La Strada 88

Well not long after my wife and I ate there the place had a fire. Since then the place has been closed with no signs of reopening

It seems the anticipated move to the Old Hotel in Ione did not happen — in spite of the sign that was put up there and information I was given as noted below. Another restaurant has just opened in that location called The Ione Kitchen and Bar, phone number 274‑6366.

Rebuild-​Relive. Miss the dinners.drinks.employees. miss most before & after, drinks at old corner! GOD BLESS LOIS !!

CLOSED — BURNED DOWN IN FIRE.
Tragedy struct this week when fire destroyed La Strada 88. What a shame because their food was great.

Now, I’m not a pasta expert or anything, but I must say the pasta at La Strada is some of the best I’ve had.
We went on a Sunday evening when Pasta Mama was there. The sweetest Italian lady ever came out to our table to greet us and to tell us about the types of hand made pasta she was offering that night.
I ordered the fettuccine pasta with an heirloom tomato and basil sauce with just a touch of cream.
It. Was. Fantastic.
I would definitely be going back if I didn’t live in LA. It was a nice place to catch up with family on our visit here to Nor Cal. Next time we’re up here, we’ll be stopping by again.
Also notable is the staff who were super helpful and attentive. They also have a beautiful banquet hall that we are considering renting for our baby shower. Nice and large with a rustic feel to it.

My friend and I decided to give this place a try for my birthday dinner. It’s a beautiful building and the location makes it a great place for us to stop at.
We ordered wine (same varietal, different vineyards) with our salad so that we could try them both out and decide which one to drink with dinner. When I asked the waitress (who finally came back tot he table) which wine we were drinking since it was clear they were the same she became perturbed that I would think they had switched it out but the bartender confirmed they had run out of the other wine and just didn’t bother to say anything.
The table behind my friend was complaining about their seafood dish being overcooked/​rubbery. The waitress made it sound like it would be impossible for the chef to come and talk to them although the restaurant was nearly empty. My friends pasta was nothing to write home about and the risotto I ordered was not thoroughly cooked and inedible (raw rice is gross).
The chef does not know what they are doing and the staff are less than helpful. Although we couldn’t find anyone to get us water or salt and pepper there was a group of servers standing around in a group talking about customers near the server station on our way out.
We will not be back; with any luck they will go out of business and another restaurant with a decent chef and staff can take over the building.

I have gone back twice since writing my first review for La Strada 88 and I am no longer impressed with this restaurant.
On our first go back, the portions were considerably smaller and lacked flavor. One of my friends even complained about their pizza not being tasty, but she took the leftovers in a box, only to throw it away once she got home.
The last visit in February 2014, the portions were still smaller, the food was not as good as the first time and there was some white material (dust?) floating in my glass of red wine. I notified our server, but never got an apology and when asked if I wanted another glass of wine, I decided to pass. Not once was a complimentary glass of wine offered.
That will be my last visit to La Strada 88. Too bad, because we really enjoyed it the first time we dined there.

Wow. So disappointing. We had dinner at La Strada several months ago and it was amazing. The service was a little slow, but the food was just great. Today we decided to try their 2 for $ 20 lunch menu. The service was much improved from the last time we were there. The food however has taken a serious decline.
First, there was only one item on the 2 for $ 20 menu. I guess it was too hard to pick another option to put on the menu?
Secondly, everything was terribly overcooked. I ordered a ceasar salad with shrimp. The salad was about average for lunch but I only got 4 small shrimp and they were so overcooked they were almost too hard to eat. On top of which, the salad cost $ 16.50. $ 16.50! For a plate of lettuce and 4 overcooked shrimp. When I looked at the menu, I thought the ceasar with shrimp was only $ 10. No, no, it was $ 10 EXTRA for the shrimp!
My husband ordered the calzone. His calzone was SO HARD, it was like cracking one of those geo rocks when he tapped it with his knife. When he cut into it, there was BARELY any filling. It was more like a giant puffy cracker with a couple of slices of ham and chees. Adding insult to injury, it was $ 12.50. He sent it back and the waitress was kind enough to offer to make another one for him, or bring him a salad, or just take it off the bill. We opted for the latter. She explained that even their pizzas are cooked like that. I think they use a brick over and I know some pizzas are served more like crackers but this was a bit extreme.
We were so happy to see this beautiful building renovated and re-​opened after the last owners left. And we were truly ready to love it. But at those prices, I can overcook food at home for much, much less. Restaurant customers decide with their feet and for us, La Strada 88 is OUT!

Thank you Monique for excellent service. This meal was fantastic from the start I had the halibut that was perfectly prepared. Another person had the prime rib which was prepared beautifully.
I have been by this spot many times and am very happy we stopped today.

Stopped here on our roundabout drive from Tahoe home to the Bay Area. Drawn in by the signage and converted building chic. Our first sign of a problem was when they quoted us a 20 minute wait time when the parking lot was half empty at 5:45 pm. We almost walked out but suddenly the estimate dropped to 5 minutes. They encouraged us to get a drink in the bar, where we were able to watch the bartender flirt.
Finally seated and it was nearly 10 minutes before we saw our waitress. The rest of service continued in the same vein… waited longer than expected for each course of bruschetta, salad and entrees (rigatoni and margherita pizza). Throughout we noted how overly loud it was, due both to the hard surfaces creating an echo and the owner being obnoxiously loud while joining a nearby table.
Finally when we asked for our check, it took another 10 minutes to find our waitress and then for her to find the only Square/​tablet for credit card processing. The food wasn’t bad, pretty solid in fact. But you can’t overlook service like that. We won’t be stopping if/​when we’re in the area again.