Pretty empty when we got there at 8pm on a Thursday. We ordered the meat & cheese board and a CaesarSalad to start. The board was great the salad... not so good. The dressing tasted like plain mayonnaise. Just disappointment in my mouth. My friend got butternut squash ravioli, my mother got seafood fettuccine in the pink sauce, and I had the gnocchi. They did not take the tail shells off the shrimp in the fettuccine. But it was all very delicious. The waiter wasn't very attentive. But it's worth a try. Honestly Amani's across the street is just as good, and a BYOB. read more

La Sponda - Italian Near Me - Downingtown, Pennsylvania

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Liked everything about La Sponda. The food was delicious, the service was exceptional and we loved the atmosphere.

Ugh! The food quality is dropping fast. It's unfortunate too because the location is great and the service is acceptable. The food.. mushy tasteless risotto, the absolute worst rib eye ever! Full of chewy cartilage even when cooked med rare! It is just too expensive for bad tasting food. Have a drink and an app and have dinner elsewhere. read more

My wife and I celebrated our anniversary with a trip to La Sponda and it was well worth the visit. The ambience, overall vibe, food and service were all top-notch. We cannot wait to return to celebrate our next occasion. We highly recommend the veal saltimboca and the short rib eggrolls. The best dining experience we've had in a long, long time! read more

Great atmosphere and great food. The food is excellent and not extremely expensive. Service was excellent as well. Would definitely come back read more

GPS takes past parking turn and you have to turn around in Police department Good food good service good ambiance read more

Great family dinner to celebrate a birthday. Everyone enjoyed. May be my new favorite Italian restaurant in the area!

Great place!!! I enjoyed everything about it. The crepes were perfect We will definitely be back! read more

The food quality was not good. We had a NY strip and it was tough as rubber. The risotto was ok but not memorable. The scallops were very well grilled though. The espresso I had at the end was very good. It does not live up to the hype and price. read more

The service was terrific. We felt that they were very attentive without rushing us. The atmosphere was very nice and the ambience great. The Caesar salad was a little bit wilted. Could've been crispier but the dressing was delicious. I had the chicken Parmesan meal, and my wife had the eggplant dish. The cheese was a little bit overwhelming in this dish but the linguini was cooked to perfection. All said we would both recommend you try this place. read more

The food, atmosphere and service (host and server) was amazing. Can't wait to go back. Craving the mussels!!! read more

La Sponda - Absolutely delish! Can't wait to have these apps again. - Italian Near Me - Downingtown, Pennsylvania

I came to La Sponda for the first time for a holiday get together. I enjoyed my mushroom pasta, but it was nothing spectacular. I think that this was expensive for Italian and was good but not great. read more

La Sponda - MUSHROOM PAPPARDELLE - Italian Near Me - Downingtown, Pennsylvania

This Italian restaurant was by far the best I've ever been to. It was very clean, the waiters were friendly, and the food was flavorful. I ordered a gnocchi pomodoro. There was fresh garlic and the sauce was very authentic. The gnocchi itself was very fresh and had an almost soft feel to it. read more

La Sponda - Gnocchi pomodoro - Italian Near Me - Downingtown, Pennsylvania

It was empty when we arrived which gave us the opportunity to look around. The ambiance was so beautiful. The food was delicious!! I got the Basa!! It's a must try! read more

I feel bad writing a review here without having pictures of my dinner. I'm doing a disservice by doing so, but I'll have to add them the next time I dine here. The food is FANTASTIC! This is most likely some of the best Italian in the area, in my opinion. (I still love you Pomodoro and Anthony's! It's really close. Maybe a tie.) Get the meatball appetizer - they are super tender, great sauce and the whipped ricotta is perfectly creamy. Most importantly, the cheesesteak egg rolls are bomb! The shell is crispy, the small pieces of meat are flavorful and the tangy horseradish sauce wonderfully compliments it all. Any of the other entrees I've had are very flavorful and well done too. A great addition to our area! I hope they do well. Every time I've come in, the front desk is super friendly and talkative. A+. read more

Food is excellent! Service incredible. The atmosphere is great. Took the whole family

It was my first time there and I loved it. They hava a great staff. Rose is the best!! The food was wonderful.

I love this place. Never disappoints. The esthetics, the food and the people who work there are awesome! My favorite is the fettuccine bolognese , However last night I had the zuppa di pesce. I think it's my new favorite! But everything I've ever had there is amazing and delicious. I also have to say that the grilled octopus is also one of my favorites. This is the an amazing place! It's my go to. read more

I cannot say how delicious the food was here! Got the short rib egg rolls, fettuccine bolognese, seafood fettuccine, crème brûlée and cannoli. The pasta dishes were delicious and the egg rolls were so tender. Wait staff was very attentive and love the atmosphere. Only thing I have to say is we don't drink so felt a little judged we were drinking since it is a wine bar. Will definitely be back to try more items on the menu. read more

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Excellent choice for dinner in a relaxed mid range restaurant. Food and service are very good, cocktails are tasty! Alfresco dining here is a great option, especially on the lower deck. Cheers to you and the chef! read more

This place is amazing for large groups! We recently had a large family lunch here (15 people) and today we had a baby shower (12 people). Not all restaurants can handle large groups efficiently but La Sponda handles big groups with ease. The service is always timely and the food comes out hot. The staff is so attentive. As soon as each guest arrived today they were greeted and offered a drink from the bar. They had extra tables set up for the favors we brought in and gifts. There was so much food and everything was delicious! The servings were so generous we ended up taking a lot of the food home. They were also extremely accommodating of two gluten free guests in our party. I highly recommend La Sponda for your next event! read more

La Sponda - Baby shower - Italian Near Me - Downingtown, Pennsylvania

The food and service are always wonderful! We came back after a long while and we will be back!

Good atmosphere, mediocre food. Ordered Seared octopus which was obviously frozen little pieces, sent it back. Lead line cool wearing an Outback Steakhouse tee shirt, definitely left over from him working the lunch shift there. Another cook was in a grey tee shirt that was soaked with sweat, gross!!! ZERO professionalism in the kitchen. AVOID THIS PLACE IF YOU'RE EATING read more

The food was good along with the service. I especially liked the potato cakes. I would definitely recommend sitting outside. Great views overlooking a small river/ park. read more

Great food and service. This is a must try restaurant here in downtown Pennsylvania. I've been there at least five times and I must say every time was a great experience. read more

We were there last night and I ordered Beef Carpaccio which was supposed to be pepper crusted filet Mignon etc. It was uneatable. Approximately six very thinly sliced pieces around outside of plate. It was old, frozen and attached to the plate so when I tried to pick up a slice my fork passed through the meat (if you want to call it that) and the rest of the slice remained adhered to the plate. I moved the plate to the outside corner of our table and the waiter passed us by 5 or 6 times clearly not interested in dealing with us, until we waved him down. We were hoping this restaurant would succeed as we live near by and it is very convenient, but not with this food presentation and service. I went home without dinner. read more

Literally the best chicken parm I've ever had in my entire life. Service is wonderful. Ambiance is amazing. My favorite dinner spot.

Pleasant surprise. Loved the location, decor, and ambiance. Place was packed on a Friday night but we made a reservation and were seated promptly. Lots of great appetizers. Oysters. Calamari. Mussels. I had a nice pasta for dinner that had meatballs, sausage, and pork cheek. All around great meal and pleasant service. read more

Very good food and service! We had calamari and bruschetta for apps. Both were good but bruschetta not what I was used to but still good. Dinner we had chicken parm with spicy red sauce and seafood fettuccine. Both very good. For dessert we had crème brûlée, tiramisu and chocolate mousse. Everything was delicious! The mousse was rich but very good. We will definitely go back...wish it were closer! read more

Food and Service are consistently wonderful. My wife and I have enjoyed a number of delicious meals with friends and family. Some of our favorites are the ricotta gnocchi, pomodoro or rapini. We have also enjoyed the short rib ravioli and the grilled octopus and roasted beet appetizers. My wife, being somewhat a creature of habit almost always orders the whole grilled bronzino. It is cooked perfectly and deboned tableside, a must try, at least once! read more

Food and service are outstanding! Unique and charming old mill setting. Great place for a date, anniversary or business meeting.

Ordered stuffed dates as an app. They were cold and the wrapped prosciutto was hard and leathery. Braised short rib raviolis were undercooked and fairly tasteless. Table bread was microwaved and had that hard texture. Service was good as our waiter was incredibly attentive. Won't be going back as there are many dining options in the area. read more

Celebrated my 50th birthday with friends and family at LaSponda. The staff was extremely polite, professional and on top of everything. The food was excellent, I had the seafood pasta which was Amazing!!! The service was spot on. Drinks were great too. My family had the grilled Bronzino and they filleted it table-side. We will definitely go back for date night or other special occasions. read more

La Sponda - Seafood Pasta with Spinach - Italian Near Me - Downingtown, Pennsylvania

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Always great food and good service. Highly recommend dining here for lunch or dinner. Great menu and always good special options daily

This is close to my hometown, and we can't get great Italian food near us now, so I was looking forward to the food. So it pains me to make this review, but my best guess is that there was something in the water - both my husband and I got pretty bas stomach cramps a few hours later that lasted until the next morning. The only thing we ate in common that day (and for most of the days prior) was this restaurant's food and while I took a bite of his order, he didn't try mine. If not for the food poisoning, I would've probably rated this 3.5-4 stars. Our dishes were loaded with salt, which isn't a dealbreaker for me, but I was pretty disappointed with my mushroom papperdelle because the noodles were tasty but a bit hard and extremely greasy; I also would've preferred less of the typical mushrooms even if they gave me the same (small) amount of portobello. I ordered wine but I definitely wasn't in Italy with the amount given :D The gnocchi was fantastic in the dish, but I wished the balance of broccolini vs. chorzo was heavier on the broccolini side to balance out the fat. I do have to say the service was great, especially the lady who seated us. The restaurant staff did understand we wanted to eat well and then to get out of there asap with a toddler. My toddler definitely enjoyed her marinara linguine with meatballs for sure. I also wish I skipped my limoncello, but it was thoughtful they offered it. Oh, but I could eat the bread + bread dip all day. read more

First time here since new ownership. Friendly bartender, old fashioned used proper cherries and large ice - yummy! Calamari had nice light batter; short rib ravioli were ok, small portion for the price. Will be back. read more

This restaurant was a pleasant surprise. We met friends there on a Tuesday night. Our expectations were low after dinning at the last two restaurants at that same location. But the drinks were good at the bar so I was hopeful. The decor was exactly the same as the previous owners but the food....oh my....it was wonderful. The gentlemen who seated us told us that the special was a pasta dish with crab and scallops. He promised that it would be wonderful. He was right. The best pasta I've had in ages. The wine was reasonably priced. I must say that I haven't enjoyed a meal this much in a very long time. Worth the trip. Kudos to the chef. Our dessert was fabulous and the espresso was strong and hot. Nicely done! read more

Last night was our second time visiting LA Sponda. The first visit I felt was just ok but this last visit was great! We had a larger party, so we called and made reservations for 5 pm. They had the table ready for us. The service was very good. And the food was great! I ordered the seafood linguine. My husband had the special. The shrimps were a nice size. My mom ordered the steak special and it was done very well. They removed the booths and the restaurant seemed a lot more open and brighter. Oh and they accommodate nut allergies. Win win. read more

First time and last time at this establishment. Saturday, October 30th 6pm Ordered bottle of wine. Reasonably priced for a restaurant. Happy with this. Started off with appetizer of braised short rib egg roll. It was decent. That was the highlight of the evening. Food was less than average at best. The person who brought us our food looked like he was on a long journey. "Thank God you ordered this, these tables don't have numbers" It took forever and it was barely warm. I had chicken with crab. It was chicken with asparagus on top and a breaded crab cake on the side. Didn't taste any crab at all. It was in this brown gravy sauce which is usually what chicken Marsala is in. Wife had Veal Saltimbocca. Again barely warm because it sat. Her sauce was the same as mine. It seems they put everything in this brown gravy sauce. This is not the norm for Veal Saltimbocca. Hers was better than mine and barely average at best. Waiter as nice of a guy he was, he didn't ask how the meal was or anything. Seamed too busy with his other tables. After meal was completed, it took 25 minutes for him to come over with the check. Barely any personable words, Just dropped it and took it etc. I did not tip which I NEVER do. Probably first time in 10 years I have done that. Just not a good experience. I usually like praising places not bashing. Spent $110 for a horrible experience. read more

La Sponda - Italian Near Me - Downingtown, Pennsylvania

Summary: Gimmicks that deliver. I feel like every time I go to my hometown something has changed. Where La Sponda is located has been the location of at least 3 other restaurants in the span of 15 years. With that said, I really hope La Sponda makes it because they know what they're doing with their food. Short Rib Eggrolls. I could stop here and would have left you with enough reason to go to La Sponda (subliminal message). These eggrolls are packed with flavorful short rib and I highly recommend them. The meatballs appetizer is also very good. It comes with garlic crustini. The meatballs are moist and flavorful (hehehe). My mains was the Eggplant Rollatini and it was very good. I was looking for something vegetarian after the meat forward appetizers and this hit the mark. I could have gone for some chili flakes on the table to spice it up, but as it was without added spices the dish was delicious. My wife's mains was the Mason Jar Carbonara. It seemed a bit gimmicky to me when I read it and I thought that you ate it out of the mason jar, but it was pretty tasty. It comes in a mason jar - as expected -, the server shakes it up so that the sauce is dispersed evenly throughout the dish and is then poured onto your plate. Pretty smart and effective. One thing to note. It may have been because we were there at prime dinner time of 6pm, but the service was at times a little inattentive. It likely was extenuating circumstances or short handedness. However, there was a point where we did not see a server for about 10 minutes when we were trying to pay the check. In conclusion, La Sponda is definitely a great place to check out. Their non-traditional take on Italian cuisine is a welcomed change, and I intend to go back soon. read more