My wife and I had drove almost 4 hours from Palm Beach County, as we are considering moving to St Augustine to build our retirement home. After rushing to get to the restaurant, they were kind enough to get us seated outside around 9:17 pm despite closing at 9:30 pm. In our discussions with Aaron our waiter, we thought we had built a rapport with the staff and inevitably expecting a nice experience. Unfortunately this was not the case. We had asked whether they served pizza but they said they did not but had traditional sicilian food. Given the fact that my wife is sicilian, we decided to order from the menu per a few suggestions from the waiter. Since I personally was not sure nor trusted any recommendation on italian food specifically true sicilian food in St. Augustine, I withheld any opinions. My wife ordered Shrimp Scampi and I ordered the traditional/basic Chicken Parmigiana and it was good to be expected. When the my wife's food arrived, the spinich side dish was good but her Shrimp Scampi was not so good. The shrimp arrived not deveined and had a grainy sandy texture because there was sand in the shrimp. Don't ask about the linguini. If you require soft foods for digestion, then its absolutely perfect for you. Traditional sicilian, NOT. I dont care what anyone tells you. Pasta should be al dente with zero excuses. If you eat overcooked pasta then that is your right which is not my beef. But don't call yourself a true sicilian restaurant and serve denture perfect pasta to the public. After we spoke to the waitress letting her know of our issue, the owner/cook (not a chef by any stretch..) yelled at us in the patio complaining that he allowed us to come in prior to closing and accused my wife that she was complaining from the first moment she arrived, and threatened to call the police if we did not pay the bill! What?!! Even the waitress mentioned that she had never seen the owner react this way. Why do we have to experience this persons lack of personal pain and anger and have us be the brunt of his psychological anguish. Listen Mr. Owner. Get over it. Look at yourself in the mirror. Growth happens when you are able to take criticism in an honest way and learn from it. Obviously I am not the only one with a similar opinion. One thing to also note that we thought that Aaron was a good waiter but later found out that his miscommunicated messaging to the owner/cook probably started this entire fiasco. Thanks for that! Again, not a good place. Beware. read more

Food for St. Augustine v. good.....we are an Italian family from NJ where there are the best Italian food is (NY/NJ). This was very good- everyone enjoyed......Freshly made HOT bread! and to finish Freshly made HOT coffee! read more

Worst Food ever. Took 1/2 an hour to get bread delivered with 1 other table in the place. As a chef, This place sucks in every sense of the word of Italian Food. Never ever will I go back. read more

A mom & pop place with delicious, creative Italian dishes. Meaning, it's good, but since it isn't a chain with frozen food and loads of staff, there's a healthy wait for the food. That's fine, so long as you know what to expect & aren't trying to squeeze your meal in before doing something else. read more

Perfect. The owner Mark met us at the door. We took our time, enjoyed the food and didn't want to leave. Jerry Farber and I work in St Augustine a lot and will go back!! read more

The food was excellent!!! Everything was fresh. I had the lasagna, which was great. They have a great cheese bread (which is extra). I also tasted the ziti and spaghetti, which were also great. read more

We had an Amazing experience!!! We had a large party of 10 and everybody agreed that it was some of the best Italian they've had. We had excellent service and the chef even came out to greet us and make sure the food was to our liking. Authentic Italian, with a cozy, fun family atmosphere, and large meals make for an amazing experience. We've tried other Italian restaurants in the area and this is by far our favorite. If your visiting, and are in the mood for Italian, I recommend you eat here. read more

This restaurant was amazing! The atmosphere is family oriented. The service was on point! Its a small business but the chef made time to come out and ask how was everything. I ordered the seafood cannelloni and it was delicious!! I highly recommend this place! Best Italian restaurant ever! read more

Great food, all seems homemade. Took a little long though. Loved our waitresses personality. They seem to feed a homeless lady regularly which I think is great but not in the dining room on a busy Friday night, could turn people off. I think that it is being a great humanitarian. read more

This was our first visit. We had the special stuffed mushrooms with crabmeat they were fantastic. I also had the French Onion soup my wife ordered Eggplant Parmer San it was a little soggy but good. I ordered the linguini with clams in olive oil and butter it was great. our desert we took home it was fantastic. All and all it was a nice experience. read more

Got there at 7 and didn't get out food until 8:15, I ordered the vodka sauce chicken and prosciutto rigatoni. Vodka sauce was good but however... my rigatoni was undercooked. read more

I'm not one to overly exuberant about food but this restaurant is the BEST ITALIAN RESTAURANT me and my family have EVER eaten at PERIOD. We've our locals and this is not only a local spot we tell friends for Italian food, this is a spot we would tell them for the best food in STA!!!! read more

Wonderful little, authentic Italian, hole in the wall restaurant with great ambiance. Very intimate setting with eclectic deco surrounding the entire restaurant. Everything was amazing: from the great service to wonderful garlic bread and homemade marinara sauce to the wild mushroom ravioli as my entree. Took a little while to get our check, but our waitress explained to us the backup because the influx of takeout orders. Making a reservation is highly recommended. Will definitely be back! read more

Slow slow slow service. We got here at seven and are just now leaving at ten. Food taste pretty good. Not the best I've ever had but not bad at all. Good flavors and meat was tender. At least the food was good. One lady is the hostess, waitress, bus boy, etc. For how long the food takes and how long she disappears for, I want to say she's the cook too. Food taste fresh and definitely prepared to order... It just takes forever! One of our friends really wanted lasagna but they were out. Bummer. Gratuity is also included at 18%, at least it was for our table of four. I think the waitress is very nice and she's honest b.c we over paid and she corrected us. I would give it a solid four stars if you have time to sit, chat, drink, and hang out. But personally, it's a Thursday night. I come in at seven and don't leave till 11... that's a bit much. Also food is a tad pricey but the portions are large and the food is made to order. Would only recommend if you have time to burn and it definitely hits the spot if you're in the mood for quality Italian. read more

It's should be no star. We had an awful night at this place, waiting for almost an hour for the food. The menu said add a salad or soup with the entrée for one price but if you want to have a soup and add a salad it'll be a different price. We have 3 adult and a kid who split dinner with the adult with additional money and the waitress put on the bill a FIXED tip for 20%. Such a shame for we used to like this place! read more

One of the worst restaurant experiences I have ever had in my life. I will never ever eat there again. It is run down with broken fixtures in bathroom and terrible atmosphere with outdated furnishings like a rundown bar turned into a mediocre restaurant. Service was horrible. It took over a half hour for our salads and over an hour for our entrees. I was told there was no ranch dressing for salad but saw it being served at the table next to us. No refills were offered and drinks stayed empty. Parmesan cheese was stored in hallway in front of bathroom open and had been served to every other table with a spoon in it that everyone else had used for however long they choose. The salad was not cold the lettuce was limp. We had to ask for bread. The marenera sauce was nothing more than a can of diced tomatoes opened and warmed. They demanded a 20 percent gratuity. When I questioned the owner about it he immediately began to yell at me and pointing his finger at my face. He scared the crap out of me and my daughter. I left the restaurant shaking and upset. I called the police and made a complaint. The police came and agreed with me. They called him outside and he acted the same with them. I should have read the reviews! We had purchased a DoubleTake certificate and he threatened that if we did not pay the gratuity he would not accept the certificate. We were forced to pay it against our will or pay for the entire meal. Crazy Owner Beware!!! read more

On the front page of local restaurant magazine is a picture of seafood fra Diavolo. This sent us to the restaurant. My favorite Italian dish! Don't believe it. Don't believe that it also has fish in it. It has neither lobster or fish. It does have small shrimp, dry mussels, absent clams and squid that you could chew all night. The early bird specials and drink specials advertised are non-existent. We entered with high hopes, at the same time as another couple. They had dinner and dessert and the check and we had not received our salads. Rather than apologizing, our server blamed it on the chef! The old reviews were right. Wonder who wrote the good ones. read more

Ate here last night and had the calamari appetizer and the sea bass entree...words can not describe how wonderful the food was! So fresh,perfectly cooked and seasoned..it was absolutely delightful ! I would strongly recommend this restaurant to anyone seeking a great meal. The ambiance is a little kitschy ,but the food is fabulous! There is only one waitress at this site,but she is pleasant and very efficient. All the food is prepared to order so be prepared to wait..this is a wonderful dining venue, don't expect fast food service here and you won't be disappointed. read more

Food was hot and delicious and the wait was just right. Lobster bisque, la strada salad, veal de russa, pasta, toasted almond cream cake. Prices very reasonable. Clean, nice atmosphere. Friendly waitress. read more

I really really wanted to like this place. It looks very Old World Italian, authentic. But it was a disaster. The service was soooooo slowwwww. Our server was sweet, but so ditzy and oblivious. Took forever to be greeted, forever to get drinks, forever to get bread. The food was ok, nothing spectacular. I had lobster ravioli and it was packed with sundried tomatoes. Literally packed. Normally I like them but this was too much. My children's food was not great. And to top it off I literally had to stand up at my table and flag down another server to ask my server to get our check. And I stayed standing the whole time because I wanted her to know I was done waiting. She still took her sweet time bringing the check. And in case you're thinking maybe they were busy....nope. Only 3 tables were seated in the whole place. I will never come back. For the prices they charge, they should provide a more efficient and professional table service. I was so dissappointed. read more

We went to La Strada for the first time Friday night, March 1st. There were a lot of good reviews about the place so we were looking forward to a nice meal. Unfortunately, the night didn't go well. We waited a while to be seated because they wasn't anyone in the room but the waitress finally came and seated us at a table against the kitchen wall. We had a very nice waiter although he did seem a little bit nervous and the other waitress was hovering so I figured he might be new. He was great and we didn't have any problems with him but I felt so sorry for him because several times we heard someone in the kitchen yelling at him, he called him an idiot and kept yelling. When the waiter came out I asked him if everything was alright and he just said yes but he looked shell shocked. I am amazed that an employer or manager would yell at an employee like a bully. They must not keep staff very long. That treatment isn't right and I wanted to let the public know what a bully the cook/owner is. I will never patronize an establishment owned by a bully! By the way, I also found a small piece of metal in my sauce. We told the older waitress about it and she came back from the kitchen with an explanation of a piece fell off the bowl the sauce was mixed in. read more

My favorite Italian restaurant in town. Unparalleled attention and scrumptious food. Thank you guys

Food was good however they do not accept Canadian credit cards.whats up with that. Fortunately we had cash to cover the bill but unfortunately not enough to leave a tip. Waitress then follows us out asking us if we have more cash. She was not concerned about the position she put us in only her lack of tip. We will not return. There are a lot of great restaurants in the area that welcome Canadians try those.In all of our years of travel I have never had a credit card refused because we were from Canada.As mentioned food was good but we arrived for a early supper and left 3 hours later another reason not to return. read more

GREAT FOOD! Expensive but worth it, for sure. Went on a slow night, so no problem with service, very nice and attentive server actually.

Living in St Augustine and having eaten at every nice restaurant I can honestly say this is one of the best four of all restaurants in all of St Augustine of any type by a long shot. By far the best Italian food in St Augustine region. I have no axe to grind in this debate except that I am a super fussy picky eater who knows REAL Italian cooking having eaten at the best Italian restaurants in Chicago and on the Ligurian coast of Italy. This place gets seafood right, and they get veal right. I am from Chicago and so was spoiled there with great Italian restaurants and was relieved to find this authentic real deal place. Don't waste your time trying to find another Italian restaurant in the area they are all subpar besides this one. The owner, a real Italian cooking machine who hails from New Jersey originally, is hands on running the kitchen and front of the restaurant ensuring all home made quality ingredients, preparation, and service. This is unpretentious, family style, authentic, home made, prepared with care, and his hand made home made soups are to die for. Great food, great service, great experience. I live in town as of the last few years and have been back multiple times since discovering this place after having disappointing Italian food everywhere else I tried locally. The seafood is always prepared perfectly, and is local, and the seafood pasta with spicy marinara sauce (Frutti di Mare) is the only thing that touches what I would get in Chicago or Italy. It's the real deal. The veal dishes are always prepared perfectly as are the home made white bean and sausage soups. Just a killer place after desperately missing REAL Italian food. Atmosphere is perhaps the best of any restaurant in St Augustine. read more

We had a party of 12 and could not have asked for a better experience. The lobster bisque was outstanding and the Grouper with lemon butter sauce was incredible. This was our first visit to this restaurant, but despite the negative reviews of others, we chose to go. We are very glad we did. Server was great and the food was even better. read more

Restaurant provides good food, BUT does not honor its discount coupons it posts in local flyers. Advertises 15% off meal and Happy Hour 4:00-6:PM without specifying any exceptions other than holidays. However when we went there on a Friday and showed the coupon, they said Happy Hours were not on Fridays and we could not have 15% off the meal plus Happy Hour discount on any day because that would be a double offer. The two were different offers because the 15% was on the meal only (not drinks) and Happy Hour is on drinks, not the meal. Went there twice but never again. We are residents of St. Augustine who live near the restaurant and would have gone there often had it not been for this. If you don't want to honor discount coupons don't offer the coupons. It's false advertising read more