Our family group of 6 ate at the DeBary location on Sunday, 8/23/26. We will NOT be going back. The reasons are numerous: 1. Seating. We were sat at the very front of the restaurant just inside the door. I don't know why because it was only 5 o'clock when we dined and much of the restaurant appeared to be empty, yet we were by the door with people coming and going. It was not the best situation for us. 2. Service was inattentive and slow at best. Water glasses were never refilled, beverages for the young people at our table were limited to Sprite only, but then later on only Pepsi was available for refills. There should have been iced tea or maybe a few other soda choices. Much of the time there were only a few diners present, yet staff was scarce. 3. Entrées were pricey considering that no salads were included with any of the menu items. Salad off the menu would start you at $13-$14. 4. Atmosphere was uncomfortably disrespectful. While we dined and conversed, staff set up a very long table opposite us. The table was for at least 20 diners. Heavy metal chairs were dragged across the floor and banged into place at the table, and the metallic screeching sound drowned out our conversation for the duration. The man doing the set up was oblivious. 5. Most of the food was "adequate", not great. My pasta was served in a dented little metal pot, not on a nice plate. The " crispy guancialle" featured on the menu trned out to be rubbery little chunks of fatty pork. Parmesan cheese was administered by the wait staff after our request. Can we not be trusted with a cheese dispenser at table? I was totally underwhelmed. The rest of my party felt the same only shortly after service began. La Strega looks like it is trying to be an upscale restaurant ("bistro"?) but it really falls short, in my opinion. read more

I really wanted to like this establishment as the name and the menu seemed very appealing. They have a great selection of Italian items on the menu and the name of the items would lead you to believe that it's truly amazing. Authentic Italian cuisine. The restaurant itself is disappointing. You feel like you're walking into a Mediterranean restaurant and it's very casual in the atmosphere and decorations. I dined with a group of individuals and we all felt the same about the food in that it had zero depth of flavor or in the case of the broccolini and the chicken marsala, they both had a distinct sour flavor. We all asked for Parmesan cheese, which is not served as a part of the meal, you do need to ask for it. And we all needed salt. The service was another disappointment. Although they were nice and friendly, they were not attentive in just a little things were left off. When we raise concerns about the soreness of the food, they said that that's the way it was supposed to be. Overall, the price would lead you to believe that this is an upscale restaurant and the experience is very downscale read more

La Strega Bistro - Bucatini Amatriciana - Italian Near Me - DeBary, Florida

Serve was amazing. Food was amazing real authentic Italian food. I would highly recommend a really subtle nice authentic spot. I have Italian family members that cooked me. Food in this food is really delicious. It reminds me of Home. read more

La Strega Bistro - Bread - Italian Near Me - DeBary, Florida

This review is specifically for the Waterford Lakes location. I'm posting here as I'm unable to find the Waterford Lakes location on Yelp. -Bread service: Bread was hot and included marinara sauce to dip. Sauce tasted like Ragu sauce from the bottle.. -Food: We got Gnocchi Al Pesto with chicken, Tagliatelle Al Limoncello, and Filetto Alla Parmigiana. We waited a while for our food. Chicken Parm sauce was slightly cold. Other 2 dishes were warm (not hot). Everything was tasty but nothing to rave about. -Atmosphere: The colors/decor they chose for this restaurant reminded me of a seafood restaurant rather than a place that serves Italian food. -Final Thoughts: it was good but there are other places in the area that we feel are slightly better. read more

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I've been trying to try this restaurant for a while and Labor Day weekend was the day. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating and we decided to do a takeout instead. My overall rating will be on the food. This place is known for pasta so we ordered rigatoni, lasagna, seafood pasta, risotto, and calamari. Had mix feelings with the food. The pasta and sauces are cooked really good and tasty. Seasoning right on par. However, the seafood itself was overcooked and rubbery. The breading on the calamari is too much and was over fried. I like supporting the mom and pops establishments, but the price we paid for the food we ate is a bit too expensive. Maybe it was an off day for them with the food. read more

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The wood fire pizza with prosciutto is the best! All staff are always so happy, inviting. We love taking out and dinning in. Every time is always enjoyable. Even when we are waiting for takeout the chef brings out new tasty items to sample. Just love this place and the family atmosphere feel. read more

I was looking for an authentic Italian restaurant instead of the fast food tasting places. I never order from restaurants due to I basically make it better at home. Lol! I have to say this place is a hit! The vibe inside doesn't have the look of a wanna be Italian restaurant. The service was on point, waiters knew the specials and very friendly to guests. A must try! read more

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Family owned and operated!! This place was amazing from the server being very kind and giving a great experience to the food being yummy I'd say this place is nice for a dress up date night or girls dinner read more

great cocktails! food was good, we got the rigatoni vodka and tagliatelle al limoncello. Both pasta dishes were very tasty and good portions. read more

Well this place is one of the best restaurants and gem of All of Orlando! Their food is truly wonderful. Flavorful and how Italian should be. The whole staff is friendly and team is always smiling and cheerful. I remember this is how restaurants should be because of today places don't care but here everyone cares. The place confused me at first in business building but the min you enter you feel like your at a friends house. You forget your in business building and the atmosphere feel warm and inviting! They have my business and everything was great! Best Calamari, amazing bread, Carbonara, drinks and the whole team just makes you want to relax and feel at Home! The way dining was meant to be! read more

Amazing experience. Everything was spot on! Franco our server was very friendly and helpful. Environment very nice. Delicious sangria. Very good Italian margarita. Meatballs, delicious. We ordered twice. Pappardelle was delicious. Fettuccine was amazing! Adriano pizza was incredible, was a delicious surprise. Really, there was nothing to complain!!! read more

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I will have to say this place is a gem!! First of all, the food was amazing. I won't list everything we had but Chick Parm the Pesto pasta dish were out of this world. Then our server , Steve (aka we called him Stevie B) , was an absolute treat. From his amazing attitude and courtesy, to his sharing of being from NY was welcomed. The actual ambiance of the restaurant was really nice as and surprised us. It feels upscale and and with how they made us feel at home , well, that just made it even better. I highly recommend trying this place as you won't regret it and will remember my review. read more

La Strega Bistro - Pesto Pasta Dish - Italian Near Me - DeBary, Florida

You can't do a better job of hiding a wonderful Italian restaurant. LaStrega Bistro is tucked inside a strip mall office building, on a fast-moving four lane US highway, with an Edward Jones financial advisor as an anchor tenant. Perhaps you have driven by and never noticed it, hidden in plain sight. It's time to take notice. We found LaStrega because we were looking for something close to Blue Spring State Park and the Central Florida Zoo with a menu that would appeal to four fussy eaters with diverse tastes, and LaStrega had a big enough selection to satisfy a devoted carnivore and a committed pescatarian. We live near Boston, so we are spoiled by the quality of nearby Italian restaurants. LaStrega's meets or exceeds the quality of anything we can find at home. Once you get past the lobby, you enter a beautiful Mediterranean setting with a friendly waitstaff. You are welcomed with a small plate of warm bread served with a small bowl of marinara sauce. My test dish for a new Italian restaurant is chicken parmesan, and this ranks among the best I have ever had the pleasure to eat. The chicken cutlet was thick, moist, perfectly cooked with a substantial slice of cheese melted on top. My wife added salmon to her pasta, and the fish was cooked perfectly. On our way back home, headed to the Auto Train, we decided to return for lunch. Again, warm welcome, warm bread. I have never been to a restaurant where they charge ($3.95) for a bread refill, but the heavenly quality made this a real bargain. The panini and pizza were as wonderful as our previous dinner. If you live anywhere near DeBarry, if you are unfortunate enough to drive through Volusia County on I-4, you owe it to yourself to give LaStrega a try. Also, if you are booked on the Auto Train preparing to head north, LaStrega is a great place for a pre-boarding lunch; it's just 12 minutes from the Sanford terminal. read more

La Strega Bistro - Warm, delicious bread comes with a little bowl of marinara sauce. It's so wonderful, they reasonably charge $3.95 for a refill. - Italian Near Me - DeBary, Florida

Excellent original Italian cuisine we'll go there as often as I can. Service was excellent also

I ordered filleto al funghi and it was the worst italian I ever had. I asked for linguini and they gave me sphaghetti, I wanted extra sauce and got no extra sauce and the entire dish was bland, there was no Marsala no seasoning and the chicken was dry and flavorless the entire dish tasted like nothing. I could have gone to Aldis and made this crap my self and it wouldn't have tasted so horrible. There's a huge difference between baby Bella mushrooms and canned mushrooms. This place hates its customers. read more

La Strega Bistro - Filletto al Filetto Ai Funghi - Italian Near Me - DeBary, Florida

This is the second time my wife and I ate at La Strega. The first time was with friends, my wife got the butternut squash filled ravioli, which was quite delicious. I got the Rigatoni Norcina, which I would rate 3 stars. It was okay, but not stellar. We both got the Arancini appetizer, which was quite delicious. On this, our second visit, we again got the Arancini and loved it. Our waiter, JJ, was excellent. It was due to his fine attention and service that I'm rating this review 2 stars, when, based on the food alone, except for the wonderful appetizer, I would give the entrees 1 star. My wife ordered the Milanesa Adriana, which is a breaded veal cutlet served with a pasta with homemade pesto sauce. My wife loves pesto, I make it at home and she was hoping the restaurant's pesto was similar. When the meal was served we couldn't see any pesto sauce. There were a few tiny specks of what was probably basil, but absolutely no pesto flavor at all. Her veal was on the tough side, which was disappointing. I ordered the Ossobucco, but was told they were out of it. JJ recommended a special they were serving which was two pork loin cutlets in a sweet and sour orange sauce. Sounded good, so I ordered it. Again, the disappointment came from the cutlets tough and dry. I'm not overly picky at restaurants, but I am what my family claims to be an advanced home cook, so I know my way around the kitchen. I felt like I could teach the chef how to prepare veal and port loins that come out tender and juicy. In any case, I choked down one of the two chops and took the other one home. My wife ate part of her veal and took the rest home. I repurposed the meats the next night by chopping the cutlets up, blending them together, and topping a pizza with them. When I was preparing the veal, I stripped off the coating the restaurant had covered the "cutlet" with and found the coating to be unusually thick. Once the veal was denuded I was surprised to see the so-called "cutlet" was about the thickness of an Oscar Myer slice of bologna. At a cost of $28 for the dish, this is outrageous. Needless to say, we don't plan on returning. read more

First time going and the food was absolutely delicious. Everything was yummy. Definitely will be back!

Everything went well at this restaurant the food service and the ambience beautiful place tremendous service. The food is just absolutely delicious. read more

Absolutely fabulous food - authentic Italian. I had a Caesar's, a glass of Montepulciano, and a Bucatino that was so incredibly good. Great service, beautiful interior. Fantastic bread as well. read more

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We found this place about two months ago and have been here every Saturday night since! The food is next level. If you love Italian this is the real deal! Our server Steve is always on top of things. We always request him because he's great! Funny accurate and fast!! The atmosphere is perfect for any occasion. You can get dressed up or you can wear jeans and still feel comfortable. Home run! read more

From the moment my partner and I sat down JJ was attentive and knowledgeable. He made sure to suggestion two different wines for tasting, one of which was so delicious we decided to split a bottle. The menu was deliberate and well thought out. We decided on a calamari starter along with a clams with white sauce and mussels served with potatoes and risotto. Everything was delicious and JJ was a delight. We will be back again and 10/10 will recommend to family, friends and you. read more

This place has AMAZING food. I'm excited to finally find a great restaurant in the Deland area (they are in Debary). The margarita is one of the best I've ever had. The sauce they give you with the bread is so good. Both our dishes were amazing and good service as well. read more

Food was delicious. Service was lacking, but it was Christmas Eve. Our server was overwhelmed, and unable to properly serve us.

I have previously reviewed this restaurant. The owner has no regard for his customers and food is expensive and just ok

Excellent service great location with easy parking to get in and out of fantastic quality food!

I am so happy to have an amazing Italian restaurant near me finally! The staff here are so friendly and helpful. Our server was amazing and made the experience even better. The food here is so good, this is the best Italian food I've had in Florida! The meal started off with warm bread with an olive oil & balsamic dip. I had the Bucatini Carbonara and it was the best carbonara I've ever had. It was so creamy and I think it was freshly made pasta. My friend ordered the Chicken & Shrimp with White Wine Lemon Sauce. The shrimp and chicken were cooked perfectly and the sauce was delicious. Lastly we had the Tiramisu with some cappuccinos. The Tiramisu was light and creamy and was perfectly accented with the Cappuccino. I cannot wait to come back here for the amazing service and to try more of their menu. You need to try this place if you love Italian food! read more

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The food was good. It's definitely an upscale restaurant. It feels like you're walking into a town hall so it's kind of cool looking. They're cappuccinos and drinks were delicious. read more

The place was tucked into what looks like an office complex, and had several large parties when we arrived. Our server took a few minutes to get to us, but acknowledged us when we sat down and let us know he would be with us shortly but was backed up. We had arrived during a bit of a rush. Had the "Italian Bistro" look you expect (at least in America), with wine boxes on the wall, Italian art and a little dim to set the mood. Kind of intimate, so can see it being a nice date spot. When the server arrived, he gave us the options, made recommendations and guided us through the menu. He was very attentive and checked in on us frequently. I was very pleased with my pasta and demolished it. My husband loved his pizza and said the Old Fashioned was excellent. Will definitely be returning. What a gem! read more

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Great restaurant run by really nice people. Food is great, bar is terrific, servers are really nice Can't recommend enough. read more

I normally don't review places but this place was incredible. From the service, to the drinks and the food. My girlfriend had the short rib ravioli and it was amazing. My pizza was also very good. If you enjoy Italian food I couldn't recommend this place more! read more

I'm so upset when I was leaving restaurant there was no one waiting to be served it was 5 pm I got home in 7 minutes and realized that I left my Mother's Day card I call right away and was told there was no envelope which I know I left didn't care about the gift card which was $100 but it was special because my son is in the service and he came for this day and that card meant the world so if found please give me the card keep the gift card even though it was a gift to me from my son read more

I grew up in the North East where there are a bunch of amazing Italian restaurants. Since moving to the area I have been looking for one that reminds me of home. This is the place, their food is spectacular. It reminds me of my grandmas cooking. When my beautiful wife and I went we had the arancini, the penne alla vodka with chicken and bucatini caccio e Pepe with chicken. Both the appetizer, the bread, and the main course was a 10/10. Great flavor and great portion size! The service was great too. Alex was very personable and gave us great recommendations. The ambiance is beautiful inside for a little place. It's romantic to take your significant other out for a nice meal. read more

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We allotted one star per main course item, one star for appetizers and drinks and one star for miscellaneous items like service/atmosphere or something outstandingly good or bad. Because 5 stars is a very limited pass/fail my husband (a chef) & I used to mentally will do half stars when we did reviews our reviews across the country. 1/2 star if it delivered as promised, Full star if exceptional, subtractions if unusually bad I dine with 2 other friends. We wanted something a little more upscale than just grub food. The menu was interesting in thought & theory but was very disappointing in taste. We ordered drinks, pizza, and 3 of the specials - carpaccio appetizer to share, lobster ravioli and the veal shank-I love veal shanks. Being kind, We give it a 2-star rating 0 stars for drinks 1/2 star for the appetizer. I ordered a glass of the rose prosecco. (friends got fountain drinks as they had far to drive) I got a glass of a deep red super sweet almost like a sangria uncarbonated liquid. I had to send it back. The waiter returned a few minutes later & said they were out of what I had requested so I settled on a different sparkly wine that had very little effervesces but not quite flat either. Later in the meal, after I said I did not want a 2nd glass, the waiter returned stating he found a bottle of what I had originally requested. I said yes but I wasn't impressed as it was served at a different part of the meal changing the taste profile. The carpaccio was good with a balsamic drizzle to keep from overpowering the thinly sliced beef (which was a little difficult to cut into bite size pieces) and still work its magic on the peppery arugula which was also difficult to cut. One person commenting that they finally found a dish with balsamic that they liked. Water only refilled once & then my glass stayed dry the rest of the meal Entrees 1/2 star for the margarita pizza. Looked good, good crust and the cheese was in thick slices but (and this is just me) the closest the topping came to the edge was 2 inches and should have chopped tomatoes not sauce even though the description did say sauce. Looked just like the photo. It was served 5 minutes after the other 2 entrees came out. 1 -1/2 stars - The lobster ravioli was super pleaser. The scallops were tender and the best she ever had. She asked for more bread to enjoy every bit of the sauce but it never came until they were going to remove her plate. She said she was still waiting for the bread. The bread was light & fluffy with a thin but crisp crust. minus -1/2 star Veal shank I'm not even sure where to begin on this expensive fiasco. When the specials were listed no details were given. Just veal shanks ( I love veal shanks long slow cooked fall of the bone veal shanks) I stupidly assumed it would be with served with a pasta of some sort not on a bed risotto. I would have asked for pasta. We all agreed the risotto was bitter almost minerally tasting. My dream of the fork tender veal in a flavorful ragu type sauce turned out to be a nightmare that required a steak knife to cut which I did not have. In fairness they did offer to remake it but by then everyone else was in the last part of their meals except for the waiting for the bread. I brought it home thinking I would try to revived it after tossing the risotto. Maybe crockpot as a soup but may not be worth the effort. too disappointed by now to want to try a dessert 0 star the atmosphere - the back room had terrible acoustics, we could hear people across the room better than we could hear each other across the table. This is too hard to describe but I will try. There were glass panels sticking out of each side of the archway to the backroom. I assume it was to make it a clear wall (thus seeming more open) where a table could be placed and convey a false sense of privacy or to separate the lounge area from a dining area. However, they were hard to be seen and even with strips of tape on the edges, some diners still bumped into them. My dining companions were be constantly being dripped on from the overhead vent. In hindsight, we all agreed, we would have been much happier dining outside Had to ask for salt and pepper. Are people in Florida stealing the salt & pepper dispensers? Cutlery was one knife and one fork should have had a 2nd fork or at least a spoon to go with the meal odd My part of the bill came to almost $100 but wasn't worth even half that even at today's prices. They could have offered to comp one of my drinks. We didn't feel the family love and pride of a good Italian restaurant. If they want to be a "high end" dining experience then the quality of food and service needs to up their game read more

We walked in to a beautifully decorated restaurant, were greeted upon entry and were seated immediately. The bruschetta appetizer was delicious and the pizza we shared for lunch was amazing. We look forward to returning and ordering from the vast menu options. The service, food and ambiance were top notch, we will definitely be back! read more

Overall this was pretty good. There are quality ingredient but the recipes and cooking don't match our taste. The service is friendly, there is a great wine list, and elevated Italian cuisine. Personall, my linguine with clam, however, was only ok. The pasta wastooo hard if it was sitting on top of the hot garlic oil it come dressed in. The clam weree quality but I expected the claim juice and taste to be incorporated into the sauce which it did not seem to be--it was just garlic oil. The penne with vodka sauce was amazing. The veal marsala was good but the flavor was subtle. We substitute papperdelli for the spaghetti and that seemed like the right choice. read more

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Just ate here, staff was top notch friendly and funny and welcoming. The place up to date clean and inviting. Well decorated. Food, not only was it visually appealing but it tasted as good as it looked. Fresh home made food for once. Calamari was perfection, bread was amazing... the soup was fabulous and the main dishes of spaghetti and meatballs was good... Would recommend the place hands down.. read more

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Excellent food and service! Chicken Marsala was wonderful, pizza was tasty, meatballs delicious, tomato sauce was mild and yummy. Recommended! read more

Real Italian food always amazing I've been 4-5 times within 3 months. You're on crack if you don't think this place has amazing food

Excellent service, atmosphere, and authentic Italian food! We were so impressed and will be back! Along with the pizza, we also had the Filetto Al Limoneto, a beautiful veal with lemon caper sauce over spaghetti. read more

La Strega Bistro - Massimiliano Pizza - Italian Near Me - DeBary, Florida

Wow! Been wanting to try this place for a while - and boy am I glad I did! I feel like I found a pot of gold under a rainbow. The atmosphere is very soothing and nice, the wait staff very friendly, attentive and professional. Every single thing I ate or sampled was a taste bud stimulant! Started with bread and a tomato sauce type dip. So good. I had a house salad, my daughter had a caprese - both so fresh and perfectly put together, she had penne salmon with cream sauce and I had chicken Marsala. Both were melt in your mouth delicious. Topped off the meal with homemade tiramisu - I have to say it was the best I've ever had. That's it folks! I'll waddle on outta here now! Can't wait for my next visit! read more

La Strega Bistro - Caprese - Italian Near Me - DeBary, Florida