the bar side.
Probably will not be back. There is better choices in Little Italy.