La Volta

My family and I went last July 4^th and saw this restaurant while passing by. They had an outdoor seating and I saw tables with Pizza. Living in NY before I’ve tested NYs best Pizza’s so I asked my wife if she would like to try.
Servers passed by no greeting no hi. Finally Bennett gave us menus. He said they have a special Menu. He helped me order for the kids and though it’s good for adults the soup with lentils and other main dishes were big enough to share. Cost me $ 250 for lunch of 2adults and 3 kids. The special menu was all Chef requested which was charged special. With all the restaurants downtown I wouldn’t go back to one which I felt took advantage. Never going back. Food was nothing special. Risotto was undercooked. All the seafood in the pasta didn’t taste fresh.

closed– caribbean joint opening soon in the same place

Food was decent, not amazing. Service was ok, server was a little scatterbrained for a seemingly slow night. Biggest quarrel being that there were plenty of open tables, yet we were seated directly in front of the kitchen even though we weren’t just walk-​ins. Dinner ended up being noisy and hectic… oh and avoid the spumoni, frozen solid, had plastic wrap and a hair in it. It was NYE, could’ve been a lot worse, since they were all focused on the impending party, but I still won’t be visiting again.

This place used to be a favorite of ours. Then, about a year and a half ago they changed the menu and since then it’s a disaster. Our last visit was last night when we stopped by to get a slice of cake to go. Took 28 minutes to get it and when we left and opened the box we were stunned to find a teeny tiny ¹⁄₁₆ of a normal slice for $ 7. Service is poor, slow, food decent was great until the menu change. We now dine across the street at Jimmy V’s but LaVolta has a better atmosphere but at sacrifice of food. Last night was it, done with it for good.

Every time I come here, I am more and more impressed with the food. Love La Volta!

The food was simply beautiful. Pollo Lucia and the Steak was are dishes. We will visit here again.

Josh is a wonderful bartender! He makes the best homemade sangrias and is extremely friendly. Wonderful food and wonderful service. Michael, the manager, got us a table when they were extremely busy and will make anything happen for you. I highly recommend La Volta, the best Italian food in Raleigh.

Lunch service is kind of slow but the pizza by the slice is great and a good price for lunch.
There is one waiter that I can’t stand because at one point in time he thought it would be funny to say «don’t worry, I’m not the one handling your food or anything». In my opinion, regardless of conversation that kind of statement crosses the line.

We’re sorry this has to be our first review. Unfortunately, it is one of the most recent and most memorable (not that kind of memorable) dining experiences we’ve had.
We chose La Volta, being that it serves Italian and is in the thriving, active City Plaza, which that evening, had a great movie playing outdoors for the public.
Now, we remember why we chose this restaurant.
THE FOOD:
We ordered one appetizer and two entrees. The homemade meatballs ($ 6.95) and the lobster ravioli dish ($ 21.95) were delicious. The meatballs were served warm with what we think is a homemade, tart and tangy marinara sauce and tasted homemade for the most part. The ravioli was stuffed with plenty of shredded lobster and the cream sauce was not too greasy. It satisfied our Italian cravings.
When the orecchiette dish ($ 14.95) with white wine garlic sauce was set on our table, we had to confirm with the server who set it down to make sure it was the right dish. He confirmed by stating the title of the dish, which was aligned with what we had ordered. But prior to ordering it and not having a server around us to answer our questions, we Googled what «orecchiette» was and with our own pasta knowledge, the server placed a dish of penne pasta on our table, not orecchiette.
In addition, the description of the orecchiette dish indicated broccoli rabe, which is a leafy vegetable; instead, the dish was cooked with the typical small broccoli. The taste and look of this dish, overall, resembled a typical Chinese dish drenched in a liquid garlic sauce. Certainly, it was not what we expected.
SERVICE:
Our hostess was friendly and promptly seated us at a quiet table. However, service after that went downhill. After 10 minutes, our hostess passively checked up on us and quickly went in search of a server. When he arrived to take our order, he was very friendly, but one of the slowest servers we have ever had. The only times he served us was taking our order and taking our check, which took very long as well.
After we left, we went onto Unilocal to read the reviews (which we should’ve done beforehand). We realized we never were served the garlic knots folks were raving about. We even looked at other people’s tables too and wondered if it was a part of the meal. Apparently, it was and they were never served to us. We love bread and were VERY disappointed.
With our overall experience, from the food to the service, we will not dine here again or recommend this restaurant to anyone.
Until next time – eat good, drink well, friends.

There are SO MANY wonderful restaurants in Raleigh. Unfortunately, this isn’t one of them.
Pros: In City Plaza and you can sit outside. The location is fantastic. The garlic knots that come with the meal are pretty good.
Cons: Pretty much everything else (service and also food)
My sister-​in-​law and niece were in town, so my husband took them to City Plaza to enjoy people watching during Animazement. My neice is 6, so we decided to sit outside at La Volta so she could enjoy all the characters as they strolled past.
When we dine out, it’s not uncommon for something to go slightly wrong. We’re all human, but our meal was a comedy of errors.
1) The waitress didn’t know the price of the special when we asked. She estimated between $ 18 and $ 25, but never made the effort to confirm the actual price (so we ordered something else)
2) They were out of the pasta that my husband ordered (this could be why it took a long time for us all to get our food)
3) Husband’s newly ordered dish was supposed to have broccoli rabe… but it was just broccoli
4) Niece’s kid’s meal had an inedible alfredo sauce (waitress extremely inconvenienced to get her a new bowl of plain noodles)
5) My Veal Parmigiana just ok, and the potato croquettes mealy and flavorless
6) Sister-​in-​law didn’t like her penne pasta dish, although she was doing her best to be nice about it
7) Husband liked his new dish (despite the broccoli issue) and asked for more bread so he could finish it off. Waitress put a dirty plate on his plate, before he was finished eating (Then she acknowledged it was a mistake and said «lesson learned,» but didn’t attempt to remedy it)
8) Took waitress at least 20 minutes to split the bill in two
Particularly disappointed that we chose this restaurant for out-​of-​town visitors. I want my sister-​in-​law too see what Raleigh can do. Lesson learned.

We ate here last night with a group of 7 and it was fantastic.
I ordered the Wildberry Heaven Sangria, which was on point. They have a variety of different sangrias, all the ones I’ve tried have been awesome. We
started with calamari which I think happens to be some of the best Downtown.
I tried gnocci for the first time and it was so good! The wine, the service and the ambience were all perfect. The Longo family does it right as always.

This is a restaurant that uses the local non-​profit events to profit even more for their own business. We recently had an event for our organization, and they set up a bar out on their patio, which is fine… However, they told our attendees that they, La Volta, were donating out our organization. Bologna! 4^th year we’ve had our event, and they are the thorn in our side every year. I’ve never eaten here, and would starve to death before I had to eat anything from this evil, lying family owned business. Karma… it will get them in the end for all their lies and stunts!

I was in town for the Rock n Roll marathon with friends and family and wanted a place close to the convention center to eat. All I can say is this place was terrible. Overpriced with small portions. Only after we finished our food did we notice everyone with bread. They never gave us any because they were out so they didn’t mention it. When we mentioned it they offered to wrap up some to take home.
Our server appeared to be stoned and we had to get up and ask or get ourselves silverware, check etc.
No one in our group liked their food and when we spoke to the manager he couldn’t have cared less about our awful experience.
Skip this place. It’s not worth your time or money.

I can’t stop boasting about this place! I had stopped in last night with a friend. I had the spaghetti and meatballs (not on menu, but they will make it) and my friend had a spicy shrimp dish. Both were very nice. What I was impressed with above all was the service, our waitress was one of the nicest people we had serve us in Raleigh, and the staff was great too! I highly suggest you visit this place.

Eaten here three times now and all of them have been for lunch as it is close to the courthouse and I happened to be there. Nice outdoor seating and inside was clean.
Service is good and fast and the lunch prices are decent. Food comes out quickly so as long as you order right away you can make it there, eat and back to the courthouse within the hour.
I am deducting for the overwhelming GARLIC in the dishes. Holy garlic, Batman! I have 3 different lunches and they were all heavy on the garlic. Even the salad had garlic in it!
The selection could have been better, too. As I don’t eat meat there was a limited selection.

Ten of us (there was supposed to be 12) had a wonderful family dinner on this cold March Tuesday night. We had a room to ourselves with a square layout that enabled easy conversation. Delightful!
Service was great, from the free valet to our excellent Server (Anna Marie, I believe is what she said her name is… She is from Brooklyn and speaks fluent Italian). She did an excellent job and we really enjoyed both her personality and her service. Her suggestion for appetizers was spot-​on. We shared Antipasto, Calamari, some kind of breaded clams on the shells, and of course the fabulous rolls they always serve hot and yummy!
My favorite dish was just as good as before. I just love the Scarpariello (chicken and Italian Sausage with pepperoncini and a side of spinach), Husband went with Chicken Parmigiana that he’s enjoyed here before also. Others in our group had Papparadella alla Bolognese, Fettuccine Alfredo, Chicken Marsala, Chicken Francese, and Shrimp Scampi Risotto.
Everything was perfectly prepared and flavorful. The Aunt in the group who is allergic to garlic was happy that they easily accommodated her by making her Marsala dish without it.
Only two got dessert, one a Chocolate Mousse Cake and Husband got the Limoncello Cake, which I got to taste. It was light and delicious.
What a great place for a family gathering! (especially if yours is Italian like mine)

We ate there on February 15^th. There were a lot of people out for Valentine’s Day, but to us Valentine’s is Feb. 14^th, so we had already celebrated the night before and just wanted a good Italian meal. We checked out the menu ahead of time and were excited to try some of the dishes listed.
The hostess stand situation seemed highly unorganized. Instead of checking people in and handing them off to be seated the hostess led them to their table and then addressed other issues with servers. When we were ready to check in there was no one to help us and several staff walked by and ignored us. We were finally seated in a small banquet room. It was nice to have a quiet setting, but we were seated on really uncomfortable folding chairs.
The biggest disappointment was the menu. We were given a limited Valentine’s menu which did not include any of the dishes we were looking forward to. We were told we could not order off the regular menu. Once we settled on two dishes we were told they were out of them. In fact they were out of four of the ten dishes listed-​REALLY?
The food was ok, but not what we came for. The service was pretty consistent, except once we got our food we did not see anyone again for a while which left us thirsty and wanting our check.

Even though the basic menu may have been ‘too’ traditional for some folks, the specials of the day appeared somewhat unique. We had the pomagranite (sp) dressing salad which was nice. For dinner we shared the grouper. It was fabulous. It was in a dark tomato sauce that had purple glazed onions and greek olives in it. The sauce was spot on. The grouper was cooked perfectly. Our waitress was very good and adorable to boot!
Very good food and service. Used our groupon but will def go back.

Meh, it was okay.
Staff was friendly and attentive. As far as food goes, it’s Italian, one of the most boring regional cuisines ever. You really have to step up to make it interesting (like Vetri’s in Philadelphia).
But an ok meal nonetheless. If you want average Italian, this is your spot. Nothing great, but nothing terrible either.

I can’t believe it had been almost a year since we visited Lavolta. What a shame! Because upon entering we were greeted as if they just saw us last week.
They have gotten rid of the Christmas lights which a lot of people didn’t seem to like. They have new lighting. They have gotten rid of the white table cloths. They have also stepped up their game immensely.
Our waiter was just wonderful. And the menu either has new items added or they have gotten rid of some that weren’t working. In any case, the specials sounded wonderful, but we both chose items off of the menu.
The rolls are garlic knots with a tomato based butter I believe. I could have made a meal of that alone. We both enjoyed what was in our basket but opted not to have more because we would never stop.
Hubby went with the pasta fagioli which I had a taste of and we both loved. It was fresh and flavorful. As hubby stated «the beans made it».
I had a craving for veal Parmesan. The best veal I had was back home growing up at a diner. This veal was just as good and tender– I had them with potato croquettes which were good too.
Hubby had a chicken dish which escapes my mind, but he commented it was so tender he could cut it with a fork.
Never one to pass up dessert (mama makes all of the cakes here so it would be an insult not to try one) hubby went with the red velvet cake and I of course had the chocolate mousse cake. Both very good.
We left satisfied and happy having visited one of our favorite places, and vowed to not let another year pass before we return.
TIP: Be sure to show your theater tickets for 10% off your meal, a very nice touch on their part.

Four of us dined here on «Couple’s Night» before seeing Aziz Ansari’s comedy show this June in the Progress Energy Center. The proximity to the performance was a big contributing factor for choosing to eat at La Volta.
The other reason was the Couple’s Night menu option (available Tuesdays and Thursdays) for $ 39.95. You get a bottle of wine (perfect before a show), a salad or soup, and a choice of several entrees. I remember I ate the pasta with eggplant, and I was pretty happy with it. I don’t remember what bf or the other couple ordered, but no one complained about anything. The portion size was huge, and I had more than enough to share with my mom for lunch the next day.
Our server was attentive and funny. He brought the check before we asked and said it was not to rush us but because he knew we had a curtain time we were trying to make. I’d say La Volta is a decent choice before taking in a show, and the Couple’s Night menu is a good value.

2.5 Stars
I’m in Raleigh on business and La Volta is literally steps away from my hotel so it was an easy choice. To be a random place, it was pretty good. Many things could have gone wrong. Now… would I go back on my own volition based on my experience… more than likely not.
I started with the Mozzarella Caprese and it was decent. This isn’t really the type of dish one can mess up – so it was fair. The mozzarella was drizzled with balsamic vinegar and sat on a bed of baby spinach and basil. I had the Risotto del Pescatore. This was also just okay. They skimped on the seafood, but the seafood they did include was well cooked. I suspect that they used regular rice instead of the special risotto rice (the name escapes me, but it starts with an «A»).
The waiter was attentive, maybe a bit too attentive, but he was pleasant.

This is another one of those almost 4, but I’m going to give it 3 stars. Sorry guys.
Pros: They were able to accommodate my garlic allergy. I know… this is severe.
Cons: The food was just ok. Not over the top. Not the BEST italian I’ve had in Raleigh. I wasn’t a fan of the green beans… side, nor the spinach.
But, the price wasn’t over the top either. I did like the ambience. It was simple and the wine was good.
I’d try it again. WALK, don’t run.