La Famiglia

susan k.

Joined 5 months ago

Delicious!! Bravo .. we went last night for our New Years Eve dinner. I was apprehensive due to the poor reviews but my boyfriend kept telling me how great it is. He was right! We enjoyed every morsel. We started with their deliciously fresh caprese salad,big slabs of vine ripe tomatoes, huge garden basil leaves, with a thick cold rich buffalo mozzarella cheese topped with the most amazing tangy YUMMY DENSE balsamic vinegar ! .. most restaurants use balsamic straight from the bottle, not this place the caprese was straight from little Italy in New York. We also shared sausage purses, these were great start ups; stuffed pasta treasures that looked like loot bags. Each was filled with a SCRUMPTOUS Treasure inside ...HOMEMADE italian sausage. We took each morsel and dipped it into rich marinara sauce. I was feeling very HAPPY about our selections......

Then came our FABOULOUS dinners, my boyfriend ordered Chicken Marsala and I ordered Shrimp & Scallops Alla Panna both had DELICIOUS sauces!! I have never seen my boyfriend eat a meal so quickly!! He was oohing and awwing the entire time, and my meal? Well, it was amazing, with a white cream sauce that was delictable.

The scallops and shrimp were plentiful and so delicatly cooked that we could taste the white wine and butter.

I wanted to take my huge plate of left overs with us but since it was New Years Eve, I left them behind. I want to POINT OUT that while I was there, I met Nick & Debbie the owners, they were both FRIENDLY & ATTENTIVE. They have OWNED THE RESTAURANT FOR 14 YEARS! That is a statement in itself. Also, our bartender, I will call him "Lil Nick", he was A Very OPEN & personable GIVING US GOOD SERVICE. I asked him about the some of the reviews and he noted that they had at times had some bad staff but that they were now happy with their Team. He POINTED OUT THAT MOST OF THEIR CLIENTELE ARE REPEAT CUSTOMERS. Which we found out because it seemed like they knew everyone in the place and IT WAS PACKED WITH REPEAT CUSTOMERS. I KNOW I WILL BECOME A REGULAR.

Recommends

debbie a.

Joined 11 months ago

What a nice restaurant where you can sit inside or outside and enjoy your dinner. I love the mussels in red sauce and the Italian Margarita's . The waiters are very helpful always checking to see if you need anything. The owner Debbie is friendly asking how you are. I would recommend this restaurant to everyone.

Doesn't Recommend

116706

Joined 4 years ago

I WOULD STARVE THEN GO BACK TO LAFAMIGLIA ON SQ. MY MOTHER GOT SICK FROM EATING THE FOOD. FOUND HAIR IN THE SAUCE. THE OWNER IS DEBBIE,VERY SICK IN HER HEAD, SAID; DON`T COME BACK, IF YOU DON`T LIKE THE FOOD. WE CALLED THE HEALTH DEPT. SHE HATES KIDS. SLAVE DRIVES HER GRAND SON, WHO CALLS HER MOMMY. NO MANNERS HERE. UNEDUCATED YANKEE. AND NICK NEEDS TO GIVE UP HIS SINGING CAREER.I GIVE THEM A F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F--F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F--F-F

SAVE YOUR MONEY OR GO HUNGRY

Recommends

Jack M.

Joined 1 year ago

Excellent. I have no idea where the negative reports come from. I live in California and travel a lot for business. Where ever I go I seek the local family owned Italian restaurants in that area. La Famiglia is by far my favorite in the country. The food is excellent, the service is great and I feel like I was there yesterday every time I show, which is only 3-4 times a year. The veal parmesan I crave as soon as I get on the flight from LA. Try this place, you will not be disappointed and a great value as well. Can not wait for my next trip to Atlanta!

Doesn't Recommend

mike o.

Joined 1 year ago

Decent Food, Really Bad Everything Else.... In over 15 years of living in Marietta I have eaten here twice. My wife and I gave it a shot tonight after a 10 year break. At 6:30PM place had only one other table and they sat us right next to their table. Nice. Menu is 2 pages and has just the same old basic Italian items with no pizza, calzones, etc... Bread is light and dry. Salad was basic. Meal was decent, but not worth the $45 bill for a quick Tuesday night meal. Our server was nice.

The first page of the menu is really random. You are greeted with a rebuke and warning from the owner. Basically they take 3 paragraphs to tell you to NEVER bring your kids there... Which is really funny because the restaurant is called THE FAMILY!!!! There is also a big sign on the menu that says NO AMEX. That's too bad because business people use AMEX all the time and spend more on average that other credit card users.

The ceiling has lots of stains and looks like really bad. The chairs are $12 20 year old chairs from Sam's club. From a distance the vibe seems romantic but once you are inside the dining room is just old. Lots of seniors dining here...

Seems like some of these legacy restaurants on the square (shillings etc...) are living off of old reputations and getting lazy.

Doesn't Recommend

honest consumer

Joined 3 years ago

Worst place in the world. STAY AWAY! THIS IS THE WORST PLACE EVER. THE OWNER DEBBIE HAS THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!

Doesn't Recommend

cksu10

Joined 3 years ago

Overall Bad Experience. Very simply, the food was below average, and the owner was very rude to us for complaining about an obscure added charge to our checks. Four of the ten people in our party became ill with stomach aches shortly after dining here.

Bottom line: there are far too many GOOD Italian restaurants in this area to risk dining at this one.

Doesn't Recommend

Ben2006

Joined 3 years ago

Bad food, bad service, expensive. Lousy restaurant!. We've been there last week. A party of 6 for dinner on a Saturday nite.

The food is far from being italian. I think Olive Garden is more italian than this lousy restaurant.

IF you like oilly, greays, microwave heated food, dirty looking menus, unpleasant food look and like to repeatedly ask for water, this is the place for you.

Otherwise, be smart and go to a decent restaurant because there are many other coices out there.

Doesn't Recommend

nearthesquare

Joined 4 years ago

Good food, if you can survive the attitude.... I've dinned many times at La Famiglia, particularly last year ('08) in the months just after my move to Marietta.



I'll start with the "pros": They have good, authentic seeming Italian food (I don't profess to be an expert... but the meals I've had have been tasty). Their prices are also reasonable.



The atmosphere is "retro" (to put it kindly), as I've told friends to expect to feel like you've been suddenly transported to the 1960's or 1970's. The decor makes you feel you're in a small town (you are), but one far - far away from sophisticated Atlanta (you aren't).



The biggest "con" has to be their attitudes - usually apparent from the moment you walk in. Rather than pleasant smiles and a welcoming demeanor, they're stiff and cold. You're never really sure they want you there in the first place (I've actually been turned away several times, with the owner saying they are closing early (before 9:00) because it's a slow night - go figure? He successfully 'trained' me not to even try them after 8:30 on week nights. Maybe a different approach would avoid so many slow nights? Meanwhile I've spent thousands of dollars dining elsewhere on the square week nights between 8:30 and 9:15).

The bad vibe is continued when you read the introduction to the menu, which is all about "dining out is a special occasion and shouldn't be ruined by misbehaved children" (I'm paraphrasing, but that's essentially the message). Thanks anyway, but I don't care to have menus preach to me. When I've taken friends there (for the good food), I've warned them in advance that "these people take themselves a little too seriously, so be prepared". From their attitudes, you'd think you were at La Cirque or 21 in New York - rather than at a moderately priced neighborhood Italian place in Marietta.



If I could consult the owners, I would encourage an attitude readjustment. Italian restaurants, in particular, should be places where hospitality and friendliness exude - not stiffness, condescension, and coldness. Try smiling more, and relax! The reviews on this restaurant tend to be on the extremes - highs (typically the food) and lows (sometimes the food, always the service/vibe). In their own ways, I agree with each of the reviews - at both ends.

P.S. - After eating there at least once a week in the month or 2 after moving near the square, week after week they wouldn't acknowledge I had been in before. I was new to town and it would have been nice to have been recognized - how hard would it have been to note my last name on my credit card - "Nice to have you back, Mr. Smith!"?

Doesn't Recommend

mike252522

Joined 5 years ago

THE WORST EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!. I will start out by mentioning that I wish i could give this resturant a negative rating. The food is some of the worst I have ever had in my life. The atmosphere of the place is compareable to a smelly mildew basement. There was hair in my food, probably from the wench who owns it named Debbie. The service was as horrible as the food and Debbie the owner offers some of the worst conversation and attitude you will ever experience. I have never been treated so poorly by anyone in my whole life. But wait it gets better, she will actually yell at you for not liking the food. I bet you would have been able to find better food, personality, atmosphere and fun at a Natzi internment camp. I hope that everyone is able to read this so that they will be able to save themselves. But if your idea of a good time is a root canal you might enjoy yourself.