La Scala Italian Restaurant

I miss this place and the great people who ran it. It was my favorite place.

I used to come here before I knew where to find decent Italian in the city. Haven’t been back since. Sorry~

Okay, I don’t know why people are calling this «mediocre Italian». Obviously, they’ve never actually eaten «real» Italian! This place is as close to classic Italian cuisine as it gets. Italian food is no-​frills, it’s not ridiculously fancy, it’s simple and satisfying, which is EXACTLY what this place delivers.
The reason for the low rating isn’t the food, nor is it the atmosphere (talk about authentic, Italians LOVE their super-​tacky décor, it made me homesick to be in there), it’s the service, which is subjective.
I don’t like to be bothered every 10 seconds, but I also don’t like to be ignored. Again, however, this is an Italian thing. Americans ruined the food industry with our «fast food» mentality, according to them. Italians linger over their food. They savor it, they’ll take half a day to eat one meal. I don’t take that long to eat, and I like my glass to be refilled when it reaches about half (that’s just me). So, because it took about 2 – 3 hours to eat dinner, causing my date and me to miss our movie time, I was a little irked.
But the food really is awesome, and the servers are very friendly and kind (it’s family run, too), they just like to leave you for long periods of time, ’cause that’s how they do in Italia!

Came here last Friday evening looking for dinner and the place was closed, as it was the next day.

Wandered in here on the advice of a local for a plate of pasta. The décor as mentioned is atrocious and is vintage 80’s. The place looks really upscale but doesn’t have the food quality to fit that description. I ordered a simple basil pasta. It was okay, nothing to write home about. I didn’t have any alcohol and did not have my water refilled.
Service was not great as a poor couple at the door were left standing for a solid ten minutes while the two servers were scrambling with the 4 or 5 tables in the restaurant.
I would not recommend this place.

We had a nice time here. A bottle of wine, split the antipasto appetizer which is more like a salad, shared some bread, and split the veal piccata which was the kind of piccata you’d get in the 80’s…
In fact, La Scala is preserved from around then when I think they had their last renovation. A priceless jem of a spot where time stands still.
Good looking menu and the pizza smelled AWESOME. We were sitting right behind the piano at this small, lonely booth and could smell all the food that people were picking up at the counter.
Ah, and the waitress was so cute… her hand was shaking as she was trying to open the wine bottle, and I was like, «want some help?» and she was like, «cool, okay…»
We’ll definitely be back when we’re in the mood for twentieth century Italian in a twentieth century Italian joint.

I can’t even begin to tell you how good La Scala is, everyone I have introduced to La Scala has absolutely loved it.
It’s a small cozy little Italian restaurant in Point Loma. La Scala is a family owned restaurant and has the charm of a family owned restaurant. What makes this place such a find is the authenticity of their Italian food. All the reicipes here are family recipes, and the taste of their dishes says it all.
My favorite dessert here would have to be the Spumoni ice cream, VERY YUMMY! Best Spumoni in town.
I love La Scala’s and would recommend it to anyone who loves a good Italian meal.
Oh, and an added treat Dave Scott from KUSI news performs at La Scala’s every Friday night. Who knew the guy could sing.

I have to say hands down this place is as authentic as you are going to get when it comes to a truly Italian experience. The place is and has always been family owned. The owners name isNancy and her son Butch is a waiter. The grandson Michael is also a waiter. Both Butch and Michael are very humerous and will always keep you laughing.
I grew up in a very Italian home. My family hand made everything from the pasta to the sauce. We didn’t do any of our cooking the easy way and it always reflected in the taste. Growing up I found it very difficult to find a place that cooked like my grandmother and great grandmother. La Scala however brought back childhood memories of amazing Italian food around a table with my family. The restaurant even smells exactly like my grandmas house. I couldn’t say or stress it enough, if you are looking for absolutely amazing Italian food this place is it. I’ve eaten in Little Italy in NY and I had them take my food back and refund my money. It was no where near as authentic as it is at La Scala.
The only downside to this place is that they are a bit laggy at service, but I do not mind. It’s worth the wait as all of their food is cooked fresh when you order. The taste greatly outweighs the wait, which really isn’t that long… Maybe like 10 – 20 minutes on average. It gives you time to talk with your date or friends.
They also have a piano and mic for live shows. Last Valentines day I took my girlfriend here and two drunk old men from another table got up to entertain the restaurant. One sang like donald duck while the other played piano. It was a very memorable night and made us laugh.
If you are looking for great and authentic Italian food than this is the place to go and I swear by it.
Oh and do try their Spumoni Ice Cream. A great treat to eat after your meal.

This place has some of the best people serving ever. It’s family owned and I go there so often that they know me by name.
The food takes a long time to come out, but this is because they make EVERYTHING. They don’t use any factory made crap.
The service is great, I’ve had a very funny waiter on multiple occasions. The whole staff is excellent, including the teenage boy who is up beat and very polite and nice.
All in all, this Is a GREAT place to go on dates at a decent price. Call ahead and you can even work something out that will make your date a very special night.

It’s a shame that some of the first reviews you read here are so negative. La Scala is in a very convenient location to people who live in Ocean Beach, Point Loma and near the airport. For OB’rs and others, it’s a great little hideaway for when you get tired of everything else. S.D. has a lot of unique places, that’s true, but it’s nice that the proprietors welcome you.
It’s true that the pizza is «Meh,» but you have to give them credit for trying. The pizza needs more salt, garlic, or something’s just missing there.
I love the retro feel to the exterior, kind of reminds me of the Brady estate. Non-​chain, non-​homogenized restaurants are where it’s at, and I’ve come to appreciate this little bungalow for all its coziness and very decent food. I would totally bring a date there. I would kill to live in San Diego again for all its uniqueness.
To S.R. who complains about the frames unmatched and the lattices needing paint, I’d like to come over to your house and make fun of your gold-​plated s* wipes holder and then see how you feel.

The live jazz music was AMAZING!!!
Should have went to Little Italy nearby to have a real Italian dish! First off, every dish seemed to have meat in it. NOT a good place for a vegetarian.
The Calamari came out lookin like soggy chicken strips NO JOKE.
I had the Roasted Garlic and Olive Oil dish. Yea it was a plain dish already to begin with, but I’ve been to a lot of Italian places where they pull it off so well.
Garlic Bread was comparable to the frozen garlic bread you get at Safeway.
Gnocchi in Meat Sauce: WORST GNOCCHI EVER!!! I LOVE gnocchi and this dish just tasted like potato lumps to my hunny and It did NOT have the right texture or taste of good gnocchi. And who the hell puts meat in Gnocchi???
Our waitress forgot about us several times too…
I was really disappointed. It was suppose to be a romantic night out eating bomb ass Italian food with my hunny, but it turned out to be a night of overpriced, crappy food anyone could make at home. LAAAAAAAME!!! :)
Total cost: $ 45

This place is awful.
Marginal Italian food at best with waiters that think themselves much funnier than they are. There is no joke to cover a wait time of over an hour to get your food, that’s after waiting almost 25 minutes just to order. As someone has already mentioned, they don’t feel the need to refill water, wine or sodas.
Do not waste your time.

Ahhhh site of the most hilarious date I’ve ever had. Both of us were in «polite» mode. We got carded by a woman who seemed angry that we’d even think of ordering wine at our age. For the record, we were both over 30. She looked at our IDs and left the table in a huff. My mussels still had sand in them. Yum. Crunchy. The entertainment was a guy with a Yamaha organ singing into a karaōke machine being used as an amp. We never got our drinks refilled… not even once, and waited OVER AN HOUR for our server to bring the check. We got outside and my date said «That…was…HORRIBLE!»
I agree.

I recently went here to hear a friend perform. It was my first visit and I was nervous after reading the other Unilocal reviews. Unfortunately, I was not pleasantly surprised. As your mother always told you, «You never get a second chance to make a first impression!» and that is something La Scala should think about. As we walked in at 8PM, we were blasted by heat! I can understand no AC in Point Loma, but come on, it was 80 in there. The waiter was dumbfounded by our inquisition on the temperature even though everyone else agreed it was too warm for comfort.
Despite NO CROWD and only 5 tables filled, we waited 10 minutes for a table and then another 15 – 20 for an appearance of a waiter. We just had appetizers; the calamari was soggy and the garlic cheese bread was just plain bad.
As I hate to be negative and loved the ambiance, I hope La Scala will heed some suggestions here and up the ante on their food and service.
Remember, Little Italy is just 5 minutes away and Pizza Nova even closer!

La Scala gets overlooked because of Old Venice right down the street. I know Old Venice looks fancy, and there’s pretty rich folks with nice cars out front… but La Scala is where it’s at.
This is the kind of place where Tony Soprano would hang out. Family owned by real Italians. The goofy grandson is the waiter — and he’s been nothing but spectacular. Good house wine. Everything made from scratch. Awesome.
Get something with the pesto sauce. They say it’s famous on the menu, and I can easily say it’s the best pesto I’ve had in San Diego. By far. So many times I’ve come in here with the intention of doing something later. But after a bunch of wine and a huge plate of food… I’m ready just to sip some more wine and sprawl out on the couch! These people take care of you, for sure.
They’ve made a couple updates to the décor, and I was disappointed! I liked it looking like it hadn’t been touched since the 60’s. It reminded me of an old Italian grandmother’s house… which is where the best food comes from.
So, the negative reviews both have spelling and grammar errors. I’m just sayin’.

Now this is an Italian restaurant! My gf and I came here on a whim one night around 9pm after missing Valero’s because they closed at 9. We walked in and were greeted by this nice older lady with an Italian accent. I asked if the place was still open and she said it was. She sat us down right away. We then noticed we were the only ones there in the cavernous restaurant. But that’s alright! We were treated very well.
The owner’s 19-​year-​old grandson served us well. He was heavy on the sarcastic, deadpan quips but was attentive and nice. The lighting was low and there was opera playing on the sound system.
The food is all homemade. And I mean f’ing homemade. I had the manicotti and it was awesome. I’ve never tasted it so doughy before. We got a carafe of red wine which hit the spot and made us all giggly. The dinner salad wasn’t all that impressive, however. The garlic bread was very good as well. The wine list is impressive too.
They have live entertainment on Sunday nights which I’ve heard draws a crowd. I’d love to come back and see it.

Upon walking in, you’ll notice there are some serious family photos adorning the walls. All different sizes and styles, from cheesy school pictures to a gigantic painting of the owner, complete w/​her early 80’s hairstyle and wardrobe. It was interesting to look at while waiting for the waiter person to seat us…
…which took awhile, though I couldn’t understand why. It’s a small place, and there were only 3 tables occupied on a Thursday night, but alas, it took FOREVER to be seated, long enough for my friend to say «Okay, we’ll wait 1 more minute and then we’re bouncing.»
They did come and seat us. We sat down, and looked at the menu. I was impressed w/​the wine list and descriptions, and the piano that I sat in front of. If the place was empty, I would have asked to play while waiting for my food. Not really, but maybe.
The food was good, not incredible, but decent. Tortellini, Pizza, salad, drinks, all alright. I personally thought price didn’t match the quality, as in it’s kind of expensive compared to the quality vs. price of other italian restaurants I’ve been to.
What bothered me the most: they don’t have refills on drinks except Iced Tea. Thank goodness I saw that before I ordered my drink. Give me little portions, fine, but don’t cut off my drink supply! No refills? That should be illegal.
The plus of the evening was our waiter, whom I don’t think was the actual waiter. He cracked jokes throughout our entire meal, which could have been annoying, but we all thought it was pretty refreshing. It was a giggle-​fest at our table.
I dunno about this place yet. I’m confused.

Oh, where do I start… This has got to be hands down the absolute WORST Italian food I have ever had! It was up there with The Old Spaghetti Factory. Here it goes…
Antipasto Salad– Hardly no meat, yellow (not very green) lettuce covered in water and oil and a hint of vinegar. It was absoulutely terrible.
Minestrone Soup– tasted like canned spagettio’s. It was way to salty.
Tortelini with Pesto-​Very Bland Pesto, not enough flavor
Spaghetti– Tasted like canned tomatoe sauce with a cup of water added to it.
Service– was ok
All in all, this place is horrible! If you want good Italian food, try DiMille’s in North Park on Adams.

Hit or miss. The food is authentic (or seems so to me at least), but the service is spotty. My wife and I went there several years ago and the food and atmosphere were magical. Dave Scott the weatherman from KUSI was doing a really nice lounge act and we had a great time.
We moved away for several year and went there upon our return and the magic was gone. The decoration of the place is weak, our server treated us like we were old friends (old friends whose balls you enjoyed busting) which was somewhat disconcerting. The food was still great, but the wait time was on the high side.

THe pizza… meh! Nothing special. Its not in any way authentic, just a regular american pizza — thick and smothered with cheese. So in that way, I suppose it IS good pizza. Pizzas come in only one size and the special was about 17 bucks — pretty decent, I’d say.
The wait was only 25 minutes for a pick up.