La Dolce Vita

Couldn’t have been happier! We’ve never made it to the original down on Woodward, so we were thrilled when this one opened. Entrees were amazing!!! Bruschetta was ok, lacked flavor but still good. Desserts were amazing! They are all handmade by the owners wife and they were out of this world good! Can’t wait to go back!

After more thought, we decided to expand on the review. Maybe it will help the restaurant as we do hope the best for them.
This is the second time we stopped in to eat. The first time we left after having one drink at the bar. There was a private party in the dining room with the female ululations (look it up) driving everyone out of the restaurant. This time, we looked forward to eating in the bar area again. But, it was closed for a private party. This is unfortunate as this is the only area with any ambiance. The dining room is lit up like a hospital cafeteria. Suggestion, dim the lights a little. Ambiance…
After being seated next to the other 5 tables in the entire dining room, we waited close to 10 minutes for a server. We contemplated leaving again, but decided we had to finaly try the food, or would be left wondering again (this is while several servers walked back and forth past our table again and again). Remember, we were one of five or six tables. Suggestion, tend to tables right away.
Once we had a server, he was nice, yet not qualified to work at an «upscale» restaurant. We actually felt bad for him. We won’t go into details, but come on La Dolce, try training your people. Suggestion, hire experienced people. Suggestion, present the bread similar to other Italian restaurants.
We understand that at an Italian restaurant wine is king, but come on, a smart business man appeals to the masses. How do you not serve any local craft beers? Have you been out of your house lately? Craft beer is the hot thing right now. And as I understand it, $ 6 or $ 7 craft beers rival wine and spirits at restaurant for profit margin. Get with the times. Make a phone call to one of the local brewery’s (Brooks 2 miles down the road??) and put a solid beer on tap. Suggestion, get with the times.
I ordered my standard linguini with white clam. It was OK. A good white clam has some wine sauce in the bottom, this was dry. My wife ordered a penne with marinara and side of meat balls. When the food came, they forgot the meatballs. We were told he simply «left them in the kitchen». After waiting a while, they finally came with the comment «careful they are very hot». Actually, not only were they cold, they were awful. In addition, the pasta was under cooked (we love al dente), and the marinara was terrible. Suggestion, learn how to make marinara and deliver what was ordered.
Continuing, did I mention that neither of these dishes come with soup of salad? Really? Go down the road to get a better pasta with soup and salad for same price. We would have paid extra for soup or salad had the server asked. Suggestion, training and benchmarking.
Interestingly, the table next to us was complaining as well. While they did comp her meal, the entire experience was awful. The manager did apologize and was very kind. Did I mention the cook came out of the kitchen tracking us down obviously annoyed? Suggestion, don’t have the cook come out of the kitchen to track down your customers.

Very bad menu food was cold and the service was terrible took over a half hour just get the salad

Went for dinner with my wife and son! The food and atmosphere was excellent. I had a pasta dish that had chicken and artichokes which was excellent. My wife had a pasta dish with tons of seafood, which was also outstanding. We finished with Cannolis for dessert (apparently the owner makes the pastries and desserts daily). lastly, our waiter Luca was outstanding!

I had my engagement at this restaurant and all of my guests were raving about how amazing the food was. They also have great customer service! All of the staff were so pleasant. The owner and manager, Neil, made sure that the night went perfect for us. I highly recommend La Dolce Vita. Their filet and chicken Marsala were incredibly delicious entrees and the calamari was very good!

how does a italian restaurant not have italian dressing for your salad… or make a meat sauce for pasta??? very disappointed in the prices for what you get… we left very hungry… and the dessert tray was not very appealing either…6 of us are not going back for sure… we don’t see this place staying open very long… sorry.

First of all, I don’t typically write reviews but I don’t believe LDV 2 is getting the recognition it deserves. My wife and I had dinner with good friends on Friday evening and this was our first time to LDV (1 or 2) but I’m aware of the great reputation the original in Detroit has so thought we would give this one a try. We had a great experience all around starting with Sammy the waiter who is from the original restaurant. He was attentive and funny but not smothering. He was also very knowledgeable about the food and wine. We ordered a bottle of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo that they didn’t have but he came out with another bottle and tasting of it. It was actually less expensive but the right style, so we were pleased! His descriptions of the food and preparation showed the passion of someone who enjoys what he is doing. He was not shy about recommendations or making selections for you and everything was very well prepared. I had the penne del mezzogiorno, which was an excellent match of spice and layers of flavor with the red peppers, spinach and olives. I also sampled the gnocchi alla bava and it was one of the best gnocchi dishes I’ve tasted… large square pillows of perfection. Sammy brought it out with a side of red sauce and suggested dipping the cheese sauce coated gnocchi in the red sauce, which took it to another level. Chef Vito’s dishes were all very very good. A second bottle of wine, at their suggestion, that was less expensive than the first bottle (I’ve had the Riddler before and like it so perfect choice for us). They are clearly more interesting in matching our palate then just emptying our wallet! Four different desserts and all were excellent. Evening capped off by a great conversation and tour of the new restaurant by Neal, who is also passionate about this restaurant and ensuring customers get superb attention and service. Hats off to LDV 2… this is a must visit! We will be back for sure.

Definitely one of the worst restaurants my family and I have EVER been to. The service started out with our waiter asking ¼ of us what we want to drink, and quickly walking away, I had to shout across the room to get his attention before he could scurry away. The scotch he brought us was watered down (because they added water, not because the ice melted) and we were charged $ 4 for ice on top of the $ 12 per glass of scotch; comical as this place clearly is not of the same caliber as other restaurants where I gladly pay that much. The food — 3 of 4 dishes were served cold, the meatballs had a terrible aftertaste, the marsala sauce tasted like vinegar, my mashed potatoes tasted like there wasnt enough milk/​water mixed with whatever powder they used, the calamari barely had any taste, the minestrone soup was more of a potato stew, the lasagna and pasta/​meatball dishes were literally COLD; could easily go on and on. Best of all, after informing a different waitress of how terrible the food was, she said «don’t worry, I’ll take care of you guys», and follows up by bringing a big slab of chocolate cake to our table. This method of resolution might work for a pack of hungry dogs, but human beings typically eat their dessert after a quality delicious meal. This was pure embarrassment and easily explained why there were only 2 other families at this poor excuse for a restaurant. Presenting us with the bill for the full price was almost as big a slap in the face as the cake was. Give this place a month, maybe 2 max, it will go under just like the other series of restaurants that have failed at this location. An absolute waste of money, time, and most of all, an awful way to spend a special day together with my family at what we thought would be a decent restaurant. Stop using your customers as guinea pigs for your «new cooks and new location», your ownership should be embarrassed of themselves.

Let me start by saying that the excuse I was given was «we are a new restaurant». Unilocal,I truly hope that you enhance the rating scale and allow for negative stars in the future because La Dolce Vita shelby township location is absolutely without a shadow of a doubt the worst dining experience I have ever had in every aspect possible.
First the service, honestly who ever reads this, I am laughing just remembering how bad this was. The waiter came to the table and asked if our table wanted anything and before we could answer he left. He then came back with bread which was hot (I think he realized that he forgot the bread), asked if we were ok, I very quickly ordered Calamari for the table and before anyone could request a drink, POOF, he was gone! LMAO! The odd thing was the restaurant was empty so there wasn’t even a good reason to be rushing away.
(The calamari had a very bland floury taste and the side salad had a metal after taste)
He came back shortly thereafter, (keep in mind our waiter had no personality) and I asked him what he recommends as this was all our first time at this establishment, he stepped back looked at the ground and said «we are known for our pasta and seafood» and then stood quietly and stared at me. I was expecting for him to go over the menu with us considering this is supposed to be a nice Italian restaurant but maybe my expectations were to high, lol…
Here were our selections, lasagna (menu said this is the best lasagna) it was a pile of mush, absolutely disgusting and cold. Truffle oil pasta with chicken (very tiny portion, bland, over cooked chicken, no truffle taste but hot) Fettuccine with turkey meatballs and marinara sauce (meatballs were cold with a frost bit after taste, sauce was bland) Chicken Marsala (this dish was hot but had a very strong vinegar taste)
To drink we had 2 glasses of scotch that were watered down.
After trying the food we told another waitress how bad everything was, she took the meatball dish immediately and had the meat balls reheated, who wants to eat reheated meatballs? We also showed her the lasagna and she sighed… We told her about the strong vinegar taste the chicken Marsala had and she relayed the message to the owner and their way of making up for it is bringing over a piece of chocolate cake that looked like it came from a grocery store that we did not even touch. At this point we just wanted to leave, I asked for the bill assuming that they would comp the lasagna and the meatball dishes. When I saw the bill they charged for every single item! Keep in mind we told her in advance how bad everything was! I reiterated that the dish arrived cold and we sent it back so not sure why they thought it was a good idea to charge us. After about 5 – 10 minutes she came back with one item removed so I paid 100 for the most disgusting food and the most horrible service I have ever received! To add insult to injury either the owner or another employee was sitting at the bar laughing as we walked out. This location has had bad restaurant after bad restaurant and this one is currently no different.
To management, if you are a new restaurant then wait until your chefs know what they are doing to serve food to your customers, don’t use them as test subjects. Y the prices you charge are expensive, people work hard for their money and do not want to spend it on garbage. Train your staff, the waiter we had was absolutely terrible.
Unilocalers, Take this as a warning, I spent 100 for terrible service and food that is even worse, you don’t have to. If you like La Dolce Vita go to the Detroit location, this new location will need some time before it serves edible food if ever.

Since I have never been to the original LDV on Woodward, I get to rate it on its own.
I was unsure as to whether or not it was actually a sibling to the other LDV, so I called the one on Woodward at 10:30 this morning and Mr. Roselli the owner himself answered the phone & answered all of my questions, assuring me, it was indeed the one the only LDV, he encouraged me to stop by & tell everyone that it is 100% new owners.
We sat in a cozy booth, that looked towards the several large windows.
Soon after a runner brought us waters & some superb bread!
Lasagna Bechamel $ 17.95
It was good, and unique, nothing like I have had ever before, loaded with cheese, veggies & meat sauce, but I did not see or taste a noodle.
Plus it was a very generous portion
Chicken Marsala $ 16.95
Sauteed chicken breast with a sweet thick marsala sauce
As advertised it was sweet & the breasts were tender enough to cut with the side of your fork.
It also came with a large serving of mashed potato’s, and grilled zucchini
And choice of soup or salad.
And zero room for dessert, plus 2 carryout containers .
*
Just a note, if you have children, as the 2 mothers near me did with there 5 children were told there was no children’s menu .
Adult prices & portions.