Luisa Ristorante

This is a belated review, but a month ago (or so), my husband took me out for dinner and we tried Luisa Ristorante, based on other positive reviews. It was small, loud and busy the night we went, and it seems like a good idea here forth to make a reservation, but it was a wonderful experience.
The décor in this place is not modern and the atmosphere makes me think of a cozy little unheard-​of place, but wow! The food is great! All I can say is BRUSCHETTA – order some. It’s the best! We were totally fighting over it.
My husband had a herbed chicken pasta dish, which he said was great and I had some cannelloni. Mine was very good! The food was definitely better than your average Italian place, but it was a bit more costly. I do think it is worth it, though. We scoped out other people’s meals and they looked awesome too.
This is the sort of place that I would prefer to try on a weeknight, when it would probably be less busy. Go for the bruschetta! I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Excellent! Rocco and Rosa make you feel like you are eating at their home in Sunday! Highly recommend! Don’t forget the homemade desserts from Rosa!

Who would-​a-​thunk St. Albert actually has some good places to eat? Well, I found out when we went for a dinner on Saturday evening for my friend’s birthday. Luisa’s was packed with several large groups (seemed like everyone was celebrating a birthday that night). Luisa has a down to earth, family run, genuine home style of cooking. It was my first time going and I would definitely go back to try more things!
Anyways, for food, there were 7 of us but I’m only going to talk about the food I tried:
— Bruschetta ($ 9) — you get 6 nicely sized pieces of bruschetta. So tasty, I couldn’t pick out exactly what herbs/​spice they were using but it was well balanced. Definitely a great way to start our meal.
— Complimentary bread and oil/​balsamic vinegar — our waitress was nice and brought out two plates for each part of the table.
— Agnello ($ 23) — lamb shank was fall off the bone tenderness. Cooked perfectly with onions and rosemary. My friend ordered this with vegetables (you can also choose pasta instead) and came with a very nice variety (eggplant, cauliflower, potatoes, etc.). Such a good deal especially for lamb!
— Fettuccini piccante ($ 18) — this was my dish and it came with 6 – 7 prawns over a spicy rose sauce. The sauce had a perfect hint of spiciness to it and the pasta was cooked perfectly. I couldn’t stop eating it.
— Tiramisu ($ 9) — this was a legit tiramisu, so good. Devoured is probably a nice way of saying how fast it went.
— Birthday dessert (free) — I’m not sure exactly what it was but it came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and was a sponge almond type cake.
Overall, great place if your hungry for Italian! And in St. Albert! Reservations are a must unless you like waiting. Family run, love how the owners come by to chat and see how your meal went. Only minus we had was our waitress who was a bit odd. Other than that, great food!

Just coming back from 5 star dining experiences out of country, this review maybe a little biased. But when I was waiting for my wife to arrive, at least offer me some water or ask me if I would like a drink. I thought my server was just being rude but I came to the conclusion that she doesn’t really know what good service is. Tough start.
Food was good. Their Bolognese sauce had decent flavour but the tortellini that came with the dish was just ok. Lasagna was also ok because of the Bolognese. The Caesar salad was good but had some wilted greens that were served.
Not my first choice for Italian out but not my last either.

We had a great dinner here — gamberi and bruschetta to start (OMG the bruschetta was HUGE!), and a Caesar salad for two and an entrée was lots for supper — and I was hungry! Not so hungry, mind you, that I was blinded to the tastes — which were superb! Thanks — service was great, too!

Wow, what a find!
We dine out a lot… several times a week… and always say «What could they do better?» and in this instance we were stumped. We could not find any flaws with this establishment.
The food was genuine Italian cooking. «E» is well versed in Italian cuisine… and througout the whole meal «E» was saying «I swear my Nonna is in the kitchen cooking!»
I had the best lasagna of my life here. It was perfect. We had a salad as well, again perfect. Nothing complicated… just fresh and the dressing was spot on.
The value for money is probably the best we have ever seen. Or close to it. The portions are HUGE. Typical Italian… love em!
There are A LOT of good Italian restaurants in Edmonton and area. But this is probably one of the best we have been to.
We will be back as there are a lot of other menu options we can’t wait to try.

We have tried 5 times recently to go to this retaurant for a meal. They have been closed when their door sign says they should be open, they close on stat holidays with no advance warning, and two days ago, I phoned to make sure they were open, ask to make a reservation, told none needed no problem, got there 20 minutes larter, first question, do you have a reservation. Thjis is the SAME lady I was talking to on the phone and she admitted it.
Only table is by the bathroom and you are sitting 3 feet off the ground. Now the decore int this place is strip mall chique at best so sitting by the washrooms is not on. Apparently business is good enough they can operate in such a cavalier manner but this is our last attempt to go here. Will drive a little farther to make sure the service is up to par.

Wow! Wow! Wow! That’s all I have to say! Came by for some bruschetta and left completely full and VERY satisfied. Small bistro with a big personality. Will be my go to spot for Italian cravings from now on!

This restaurant offers great service and delicious food. I went for my birthday back in November and really enjoyed the experience. Great selection of Italian-​inspired food and friendly servers.
My only complaints is that the restaurant is quite small and because of the close quarters, it can quickly become quite noisy on a busy night.

The shank is phenomonol!

This past weekend, I headed up to St. Albert for a wonderful dinner at Luisa Ristorante. It’s a good thing we made reservations because the place was hopping, even when we arrived at about 6:45. We were seated at what must be the best table in the house, right in the front window.
Our server was excellent, very knowledgeable about the menu and the specials. Speaking of the menu, there were so many vegetarian options, and I don’t mean that our server said, «Yeah, I guess we can make it without the chicken» like almost every Italian place in Edmonton. They had several veg options printed in the actual menu. We ended up going for the bruschetta (very good), the pasta al forno (excellent), gnocchi (quite tasty), and the tortellini (outstanding). Their prices are much more reasonable than any place in Edmonton.
We don’t get up to St. Albert too often, but when we do, we will undoubtedly head to Luisa Ristorante again.
Thanks, Unilocalers, for recommending this place. Once again, you didn’t let me down.

I love restaurants where the owners hang around and make a point of conversing with patrons. I stumbled upon Luisa last December on a cold winter’s night and this cozy room satiated my hunger pangs and warmed my very cold toes. I indulged in gnocchi with tomato sauce that reminded me of sunny summer days. Gnocchi can be very gluey if not cooked or prepared properly and Luisa’s were bang on. For dessert I tried tiramisu (which, loosely translated, means «lift me up»). Lift me up it did; the right balance of boozy, airy and sweet. I owe Luisa another visit.

Luisa’s Ristorante is our favorite Friday night go-​to restaurant for dining. This gem of a dining spot is proof positive that high quality food will always trump an expansive menu. The atmosphere here is very welcoming and the food is reminiscent of the Tuscan tastes that we recently enjoyed in Italy. Our favorite item on the menu is the bruschetta. We have yet to find any other restaurant that can top this. Reservations a must on weekends.

In my experience, there are not many quality restaurants to choose from in St. Albert. Luisaâs is located right in the heart of downtown, and itâs a tiny space with romantic lighting, paintings, Italian music and plenty of smaller tables for intimate meals. The food here is wonderful. You just know by the smells emanating from the restaurant. I start with red wine and their bruschetta, which is overflowing with fresh garden tomatoes, garlic, Parmesan and fresh olive oil. Sometimes I come here just for this appetizer and a coffee. If youâre having a main dish, anything with their signature tomato sauce is a safe bet. You wonât be disappointed. Prices are reasonable, and service is friendly. It has the feel of a small neighbourhood restaurant in the heart of Italy.