3 1/2 stars Dont come here on a saturday night between 5pm-7pm Since it's such a small place (at most 15 tables) it gets packed quick and during those times the wait is crazy. Tonight my party of 3 waited 40 minutes to get a table. Another thing is, if you do come in during these times make sure you find the person writing the names down, because they are not at the front and if they dont see you, you don't get your name down. They are a little disorganized when it comes to these things and seating people so be ready for that to. Now once you actually get a seat it's all good from there. Food is good and service is solid. pricey but good. read more

We ate here because they donated %25 of food AND alcohol sales to the fight against aids during Dining Out For Life. It was my first time at this restaurant and it is my new favorite Italian in the east bay. They start you off with a bread basket that had a great sourdough and another slightly cheesy, delicious bread. The waitor was very helpful and it was no problem to substitute chicken for prosciutto in my carbonara, even though there were no chicken posta dishes on the menu. The service was quick and I had many water refills even though the restaurant was full. When our food came out it was great. My bowl of pasta was a large portion! My vegetarian girlfriend ordered Tri-fungi and substituted in gnocchi. Her gnocchi was soft and tasty. The mushroom sauce was super mushroomy "in a good way" according to her. I am not a mushroom fan but I still enjoyed it. Desert. The best part! The chocolate gnache was amazing! A cup with three balls of chocolate and one of cream was easily rich enough for the two of us. If you like chocolate, this is a must have. In general all of the food tasted fresh and was perfectly prepared. I will return. read more

Drop whatever you're doing and go have some gnocchi here. It is hands-down, the most perfect gnocchi I've had on this side of the Atlantic. I ordered it with the mushroom cream sauce (that wasn't listed as the gnocchi sauce, but they substituted with no problem.) The texture was light, yet toothy. The sauce held to it perfectly. read more

I am very disappointed. We have been coming to La Piazza for years. We visited tonight for the second or third time under the new ownership. This time we left without dinner and probably won't return. Let me explain: We arrived shortly before 6:00 and were the first patrons in the restaurant. We order lasagna, as my wife had a craving for it. We mentioned this to the owner, who took our order. Two more tables came in over the next thirty minutes or so, making a total of three tables or about 1 table per wait staff (if you include the owner, who took our order). As we started to wonder what was taking so long, the owner began moving wood around in the oven. I took this as an opportunity to engage him, first making small talk about the oven and then asking if they still finish lasagna in the wood fired oven. At that moment his light bulb went on and he asked the chef where our orders where. The chef replied, "What lasagna?" and walked off. It seems they had lost our order. I won't bore you with the rest of the dialog with the owner, but suffice it to say that we were not satisfied and left paying for our wine. Looking over other recent reviews, it seems we weren't the only customers to have lost or incorrect orders. I will agree with other Yelp reviewers that the new owner seems like a nice man, but a terrible server and manager. Now we need to find a new restaurant for lasagna. Any recommendations? read more

Service was nice and well mannered. We only got some pizzas, and my pizza was average at best and sort California-pizza-kitchen-esque. Sort of over priced for a not so great meal. I don't come to Orinda often, and spending most of my time in Oakland and Berkeley, I can't speak to the usual fare, but this has left me kind of disappointed. I'll have to try some other places around to know for sure though. I give it three stars because I have been here once and my experience was limited. read more

Oh my god .. crazy place to eat .. first of all the pizza sauce was sweetttt .. totally different of Italian taste .. and servers are so unprofessional, they brought us glass of water with lipstick of their person on it .. stay a way from this place and I ended up all night at bathroom after eating their seafood pasta. read more

This is a long overdue appreciation of LP. In my opinion it has remained one of most consistently good and reliable places to dine in Orinda. Especially among all the changes in the Orinda dining scene during the past few years. Very accommodating and friendly service as well. Some of my favorites: Calamari salad. Risotto Milanese and Prosciutto pizza. I would also recommend trying the Middle Eastern Plate ( if they have it that week.... ) Also a good choice of wine by the glass. read more

The people at La Piazza are very nice and friendly... the food stinks... no one that knows about Italian food can give a good review to this place... there is nothing Italian about it... because is the only place that is open late in Orinda I ate there several times... disappointment after disappointment... today I ordered the seafood risotto, was not even risotto, just mediocre cooked long grain rice with saffron and undercooked seafood (tasted like a bad paella)... How can you call it risotto and not use carnaroli or arborio rice??? I never had the pizza... can they screw up the pizza as bad as they do with the rest of the food? read more

OK... It's time to UPGRADE our impression of La Piazza!! We've been there before and found the food good, but things have improved noticeably! Atmosphere: Very friendly and Inviting! Décor: Warm, Clean and Comfortable! Noise Level: More than acceptable! Service: Quick, Talented, Skilled and Friendly with one exception (see below)! Menu: Italian Focused with a Good Number of Selections! Food: Superb bordering on Wonderful! The Cesare was fresh, crisp and generous. The dressing had just the proper hint of anchovy. The Insalata Mista was generous, well chilled and the Lemon Herb Vinaigrette dressing was heavenly. I had the Scaloppini di Vitello Piccata with a side of Penne alla Arrabiata. The veal cutlet was "melt-in-your-mouth" tender and the Piccata had a generous helping of capers. The Penne alla Arrabiata was, OMG, delicious. My wife had the Spaghettini alla Carbonara with the most outstanding Egg Cream Sauce in the East Bay! We each enjoyed a desert: the Ganache and the Tiramisu. People would have killed for the Ganache. The Tiramisu was very good. Only one objection kept this from being a 5 star review: The Specials of the Day are listed on a board near the brick oven behind the dining bar. If you don't happen to look that way, you'll never see them and our waiter failed to bring them to our attention. Boo Hiss. We only noticed them on the way out. Too bad, because several looked very exciting. Suggestion: Print the daily specials (listing all the details and prices) on a separate piece of paper and hand them out along with the menus. Voilà! Everyone will get the "heads-up." We were thrilled with the meal and will be back for more! read more

Nice service but terribly slow. After 30 minutes only 3/4 of our simple spaghetti dishes were served, and after 40 minutes the fourth dish hadn't arrived. The garlic bread was burnt and was listed on our bill as $12 instead of $6. Unfortunately this will be our last visit to my son's previously favorite restaurant read more

The worst meal I've had in many a year. Service was okay. Food? Awful!

Food is always consistent and good at La Piazza. Owner Charles, is always fun and friendly. Pasta is always tasty, and the salads are top quality. Great place for date night with the classic Orinda Theatre right across the street. read more

We have been there a number of times, but this time we waited 40 minutes for our pizza order, asked the waiter to check on it, and he never returned with an answer. The owner finally came over and said it was going in the oven at that time. The pizza was eventually delivered by the owner with no explanation and it was not properly cooked. The waiter never did acknowledge that there was a problem. Probably will not go back. Roy E. 1/3/15 read more

We visited La Piazza on a Friday night to celebrate a birthday. We had a reservation and arrived a few minutes early. We waited 15 minutes for a table to be cleaned for us and then another 15 for someone to offer us water or a menu. The restaurant was clearly understaffed and unprepared. Several of the dishes and wines were unavailable, they didn't have matching dishes or wine classes and they first forgot to bring silverware and then napkins. In view of the challenges of Covid, we were willing to be patient, but eventually we realized that the reason we were receiving such poor service is that kitchen was spending most of its time fulfilling takeout orders, as demonstrated by the number of Doordash drivers hanging out at the door and complaining loudly on their cellphones at the delays they were suffering. The food was delicious when it finally arrived, but we will not be back to risk having another unpleasant experience. read more

Alan and I met Tam for dinner here tonight. She had been here before w/ friends and it was convenient for all of us. We walked in shortly after 6:00 and were seat at a table in front of the door. It was a chilly night and we were blasted by a cold draft whenever people entered or left the restaurant. And that's not counting the heedless dolts who left the door propped open when they did either. Cold weather areas customarily have double airlock doors to prevent this, but it's not standard here in California. So we were fairly uncomfortable during the first part of the meal. When the restaurant started to clear a bit Alan asked the owner if we could be moved to a table farther back and on the side and we were moved. It made an enormous difference. Bread and butter were delivered promptly and olive oil and balsamic vinegar were delivered when requested. I ordered a glass of Ravenswood Zinfandel. Alan and Tam had hot water w/ lemon. Alan and I split a misto salad and it was delivered split, in bowls rather than plates, baby greens dressed w/ a delicious lemon herb vinaigrette. I ordered the Linguini Tutto Mare from the specials menu, a mixture of plump, tasty mussels, large shrimp and calamari over linguini w/ coarsely chopped tomatoes and a white wine sauce. Alan ordered the Penne Tre-Funghi, w/ porcini, portobello and shiitaki mushrooms in a darkly flavorful sauce. Tam ordered the Risotto al Pesto, which included diced grilled chicken breast and asparagus. We agreed Alan's dish was the favorite, w/ mine a close second and Tam's third. There was no indication on the menu what was in the sauce on the penne, but it was delicious. Service was attentive and accommodating. We will definitely return. read more

After a short wait, we had a delicious dinner with fantastic service at La Piazza. The pizza oven, open kitchen, and wall of windows lends to the beautiful atmosphere. The food tastes like someone cooked high quality ingredients with love. The presentation was delightful. I would return in a heartbeat. read more

I will start with the positive, since with work, I'm fairly certain they can improve - this place does have heart. The bread is fabulous and my sparkling water (Sole brand) was really nice. Now...sigh...I cannot hold back. Our food was horrible. My husband and I were on a rare date (two small kids and no time...) and I was looking forward to dinner and a movie (The movie theater across the street is great). I came to yelp and with such great reviews and the location, we picked La Piazza. Since it was just the two of us, we sat at the counter so we could watch the chefs do their thing. I think that was the first mistake. Watching the cook pull out one canned ingredient after another, dousing sauces with cream that constantly sat on a counter and adding Real Lemon (the store bought lemon flavoring in a bottle) instead of fresh lemon juice kind of ruined my appetite. My husband and I LOVE Linguine al Vongole and order it any time it's on a menu, so when I saw theirs, I jumped on it. REAL Linguine al Vongole does not have cream...and had it said on their menu that they put cream in it, I would have modified my order or ordered something else. I watched the cook butcher the sauce. It was really sad. I kept telling myself that it wasn't mine, but when I saw the canned clams go in, I knew I was doomed. My husband ordered the Rigatoni and it tasted like Chef Boyardee - but saltier. The pasta was precooked, refrigerated and warmed in hot water so really over cooked. My linguine sauce tasted like a lemon cream sauce with soggy, over saturated clams. NOT Linguine al Vongole by any means. I couldn't taste any garlic, parsley or white wine that normally makes up the sauce. Anyway, bad, all around. I wish I had it in me to return dishes, but I'm still working on that. So, with a REALLY disappointing meal, I thought I would drown the bad taste in my mouth with a cappuccino that looked really appetizing. It tasted like old, burnt coffee in milk. Terrible. I will mention tho that when our waitress brought our check, I told her (more as a suggestion than a complaint - I know, wimpy...) that my sauce was overwhelmingly lemony and she apologized and asked if I would like to change it with something else. Nice, but since clearly we were done with our meal, it seemed a bit silly to me that she would ask that. Anyway, I will NEVER go back there, sadly, and wish I knew what I missed since so many reviews seem so positive. They seriously need a visit from Gordon Ramsey. read more

We had this restaurant on our "To Eat At" list. I rarely write scathing reviews but this restaurant deserves a negative 10 stars. 5 very bad things happened: 1. Waitress sat us at a dirty table which we pointed out but she wiped off the crumbs with her fingers. 2. My water glass had a red lipstick smear which I noticed AFTER I sipped from it. 3. My husband bite down on a hard "candied walnut " in his salad. He went to bathroom to check his back teeth. I told the waitress where and why he was in bathroom. They offered to not charge us for salad. My husband was ok. 4. Waitress was not the least bit interested in being there. She was condescending and surly. They treated us like we were going to scam them out of paying for our meals. 5. The food was unremarkable and overpriced for what we got. I had their risotto seafood. I could have done better at home. To those who love this place, congratulations. For those like us, heaven help us from lousy resturants! You ask why didn't we leave after the lipstick smear. Because we never expected this fiasco. Our radar told us to leave and next time, we will. read more

I return again and again to this wonderful Orinda eatery. I had visitors in from out of town and we thoroughly enjoyed our dinners there this week. I had the mushroom ravioli-----outstanding. Others had different pasta dishes and we were all raving about the food. The service was excellent. I highly recommend this fine food establishment. read more

Had dinner here a week ago and wow has this restaurant gone down hill since Charles sold it. Terrible service and terrible food. We won't be back. read more

Where did this place come from?? I grew up in the "LaMOrinda" yay-rea, and I guess I'm just not up to date with all the new stuff around the Orinda theatre. We went here the other night to meet some friends for dinner - their recommendation. The restaurant is a little cozy (a.k.a. small) and parking was a bit of a bi0tch, but otherwise, the eats were delish! Here's the rundown... -Service = 10 Attentive, friendly, sense of humor (BIG plus!) -Food = 10 She recommended the ham and pea linguine in a cream sauce. I asked for noodles el dente - and got just that! yUm! -Ambiance = 8 A little too cozy for my clausterphobic taste ...almost forgot... -Price = $10-$20 entrees -Setting = good for a casual date Only regret = didn't leave enough room for desert :( read more

I love love the food, especially the prosciutto pear pizza, and the staff is very friendly, but why 4 instead of 5 stars?.... The soda is way overpriced at $3 a piece (you can buy a 12 pack for that price!)...and there are no refills on the soda because they give you a small glass soda that they pour out of....wear do you even buy soda like that?! Plus the restaurant only takes reservations if you are a party of 6 or more, which is great if your coming with a lot of people, but annoying if you are just 2 or 4 people. read more

My boyfriend and I went to La Piazza last night, we haven't been there for awhile... La Piazza has a very warm atmosphere and great food. The food is prepared in an open kitchen. It's fun to sit at the counter and watch them cook. Some of my favorite dishes are Pesto Risotto with chicken and asparagus, Fresh Petrale Sole served with pasta and veggies and Carbonara. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it...The staff is friendly. Thank you La Piazza! I will be returning soon. read more

This is the best restaurant in Orinda. I go to La Piazza's all the time and every meal has been really good. The food is fresh and the service is great. The portions are just right. It is small place, so be prepared to wait for seating especially on Friday and Saturday nights...but it's worth the wait. read more

I LOVE THE SALADS HERE! I pretty much come here just for them. I love the caprese salad as well as the caesar salad. They also have another salad with walnuts in them that I'm totally blanking out on since my sister usually gets it. But it is yums! I don't love their pizza but that might just be because I'm not really a pizza kind of person. I do think their pastas are pretty decent though. I just love their salads so much I cannot stop thinking about them! NOMS! read more

This is a great restaurant and new owners are really nice. I like the new menu. Great food, the best wines, great service and these best bread pudding. It's across the street from Orinda Theater. read more

This is a great option for dinner in Orinda. My husband and I have always been pleased with the food and service. The portions are generous and flavorful. My favorite dish is the pesto risotto with chicken and asparagus. We have had very good soup there, too. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is the seating. It is very tight seating inside and there is really no place to wait inside without feeling like you are on display to all the diners. read more

Great food. I had the spinach lasagna and it was perfect. Pre-meal bread with butter, oil and vinegar was perfect to hold us over. It's a busy place. Our waitress was friendly and pleasant. A good experience all the way around. read more

I don't want to spend much time reviewing a disappointment but I feel I owe it to the helpful Yelpers out there who have directed me toward great places and warned me of bad ones. This place is bad, period. In addition I especially don't appreciate my nose being assaulted by detergent when the staff is rushing to clean the kitchen and to get out the door, and while I am still eating. Actually, overall I have yet to find a decent restaurant in posh Orinda. read more

This place is very nice, it is cozy and the food was delicious! The staff is very attentive and our food had came out very fast.

Solid food, friendly service, the owner/host is always present. Caesar salad is my favorite; lemon, olive oil, anchovy dressing outstanding read more

I hadn't been here for awhile because I thought it was average Italian food. We decided to try it again, and unfortunately came away with the same feeling. The interior is warm and inviting but the food is lacking. We ordered the ribollita to start. What was served was not ribollita but a weak version of minestrone. There was no pancetta nor crusty bread to be seen which are the hallmarks of ribollita. The linguine with clams was made with canned clams rather than fresh and linguine that was not home made. The gnocchi with Cajun sauce was tasty. So, I can't really recommend this restaurant with so many other better restaurants in Lamorinda. read more

Almost perfect.... Two of my favorite pasta dishes I get from La Piazza. We eat here about once a month and usually it is take out so my boyfriend can just pick it up on the way home from work. My Usual Orders: Penne Tre Funghi $12.75 or Seafood Linguine (Usually listed on their special). Food 4.5: I REALLY want to give 5 stars but a recent take out order of the Seafood Linguine bumped it down a half a star. It was WAY too spicy. It even felt like the roof of my mouth was blistering.... mind you, I have ordered this dish multiple times and NEVER have I EVER tasted even a hint of spiciness... sooo sad I couldn't even eat it. It instantly became my rubbish can's dinner. I was so disappointed that I called La Piazza right away and explained the problem with the dish to the gentleman that answered. I asked him if they were training and new chef and he responded with a yes. He said that I could come back to get a new dish but we live in WC and I just didn't see the purpose in driving back to Orinda. I just ate all the bread that came with our meal and called it dinner... :( This is the only time I have EVER been disappointed with La Piazza's food. Usually it is terrific! I know now to ask for no spiciness in my dish! Overall: I will continue to highly recommend La Piazza to anyone who wants a fabulous Italian Meal!!! read more

We really like this place. It is not a fancy place with a great chef, it's a really consistent pasta and pizza place with a decent wine list. Great place before or after a movie at the Orinda Theatre. An earlier revieweer put it well: it's very consistent. read more

All around great place. Clean, good food, responsive service and priced about right for the portion size.

Have eaten here a number of times with friends who live near town and who eat here at least twice or more per month. Always loved it. The owner always seemed to keep the place humming and the service was great and the food was delicious. Last night, not sure what was going on but the owner was not in the dining room, service was poor and atmosphere chaotic and the meal was not up to par from previous meals we've had there...it took over an hour for the four of us to get our meals and we had to keep asking about it; no one came over pro-actively to tell us there was a problem. We suspect that our order may not have been placed, but we didn't know for sure. We ordered an appetizer, prawns that were nothing more than medium (and that's being generous) shrimp...hardly prawns as described in the menu (I've had them before and in the past, they were prawns and not skinny shrimp). Worse, they were overcooked/dried out...and delivered initially to the table next to us. That was mishap #1. I don't know what was going on that night (last Friday), but it seemed chaotic. No one was checking on us. (mishap #2) Service was poor and when the meals finally did come, all four of us had cold, unseasoned vegetables. In addition, the meals came with pasta and vegetables. We asked to have the pasta excluded and just add more vegetables and the server took note. However, that didn't happen either (mishap #3). Not acceptable, especially after waiting an hour for our meals. One dish (chicken) was overcooked and dried out (mishap #4). The two in our party who ordered the petrale sole were happy with the sole and I was happy with the salmon I had ordered, but that was it. We waited far too long for the meal, the service was marginal at best and at the expense of sounding like a broken record, the sparse veggies, which should have been more generous in amount because we declined the pasta, were cold and unseasoned. The server was apologetic and blamed the mishaps on the fact that there were a lot of take-outs that evening and "something was going on in the kitchen that was out of her control" (mishap #5)...not a good thing to tell diners that "something is going on in the kitchen" and frankly, I don't care about the number of take-out orders that came in; that's not the diners problem and to add insult to injury by blaming the problem on the kitchen was unprofessional. We should not have tipped at all, but we ended up tipping a very undeserved 20%; I'm not sure why we did, but we did; probably because our friends come here a lot. In the restaurants' defense, they did apologize and took something off the bill as well as offer us dessert and coffee on the house. That was a good move and one we would have loved to have taken advantage of. However, one guest in our party had to catch a plane and by this time with the wait and all, frankly, we didn't have the time or the notion to relax and have coffee and desert. Disappointed overall, to say the least. There is a new restaurant down the street and we'll likely try that place next week. We will give La Piazza another try, but poor service, cold food and excuses won't keep us coming back. Really sorry to report this because we have been coming here for four years now and we have always loved the place. read more

My husband and I have been infrequent customers of La Piazza over the years and the food has always been very good. We have been in a few times recently and the food continues to be very good, especially the wood-fired pizzas and the fresh seafood offerings. The new owner is very friendly and greets you with a warm smile. He is active with guests and committed to a great customer experience. If you are looking for an authentic Italian restaurant in the east bay, we highly recommend La Piazza. read more

It's nice to have a restaurant of this caliber in our small town. Great menu, great service, nice atmosphere.

I don't understand how this restaurant has four stars. The food was very bland and the service was lacking. Our server was very friendly, but was the only person on shift that night and, therefore, was not very timely. Not really interested in returning, as nice as everyone was. read more

Honest food at honest prices, with friendly service. I really enjoy the Chicken Marsala, and every time I get it, it is as good as the last time. I really like the fact that the food is simple and there is no pretense about what they're offering. You want Spaghetti Bolognese they that's what you'll get: pasta with a great tomato meat sauce, which is how it should be. It' nice to find a place where every time you go you see the same staff, the same people in the kitchen and the owner: Charles. read more