Lascala's Fire University City

If you just want the headline, here it is: I’d return happily, but not enthusiastically.

LaScala’s Fire has 11 locations, from the Philly suburbs down to the Jersey shore (and one in Princeton). We visited the one in University City. The layout and design is to my taste - subway tiles and a bit of a labyrinthine layout that allows tables to be separated to give a bit of privacy. It makes looking for your waiter a bit challenging, but ours was attentive enough so that it wasn’t really an issue.

The restaurant’s own description features its pizza, which we didn’t have. The menu isn’t particularly long, but has the kind of fare you’d expect at an Italian restaurant, with a few surprises.

We started with the Tuscan wings and the Brussels Sprouts. OMG they were fantastic. The wings had a crispy skin and a Parmesan cheese topping that was yummy. The sprouts were some of the best I’ve had. We shoulda stopped there.

I think someone kidnapped the chef and replaced him/her with a culinary arts student who was following an internet cookbook. The chicken piccata was as uninspiring as it gets. I was particularly appalled at the sauce, which has lemon flavoring, but it looks and tastes like a paste thickened by flour or cornstarch. My friend’s gnocchi was like little pasta nuggets covered in a basil marinara. Those suckers would come in useful in a food fight.

The lemoncello cake was a nice desert (but I doubt they make their deserts in-house, though they’ve found a good partner).

The restaurant deserves a second chance. I’ll probably dream about those first course choices for weeks to come. Plus, the layout and design is really clever. Maybe the pizza is the way to go.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 3

Food was nothing special but it wasn't bad. I believe our server forgot about us, and she never came back to check on us, refill drinks, or see if we needed anything else. The part that really bothered me was being charged for extra dressing for my salad, when they didnt actually put any ceaser dressing on my ceaser salad.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 3

Service: 2

I had a really good experience. I had the chicken Parm and it was really good. My servers name was Jordany

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Worst Italian I’ve had especially for Philly. Tried 5+ items only liked the bread, sauce was very acidic in every dish. Much better options around.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 5

Waiter was absent, food was subpar. some food was good, some was yuck.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 1

Good as a chain gets.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

We booked a table for 10 to celebrate my son's graduation, and the experience was wonderful from start to finish. Graduation day is notoriously tough when it comes to getting reservations—most restaurants are fully booked—but this place was incredibly accommodating and made room for our group.

The staff was kind and welcoming, which made our celebration even more special. My personal favorites were the beet salad and the spinach and goat cheese salad—both were fresh and delicious. Everyone loved their entrees, and the pasta was cooked perfectly. The seafood fra diavolo usually comes with a spicy tomato sauce, but since my husband doesn’t eat spicy food, they were happy to adjust it for him.

My daughter couldn’t stop talking about the LaScala fries—they were a big hit!

We only wish we had discovered this gem sooner. My son has already graduated, but we’ll definitely be coming back for future celebrations!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Went there for a quick weekday lunch and the food was fantastic. Great price to portion ratio and Claire my server was absolutely amazing. Highly recommend.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

the horrible service is reason enough to never come back. the food is so salty and mediocre. this place really fell off. believe the other 1 star reviews. get em out of here 👎🏽

this place is rotten.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 1

Stuck between the chicken parm or meatball. Bella suggested the parm.. Really, great choice! Tasted good.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Loved this place and the beautiful cozy vibes. Went in for dinner today. I had the shrimps while my friend had the grilled salmon.
We were served complimentary bread that i enjoyed with the shrimp sauce. Also celebrated my friend’s graduation with a Tiramisu. Jenna was a great server!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Tiramisu Cake

The staff super accommodating as we had way more folks than we anticipated but they just flexed.

My family and I enjoyed our food. Everything was fresh and tasted great. It took a while for the waiter to over but she provided great service. The food came out really fast too.

The food was very good but the tiramisu disappointing since it didn't have any coffee flavor. The restaurant was a bit too chilly and there were several customers with jackets inside. The service was fast and they got the orders right.

Had a great time the food was very good and the drinks were nice to my daughter is coming to visit me I will be goin go back to let her experience it as well.