La Strega Ristorante (Bella Vista)

The plating was gorgeous, but the food was very mediocre. The ceasar salad was bland. The dressing was ok, The croutons tasted like store bought croutons. The greens were cold and fresh, that saved the salad. The Chicken Breast a la fungi was dry, but the sauce was good. The grilled veggies were the star of the meal for me. The food in La Strega did not come close to the criteria of "It is better that I could have made at home". In addition, the food is way overpriced.

The only reason I went back to La Strega was because of my hunger, horrible traffic, and the Degusta traffic. La Strega raised their prices again, I guess to offset the discount, shrunk the foods portion size and lowered again the quality. The bruschetta is now served on toasted square white bread, as opposed to toasted crusty Italian bread, the caprese salad contains severely thinly sliced tomato and mozzarella cheese with only a thin squeeze of what appears to be a pesto sauce as opposed to leaves of basil. The pizzas are incredibly small even for the discounted price. Their version of a Margherita pizza states it has basil leaves, as it should, but no basil can be seen or tasted on the pizza.

I am so disappointed in the food of La Strega. The experience was extremely poor. We were five people squeezed at a table for four. Only two menus were brought for the five of us. The service was very aloof and almost condescending. The appetizers were obviously premade and then slightly warmed and the portions wee ridiculously small. The chicken parmigiana that I ordered was rubbery and overcooked. It was apparently a single half breast sliced thin and butterflied to look like a bigger portion but it was so thin it was pathetic. The prices have gone up substantially and the portion sizes have gone down. Nobody in our group was happy with the service or their food. Too bad since La Strega used to be one of my favorite places to eat.

Returned to La Strega during the Fiesta Patrias Weekend. I was glad they were open. Started off with their signature fettuccine dish that is made at the table inside a wheel of Parmesan reggiano. This was shared and satisfying. Main dish was the oso bucco that came out with a side of creamy pasta. The oso bucco was tender and flavorful, with a delicious sauce. The creamy pasta was a nice complement to the main dish. The entraña was also very tasty and grilled quite well. I have yet to try their pizzas, but that will be on another occasion.

Maybe because of the discounts that the restaurants are giving now, La Strega has gone down in quality. The burrata is okay at best. It is way too overpriced even with the discount. The Bistecca was quite plain. It was flattened to a cutlet and was overcooked and dry. The service was acceptable but the servers were a bit on the cold side. In the past, La Strega was much better.