L'italia Restaurant & Bar

True rating, mostly influenced by a great server, would be a 3.5.  Recommend this place whole-heartedly if you're in the neighborhood.  I mean, what, are you going to pick a hot dog at Jess' Lunch 2 instead?  (Fair enough if you are - just pointing out that this place is a chance for an actual meal among real adults with "real" serviceware...)

Stopped here for a leisurely lunch the other day.  Had pored over these interwebs to find independent restaurants that had actual food, not just calorie substitutes, as provided by Sysco, in Harrisonburg...

The house foccacia and oil was a nice addition.  The foccacia had a nice salty garlic crust, though dough was a little overworked.  The oil was well seasoned and I loved the little bubbles of balsamic when they wound up attaching to the bread for a little tang of vinegar.  Might actually have wanted a bit more (or to have it added as a syrup for more concentrated flavor)...either way, was still a tasty touch.  Would be better if bread came out hot.  (Butter unnecessary & wasted - egads, if someone is going to butter foccacia, make 'em ask for it.)

Given the price point, wine service is above par.

Recommend anything with the house made mozz.  Was really nommy.  Even in Caprese salad, the mozz made up for the limited flavor of the roma tomato (hey, I know, it's not tomato season yet, so there's an understood pass on the tomato flavor).  The basil was tasty and fresh, but a bit of pepper was needed overall, as was more balsamic reduction.  Really liked the grilled soft bread points included with the salad.  They were, frankly, even better than the foccacia, though seasoning was needed.

The pasta was tasty - doubt it was scratch-made, but it was well prepared, regardless.  Again, needed salt and pepper.  The cream sauce was unbroken, hot, and served well.  And, given this price point (at lunch), that's head and shoulders above what I would expect  The chicken roll itself was dryish, though not terrible, a pretty typical problem.  And, again, for an 8$ lunch chicken rollantini with pasta that keeps me full all day, my yardstick is a little different than for a 39$ (or more) dinner entree.

Regardless, the service was thoughtful, kind, and personal.  The server went out of his way to make sure I had a great meal (as did the host - who checked in a couple of times, despite me intentionally sitting at an out of the way table).

My server was wonderful.  While I was there, I watched him make an effort to engage every party personnally and provide professional meal service.  He was a lovely man and the owners of this spot should understand how much repeat business they get because of him.  Wouldn't come back for rollantini, might come back for caprese salad (well, the fresh cheese bit, of course), would definitely come back for the server and the relaxed, yet professional dining environment he created.

The price point is very low (for a formal, dine-in, white napkin service, particularly for lunch) for what is served; some of the food is good, some of it is so-so...but the service tends towards excellent.  So, my 0.02$ is that if you're local, take some time and figure out what you like (or build your own, I suppose, from their menu).  It'll be worth your time, for a lovely, relaxing, well-served meal, without worry about parking, in a clean and comfortable setting.

Unlike the previous couple of reviews listed here, my review is complementary.

We were here last night (Saturday the 5th). Upon checking in via Yelp, I was offered a free dessert as long as we ordered two entrees. We ordered the ravioli pomodoro ($12) and the steak gorgonzola ($16). Entrees comes with a soup or salad. For the second night in a row, we loved our dinners but couldn't finish them. Chris was our server and was friendly and accommodating.

The reason we couldn't finish our dinners was we wanted to save room for dessert. We chose the NY cheesecake with strawberry topping. With our check, we also received a coupon for $5 off our next visit!

The only downside  (unless you like soccer) is the tv had soccer on instead of the NFL playoffs.

Came in from out of town and chose L'italia for an impromptu dinner. Interior was clean, modest, and nicely decorated. Service was quick and the staff was personable and friendly. Unfortunately, the food wasn't really up to par. The menu was fairly small and left me wanting a bit more variety. My dish, rotini in a vodka sauce, was disappointingly bland and the portion seemed a bit small for the price. All in all, I've had far worse experiences elsewhere and the food is okay in a pinch, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it.