La Grotta On Main Italian Restaurant

Food is perfect. but it is very small size for the price. Be prepared to order more to fill you hungry. The price is higher than listed on their website.

We might try it one more time.....

I'm not usually one to write reviews however I thought this restaurant was in need of one. My husband and I frequently eat out and have tried all of the restaurants in Unionville. La Grotta was the most disppointing. The owner is most charming and can get a little carried away when making you a drink. The quality of the food was not to my Nonna's standards. The chicken and pasta dish that I had, tasted exactly like the Lean Cuisine Diet dinner that I used to have sometimes for lunch. My husband ordered the veal, not really sure what it was that he ended up with but it wasn't veal, chicken maybe? The pasta was not fresh, it was packaged but cooked firm. The portions were also very small for the price, I was shocked when my food was presented to me. The decor is tacky and is need of some serious updating. The faux stone that is available now a days would give the restaurant the grotto look they are trying to create. I also found the chairs uncomfortable and the seating to be akward. They could also use a new visa machine so that the patrons wouldn't have to leave the table to pay. We may give it one more try...but we'll wait until the patio opens.

My favorite new spot

Cannot say enough about how much I love this place. Very cozy and warm atmosphere. The food is always fresh and done to perfection. The staff and owner always take care of us and treat us like royalty. Can't wait to go back!

EXCELLENT

Last Friday night we went to celebrate my parents anniversary at lagrotta restaurant. At first we wanted to make the reservation for Saturday night but we were told that they were fully booked. Now I know why. The evening was wonderful even though they were very busy.The waiters had everything under control.. They were fast,attentive and respected our privacy. They accomodated my mother's dietary needs. Their dishes are truly italian , very well seasoned and presented.Their wine list is affordable and well balanced. My favorite dish was their veal sorentin. We were extremely happy that we booked another reservation on the spot. They really impressed us.Job well done.

This was my experience.

So I see that there are a lot of mixed reviews about the place but I decided to go aways. I mean you can't really judge a place until you have been there yourself. I went for my grandmothers birthday near the end of January, with my family (about 11 people). Although we called to reserve a little late (the day before), the person on the phone was more than accommodating to us and even set up the smaller section of the restaurant just for us. We went in an got seated, there were two severs that night both very delightful. The environment is quaint but I felt a little out dated. But my dad went to Italy recently and he said it reminded him of the little restaurants so he enjoyed it. At first my grandmother found the chairs a little uncomfortable but go used to them. Since we were 11 people we all ordered off of the price fixed menu and ordered one bottle of wine. The chef was very considerate with the elders orders as they could only have certain things (i.e no spicy food, soft veggies, no fried things etc.) to eat. For appetizers I had the grilled calamari, which was the special of the day and it was very delicious and my brother had the soup of the day (minestrone) and licked the plate clean. The main course was just as devine. I had the lamb with penne, it was a decent portion size and the pasta was cooked al dente (cooked but still a little firm) all of the elder people had exactly what they asked for and enjoyed it very much. My brother had wanted french fries (as he is a child), and when it was brought to him it looked a little brown so when he asked the waitress she said that before they fry them they put a batter on it with different herbs to give it flavour. She was right because I snuck a fry from him and it was pretty darn delicious. I noticed that a few people who reviewed it commented on hearing a microwave bell. My mom thought she herd it too and made a joke about it to the server, she laughed and explained that it's the bell to let them know when the food was ready to be served. She even brought out the bell to show us! Dessert was just as lovely, I was one of the few who had sorbet (which I was told was made fresh daily) and it was so good! It was light and tasted amazing! My cousin had the tiramisu and said it was better then his mother's. (My aunt wanted to ask for the recipe. Haha ) We had brought our own cake but the owner (also one of the chefs) told us next time he could make us a cake so that we didn't have to worry about anything - which was super nice. The credit card machine is also a little out dated as they don't bring it to the table you have to go up to the cash and get it but hey to each there own. overall we had a fun time. The service was fast, friendly and was good with answering any questions we had about anything. The environment was decent and homey. I would recommend this place to people who want to feel like they have been transported to a little town restaurant in italy.