My best friend and I had a great dinner! Past and pizza were so good. Also loved the complimentary bread such great service as well!

New owner is doing a great job, same menu, same cooks but there is some Breathe of fresh air, Natalie was our server and she was great! Lasagna and Linguine and clam sauce. read more

La Piazza - Italian Near Me - Orinda, California

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First time for dinner tonight Tasty pasta and generous portions We will return. The owner and his wife Made us feel special Wood fired pizza oven added flavor to Yummy looking pizzas read more

Went there for a drink, but they don't have cocktails. Just a wine list that they were out of multiple options listed. Looks very drab inside but small outside seating area is nice. The bruschetta was delicious, so will have to go back to try a full meal. read more

Sadly, this was my favorite restaurant in Orinda. I hadn't been there in several months and apparently it changed hands. I am making an assumption that the two Indian folks are the new owners. Good news: The food is still the same and good. Our waitress was nice, but she was alone serving the whole restaurant which led to bad service. She wasn't getting any backup from the owners, one who poked around on his phone when not wandering around delivering wine. He other mostly sliced bread. Bad news:. Let's start with temperature control, it was a bit uncomfortably warm. Service as I mentioned was bad for a variety of reasons I will get into. New owner(s) seem to not be cut out for the restaurant business. One randomly wandered delivering wine, the other cut bread and bussed only. Ok, story time. I came in early and was the first guest in the restaurant, I got seated, chatted with the aforementioned friendly waitress and ordered a wine. It was warm in there temp wise, but to be fair I didn't complain so it didn't change. I heard several other diners say the same thing about the temp. A few people came in, as did the two folks who were joining me. The waitress came right behind them and asked if we were ready to order just as they sat down. Yeah, not be yet. We asked for balsamic and oil. Fast forward at least 15 minutes. She came by again eventually, at this point the restaurant filled up and she took everyone else's orders already. We got our order in and asked a second time for balsamic. And I asked for more water. Balsamic and oil came. About 10 minutes later when we got salad and soup, I re-asked for water. It showed up about 5 minutes later. About 40 minutes later the waitress came by saying our food would be done any minute. Funny part is, we knew it wouldn't as we had been watching the cooks. The cooks were doing prep and horsing around, clearly with no orders in hand. After another 5-10 someone caught on, the waitress went to the kitchen to ask and they worked out somewhere our ticket got lost. She came and apologized and comped us one glass of wine. Food comes out, two pastas were hot, lasagna was cold inside. Had to try several times to get one of the owners attention as he cleaned a table nearby. Told him my friends food was cold. He finishes cleaning his table, then cleans a second table! Finally he comes and grabs her food to take back. That was a first, I've never seen that before. Waitress comes by and scratches another wine off the tab to apologize. Eventually they dropped off the bill, didn't even ask about dessert. One of the owner folks came by and awkwardly said 'sorry things happen kitchen'. ...? We we're the first in and last out. People ordered after us, got food and dessert and bill before we got an entree. It was frustrating. I didn't find them striking off he two cheapest wines as taking care if it. We were there just about two hours in total. We never got refills on water without asking, and we seemed ignored most of the time and unable to get anyone's attention. We weren't alone. The people next to us were having issues as well. The end of their meal they asked for their left over pizza in one box, bread another. (Asks the taller owner, who cleaned tables when I complained of cold food). He comes back with one box. They open the box and the pizza and bread are crammed in together. They ask him for a paper napkin or another box. He looks at them and doesn't say anything. They ask again. He mumbles 'you should have told me' and walks away and never brings a box or napkin. They leave frustrated. They commented about not coming back. At least the food is good still. read more

See heres the thing.... Id love to give it a 3.5. The food was good, but the service was SOO SLOW. They were slammed when I went and there were about 2 waitresses and 1 busser. Food pretty good, not the greatest, but it was alright read more

La Piazza - Vegetable soup is delicious! - Italian Near Me - Orinda, California

My favorite lasagna in the Bay Area. And don't even get me started on their desserts. The service has always been great and I keep coming back here! read more

You never have a second chance to make a first impression. I called to place a takeout order at Taverna Pellegrini last week. The Manager / Maitre'd who took my order, screwed up and did not prepare my husband's entree, when we picked it up. My husband states this and manager who took the phone order runs over and starts an argument. Belligerently raises his voice and angrily says, "THIS is what YOU ordered!! I read it back to you!!" Didn't apologize. Didn't say, "Oops, my bad", Didn't offer to make it right. He couldn't be wrong. It was more important for him to be Mr. Right and shove his overbearing, non-customer service, non-hospitality attitude down my husband's throat. We left without his entree, agreeing to never darken his doorstep and vote with our dollars. Thank God there's another, better Italian restaurant in Orinda, and just a few steps down! We immediately walked over to LA PIAZZA to order my husband's entree, so we could have dinner back at home. Stood outside looking at the menu and the manager walked out. Opened his door with a big smile and warmly asked us to, "Please come in where it is comfortable." Such gracious service! Husband ordered Carbonara and we waited for 15 minutes. Husband goes in to pick up and pay and yet another employee (male food server) came out. Saw me standing and asked me to "Please have a seat in this chair, on the porch". More, gracious and wonderful hospitality!! Genuine care and warmth. And...such a plentiful portion. Husband still talks about it, so we WILL be back. La Piazza definitely has our vote! We've lived in Orinda for 18 years and want to support professional and friendly business in our town. Thank you La Piazza for your warm and welcoming service, especially to a couple of guys who just had a terrible customer experience (and spent way too much)at Taverna. We will definitely return to dine in. Thank you, LA PIAZZA! read more

Talk about a great pizzeria. The margarita pizza comes completely covered with basil and a lovely crust. They make good use of their woodfired oven. Their Caesar salad is very fresh with homemade dressing. The staff is cordial and very understanding. Right across the street from the Orinda theater, a great place before after the movies all right. read more

This is a nice takeover business from prior owners. The people here are nice and gracious. The owner is great! Smaller family style eatery in the heart of Orinda village. Stopped here because it was open past 8 pm. I had the chicken parmigiana- tasty. It comes with some pasta so I was full by the end of my meal. Thanks. It's becoming my go to place for family style Italian. Thanks Piazza! read more

I met friends here for dinner and really enjoyed the food and friendly, helpful staff. Fresh bread slices to start we shared a Gorgonzola salad, creamy and nutty and was fantastic. The minestrone soup was shared around the table and had great flavor to all. We had pasta - the lemony ravioli and garlic angel hair way too yummy. Generous portions, good wine. Upscale for a pizza joint, not stuffy, and we could hear each other talk ... which was a bonus. read more

No. Just my opinion and only one visit, but... Worse than frozen dinners. I feel bad for the folks that run it, but way worse for their customers. read more

We were looking for a nice Italian restaurant to have a good dinner with some friends. We love to have a chance to talk and eat. Well we definitely got time to talk. We seated promptly and our waitress took our order. We really got time to talk. A couple were seated at the next table and they ordered. And we talked. The couple next to us were served and they ate. We talked and it took almost an hour for our food to arrive. The couple next to us paid and left. In fact the restaurant began to empty out. Oh, the food, was OK when we got it. The apologies came and we left. Not to return. read more

Ever since it changed hands now a couple of years ago, we go and each time its disappointing. Will not return. Food is just not special and basic. The lasagna was so oily and cold in the center. The pastas are nothing special. I don't eat pizza so can't comment on those. It's unfortunate as we don't have a lot of options in Orinda. read more

Food: 2/5 Price: 1/5 Service: 4/5 Ambience: 5/5 This is a really cozy Italian restaurant that has a mini stone fire pizza oven. The ambience and service are both amazing. However, the food was sub-par and also quite overpriced. Portion size was small too. Bread was stale and hard. The pizza was small thin-crust style with little toppings. The Rigatoni alla Piemontes was very very bland - super watery and soggy rigatoni with "Italian sausage" that was basically ground beef... I was pretty disappointed tonight. Orders: * Rigatoni alla Piemontes ($15.75) - Italian Sausage Meat Sauce, Cream & Chili Flakes * Pollo e Tequila pizza ($16.50) - Spicy Salsa Verde, Lime Tequila Chicken, Avocado, Cilantro read more

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Absolutely awful service and mediocre food. I picked up an order tonight, brought it to the car and realized that I was missing an item. I went back to ask about it and the server/owner started to yell at me telling that he showed me my "1, 2, 3!!!" items. My order contained four items so not only this tall balding guy has zero customer service skills, he also doesn't know how to count. I was coming from a soccer game, no hair/make up, so he likely assumed that I was an Ubereats or a DoorDash driver he could treat like a lesser human. The food was mediocre: the soup contained a day's worth of sodium intake, my very hungry friend refused to it it. The salad had pale pink tomatoes drizzled with cheap and bitter olive oil. The pizzas were ok while the pastas lacked any flavor except for the flavor of burned pine nuts. Unless you're very hungry, I recommend avoiding them. read more

We went for a birthday dinner. It was our first dine in dinner in 26 months. We were disappointed in the food and service. The Caesar salad was flavorless. The linguine with clams was not much better. I had the calamari steak which I enjoyed very much. We ordered a pizza to go which was cheesy but did not have a tomatoey taste. All in all we can not recommend you spend your hard earned money here. read more

Absolutely love this place! Everything on the menu is great but I really love the pasta dishes & the veal piccata. The La Piazza salad is damn good, too! Great service & can't wait until they open back up! read more

After a speaking engagement my daughter had a St. Mary's this evening, the professor (who happens to be one of my best friends), daughter and I had a pre-birthday dinner here. This was the first time I have been here in 2008 and it was just as good as I remember. Fresh flavors and beautiful presentation. Daughter opted for the seafood cioppino special and "the professor" and I both had the calzone which was marvelous. Service was attentive and this is easily one of better Italian places on this side of the tunnel. They brought daughter a dessert with a candle for her birthday at the end. Sadly, it was Tiramisu and the daughter thought our waitress must have been trying to get her "drunk" for her 12th birthday. We told her it was the thought that counts and opted to go ice cream down the street instead...(see next review). read more

My girlfriend and I went there last Thursday night. I suppose 9:30 PM may have been late for sleepy Orinda, but there were still patrons inside and we were seated without issue. The waiter brought us menus and came back a short time later asking if we were ready to order. No mention of whether or not we wanted something to drink. We ordered our meals and a glass of wine each. I had the calamari steak which was unremarkable. My girlfriend said her seafood linguine didn't taste fresh. We weren't charged for her dish. Also, the bread tasted old. The most amazing and unfortunate thing about our experience was that while people were still eating the workers commenced some type of major clean up dragging all the mats out from the kitchen area into the restaurant. By the time we left the whole place smelled like Pinesol. And, there were still three tables with customers eating. Of course we all know that strong odors can ruin the taste of food. The hallway to the resrooms was blocked by all of the stuff that was being cleaned. We won't be back. Orinda really needs some better restaurants. read more

TRIAL AND ERROR FIRST IMPRESSION: Appealing-Looks like an intimate casual upscale-ish neighborhood restaurant with decent ambiance, bar and a nice range of fresh offerings. Pretty busy but not too noisy. Started off with a wonderful Marinated Calamari and white bean salad and fine bread. ..(so my EXPECTATION was a 4 star) REALITY BITES 1 Immediately noticed when seated we were freezing. On a cold day half the tables face the onslaught of wind from the front door- think....very busy restaurant with door swinging opened every 5 to 10 minutes....BRRRRRRRR....(suggestion to owner: get a screen or drape to block wind for a better customer experience) 2 We ordered Spinach Lasagna, a Meat Lasagna and a Angel hair pasta with tomato sauce. The pasta dish was okay enough- nothing memorable which is fine for this plain dish.... HOWEVER the Lasagnas were extremely rich-drowning in cheese and way too salty. The Spinach version had some sort of EXTREMELY creamy sauce which was not listed in the menu description...unpleasantly surprised- I wouldn't have ordered it. (2 star) 3 The food gets dished out at a good pace but overall service is very spotty. Though quite accommodating they're painfully under-staffed which makes for a not relaxing time- staff is stressed and stretched, can't get their attention (2 star for service, 4 stars for being professional and nice) OBJECTIVE REALITY: Good for those that like heavy italian style food...or go for the salads. Decent ambiance if you stay out of the draft or go on a warm day...and don't mind the spotty service. For a standard spot it meets the needs of the community...but not mine. read more

Not enough staff to cover a busy restaurant on a sat night ! No waitress to update me on how much longer it will be for my food. No one asking me how the food is. Staff just keep passing my foodless table by without saying a word. Not my idea of a nice evening meal. Oh... they served me raw seabass with no apology!!!! This place seriously needs new management !!! Not apologetic about leaving zero tip which I've never done before read more

On the basis of food alone...I'd say 3.5, but the server was super accommodating to all of our extended family's various demands to split things, have dressing on the side and generally do things a little "off menu." I had a cup of the broccoli cream soup. Nice, and not real heavy/creamy. Split the pesto risotto with chicken and asparagus with hubby as well as a Caesar salad, plus I had a piece of my son's pizza margarita. Risotto was quite good with tender meat and perfectly al dente veggies. Pizza was average. I recommend the pasta over the pizza. The salads and entrees aren't really enough to split unless you have a particularly small appetite or are going to supplement with some other options. First course salads were in the $7.50 range. Dinner entrees more like $12-15, ranging all the way up to $20 for the lamb and sea bass specials. They are open for dinner on Mondays and were busy. Very little signage on this place. It's next to the sushi restaurant and across from Orinda Theater. Street parking was very limited but we used the Orinda Theater garage...which doesn't charge after their cashier goes home around 7:00 (or 8?) on a Monday night. As Tam said, walkable to "other" dessert options....or in other words, my family can't pass up an ice cream shop. read more

YUM! I wanted to try everything on the menu and had the hardest time picking one thing. We came here for a birthday dinner and only had 5 people so we couldn't make a reservation but we didn't have to wait too long. My parents and I split the carpaccio which was different than what I'm used to with the red onion in it but I liked it a lot. I ordered the Gnocchi Louisiana which was gnocchi and andouille sausage in a spicy creole sauce. It was amazing! I tried my dad's fettuccine pesto dish and it was great as well. The waitress was incredibly friendly and the whole experience was a pleasure. I will be back to try more things on the menu! read more

Dinner and a movie? Try La Piazza before you head across the street to the Orinda Theater... you won't be disappointed. I always receive a warm welcome as soon as I enter La Piazza and I feel right at home. I recommend the following: Cesar Salad: nothing is worse than an over dressed Caesar salad. Luckily the Cesar at La Piazza is fresh and light with the perfect balance between citrus and the spice of the fresh ground pepper. Perfection! Linguine a la Vongole: fresh pasta and delicious clams married with a light sauce. The good news: you don't feel like a brick has landed in your stomach after your finished with your entree. Petrale Sole: So good, you think your old Italian Grandmother made it for you. Ahhh-mazing! .... wash it down with a reasonably priced glass of Chianti - and it's a near perfect evening. See you at La Piazza! Ciao! read more

Pretty good. Excellent service. Not much to not like here. The menu looked good, my food was really good, not the best Carbonara i have had but its up there. Plus my my mom really like her meal, the Sol special. I asked the waiter about the wines and she brought out 2 glasses and let me have some free samples just so i could choose a glass of wine i liked. The prices were good too. I like this place and would go back. i feel if i try more things it could warrant a 5 star if the other meals hold up. Its nice to finally find some decent pasta at a decent price in Orinda. Every other restaurant in Orinda is a ripoff and taste like crap. read more

Ok...just left La Piazza and am experiencing some diner's remorse. Thought this was going to be something nice....given the crowded room. Once seated, the wait staff apologized that the "pizza guy was having difficulties getting pizza out in a timely manner so if we wanted to eat within an hour...try the pasta" and "the bus boy was missing" So...two apologies before we even ordered? Should have left. But we ventured forth, bracing ourselves for the unknown....the way you wade into a cold river...cautious. The Food: My $10.95 Ceasar salad was a soggy bowl of wet leaves..the lettuce was not dried prior to dressing. If I am paying that amount for a salad, I want shaved cheese, anchovies and fresh cracked pepper, which was not even offered. ..two orphaned, croutons set adrift by an ambivalent prep cook who simply reached into a bag of seasoned croutons from Costco. My "Lasagna" consisted of a flavorless 4'x 4' brick of pastacheesemeatpasta swimming in an uninspired tomato slurry. Not worth the $17.00 My friend had the clam linguini with some crazy lemon cream sauce...that was overpowered by lemony lemons. The clams hadn't seen the ocean in months. The "clams" were minced into small bits. You don't mince fresh clams. Show me the shells. My wife had the spinach ravioli which was adequate and the least torturous of the three meals. Silverware was requested 3 times. The place was chaotic and stressed but we couldn't determine why given the appearance of a full staff. There was even a little dog seated in the booth next to us getting fed table scraps. Seriously? Save your money. read more

La Piazza - Caesar salad was totally underwhelming and sad. - Italian Near Me - Orinda, California

I feel like I frequently give five stars but I hope that doesn't dilute this review. La Piazza has always been impressive to me. I used to get it delivered to the house when my parents went out for dinner. Veal piccata to die for and the beef carpaccio is the best you'll find since Alexander's closed back in the day. The service is always friendly and accommodating and the only drawback is that they are usually swamped during dinner hours, meaning you'll have to wait for a table. Despite that, I don't downgrade places for being busy. My brother always gets the rigatoni and although I tell my mom hers is the best I've ever eaten, La Piazza takes the cake. Tomatoey, creamy, meaty, awesome. The perfect place to come before or after a movie across the street. read more

I have been eating at this place for years, about 10 yrs. It is awesome! We stop in every couple of months. My favorite is the PETRALE SOLE or the PESTO DISH. I always get the PIAZZA SALAD for starters. And the wine selection is pretty good! The owner Charlie is so nice and often comes to your table to see how everyone is doing. They just remodeled the place and it looks really good. It's just a cozy and comfortable atmosphere to enjoy some good wine and great food.!!! read more

My mom and I went in on a Saturday night for dinner before a movie across the street. It was my first time at the restaurant but my mom had been there and gave it a great review. We went in and were sat immediately. We begin our meal with a caprese appetizer- it was OK but came with no balsamic which left it bland. We ordered a Gorgonzola pear prosciutto pizza to split. The portion was generous but the pizza itself was horrible. The dough was not cooked completely and the flavor was bland and underwhelming. Service got spotty when more tables came, but our waiter was kind and doing his best. We did not return the pizza because of time constraints but a place with PIZZA in the name should try and prepare a better pizza. Not sure if I would try this place again read more

what a nice find. My wife and I found this place when we were in Orinda. Its directly across from the theater and we thought it would be crowded and a tough place to grab a bite. We were wrong. Sure they were busy, but the restaurant hummed like a well oiled machine. From the super friendly and knowledgeable wait staff, to the industrious chefs whipping up pizza's, they had it going on. Busy, but well equipped. The appetizers were delicious. We had the prawns wrapped in panchetta and was served with a spicy arribiatta. Yummy. The caprese salad made for a good split. We had the margarhita pizza and the fennel sausage.portabella mushroom pizza. A good choice and it paired well with the San Simeon pinot that was recommended by our server.(good wine knowledge! :-) We occasionally frequent an upscale pizza place in Lafayette: good pizza but pretentious. This place however is much more genuine and Just as Quality oriented. The pizza here has a fairly soft but if you like it thin and crispy, you can get that too. As we wrapped up dinner with a generouse slice of tiramasu, our server asked if we enjoyed ourselves and my wife summed it up, "oh, we'll be back.' read more

La piazza is serving the best breakfast in town! I have not had better omelets anywhere else! Their citrus french toast is to die for. Theirs dinners are like home cooked italian food that one's grandmother made. Delicious and superior quality of food. An orinda favorite. read more

If you're interested in a dinner and a movie this is your spot. Buy some tickets next door at the movie theater with screens the size of home televisions and have a pizza across the street. The pasta with seafood was a hit. The duck pizza could be skipped. The mushroom and sausage pizza was good and the Margherita was decent. The service is friendly and I'd go back if I were watching a movie across the street otherwise I'd go to other upscale pizza joints like Pizza Antica or Pizzaiolo. read more

First time ever coming and it was an amazing experience. I'm definitely coming back. The food was extraordinary and the waitresses were so sweet and welcoming. I had the lamb kofta platter from the weekly specials and it was one of the best foods I've ever had. The workers are very opening and the boss was hilarious! Definitely a 10/10. read more

La Piazza - First time here, it was amazing! I had the lamb kofta platter off the weekly specials and it was delicious. Definitely coming back! - Italian Near Me - Orinda, California

The atmosphere is perfect for a date...unless you want your waitress to treat you poorly. My boyfriend and I stopped here one night when we were staying with friends in Orinda. Our waitress was pretty rude when we tried to joke with her - apparently she wasn't into laughing. After that incident, she never checked on us until the bill came at the end of the meal. Oh the meal...that was delicious. We ordered a pizza with fresh basil and tomatoes but it didn't have a chance to cool before it came to our table. Needless to say, it was too hot to eat and the cheese slid off because it didn't set before they sliced it. I don't think I'll go back to this place, but then again there aren't too many places to eat in Orinda. read more

So it's seemed as the place have changed ownership since the last time I was there. We came at a busy Thursday night: there was a movie festival across the street. We had to Waite 30 minutes for half of the order to come ,and another 5 for the other half. When I approach the Manager ( who is happened to be the owner) I was interrupted by our server, who felt like she needs to " protect" him somehow. I had to tell her that I was talking to him and not her. Anyway I found my self talking and getting no response what so ever the guy was just standing there . So, I felt bad in away. Still if you can not feed the people don't sit them in your Resturant - this is something you can monitor. So, overall there was not much conversation with service, but we did get compensate . The food..... as a 30 years chef.. I have to say that you can not expect to much from a casual Resturant . The prices are a bit high for the portion you get ,but it's really expensive to run even the smallest Resturant in this area. Beside the fact that restaurants all over are short handed. If you wonder what we had: lasagna , meat balls, pasta, and GF pizza. Taste wise was o.k. It's around $16.00 a small ball (12 oz the most). A bottle of wine was$44.00. And you pay extra for GF $3.50. Overall just o.k. Maybe next time the owner will talk to me. read more

La Piazza is so much more than just a convenient restaurant to squeeze in a meal before you see a movie across the street. I have been to La Piazza a handful of times over the years. I am always so impressed by the friendly, accommodating service, and the wonderful food in a casual-chic dining atmosphere. Everyone has their specific ideas as to what Italian food should taste like- and I am no different... but the reason I enjoy La Piazza so much is because the food is fresh (and fresh pasta is to die for!) - the presentation is really nice- and the food is light enough that you don't feel uncomfortably bloated after your meal. I have never had a poor experience at La Piazza- and I expect to return for many years to come! *My menu favorites include: meat lasagne, linguini alla vongole (clams), and the petrale sole is just amazing! read more

Great place , great food , VERY friendly staff. The pasta's are done well . The meat portions could be larger . I like to add chicken to pasta's and the chicken is nothing special and small portions , however, the pasta is very tasty and well done. All of the waiters/waitresses I have experienced are ultra friendly and work their *** off! read more

Nice place with great food and service. Came here on a Sunday at 7:00pm and it was busy but service was fast and our food order was correct. Good tasted great! On the more expensive side but we will be back! read more

Orinda, for some reason, has a lot of options for you if you're interested in Italian/Pizza. Since we live in Orinda, we've made our rounds through the various Italian restaurants and recently had the opportunity to try out La Piazza. The restaurant is located in downtown Orinda and offers your usual Italian fare. So far we've tried the pasta, the pizza (wood fire oven!), and a few of their daily specials. The service can be hit or miss - sometimes things can take a little longer, particularly if the restaurant is quite busy. The staff is friendly, but you can tell that when there's a regular patron in the restaurant, they get more attention. Worth a try, but there's better Italian in Orinda. read more