La Casa Incorporated

11/26/2008 Posted by gwen3279

I have actually been to La Casa about 4 times and never a good experience. The only reason I went 4 times was because I got 1/2 price gift certificates online (where it wasn't posted a while back that you could only use 1 per visit). Every time I have been the service is awful. Unfortunately, I seem to get the same server most times - he is rude, condescending and has no sense of customer service. Once we sat at the bar and the bartender was annoyed that we were paying with a gift certificate and was rude the entire time. She wasn't even busy and made us wait at least 15 minutes just to get our check while she stood there talking. Either way, we would tip what is appropriate whether using a gift certificate or not, so why should it bother her? Another time, I went on New Year’s Eve (made a reservation in advance). The staff was rushing us through the entire meal b/c apparently they had a private party coming in later - however, they took our reservation. If it was inconvenient, they shouldn't have made the reservation. Our holiday dinner with friends was rushed. Finally, Omar, the owner, promised before he would take the gift certificates even once they expired since we were misled that you could only use 1 at a time. Of course, when I finally came in with 1 expired certificate, the staff gave me a hard time. Some of the food at La Casa is good, but I would not recommend the restaurant at all. It's over-priced and there are so many other nice restaurants with great service!

Pros: great patio

Cons: horrible service

11/01/2008 Posted by zouzou212

Tried this place for the first time in late august and the patio is just gorgeous. My second experience was just last week and the inside is as nice as the inside.Very relaxing and romantic atmosphere.The food may be a little expensive but all ingredients are very fresh and each dish goes well with a large selection of Spanish wines. Try also the red and white sangria, or fresh mojitos. Largest selection of tapas in Pittsburgh

Pros: romantic, good ambiance and service

Cons: little expensive

07/27/2008 Posted by Manci

Not just bad tapas, but bad food and the overall experience. The food is poorly prepared and not fresh. The waitress was very rude and was dressed in a very tight outfit barely covering her. You could almost see her underwear. She wasn’t even pretty so the view was quite disgusting. The meals we ordered looked like tapas but had no taste of tapas. It resembled badly done northern African cuisine. It was hot on the patio and we were not given a table in the shade (for four people) because it was only the two of us, despite the fact that there was only one more couple in the restaurant. After we ordered lots of food she brought another table and placed it next to us. So now we were using two tables in the sun instead of two tables in the shade. The music was too loud. Overall poorly done.

Pros: nice patio

Cons: rude waitress, bad food

11/26/2007 Posted by mgibb255

I went here with friends on a Friday night and we had a terrible experience. First, we sat for over fifteen minutes before anyone even came to our table to take a drink order. When we got our drinks, which was another fifteen minute wait, they were wrong (I order Merlot, got Cab. insteand). The waitress was rude and acted like it was our fault. Our food came out bit by bit, with some of us eating while others just sat and waited. Then our check was wrong, marked up by about twenty bucks. The staff was loud and yelling at each other all the time. It was not a good experience, and we will probably not go back.

Pros: easy access

Cons: mean waitstaff, too loud, too expensive

10/12/2007 Posted by pittdiner

We went there last night for dinner and I was appalled by the owner. As we received our food, there were a swarm of fruit flies that would not leave our table making it very uncomfortable to eat. I mentioned the situation to the owner and her response, "Move if you want, what do you want me to do about it". Our waiter was nice and said she treats all the customers like that. Needless to say, we will not be dining there again.

Pros: Good Selection of Tapas

Cons: Owner is very rude

07/26/2007 Posted by flipflapjack

I stopped in to La Casa on a Wednesday night to for some tapas with friends. My first thought was, 'Wow, this is beautiful'...we were seated outside and waited almost 25 minutes before anybody came over to take a drink or food order. Our first two choices were not available, but we selected a few others and moved on. When the food arrived, it was well prepared but something was missing. Our order of zucchini arrived 20 minutes after the others. The food was good but the service was incredibly slow on the night I was there. Maybe this was a one time thing, and we'd probably go back again, but it was quite expensive for the experience, especially with Enrico's to tempt us from just across the street.

Pros: strong drinks, excellent atmosphere (inside and out)

Cons: slow service, expensive

02/22/2007 Posted by karlooop

From the entering of this quaint bistro on a quiet section of Ellsworth you get a nice warm feeling. The interior is quite refined and cozy. The menu consists of little bites - small plates of various courses that keep your taste buds happy. The salad plates were delicious and new. Fried oysters were fresh, briny, and from the stove hot - served with a wonderful aioli or cocktail sauce. Beef and chicken dishes - the spicing and preparation were superb. The service here is a standout for Pgh restaurants IMO. Dinner can get pricey quickly if you are not adding things up, but the food is very good and you get to sample different things. Wonderful. We only wish they had the firplace lit to complete the atmosphere. We'll return in the summer for the terrace in the back. Highly recommended!

Pros: Coziness, service, food preparation :-)

Cons: The prices have been increased out of scale :-(