La Collina

This is a great Old time Italian restaurant with great service and excellent old time Italian cuisine. The negative comments are from in my opinion people who do not appreciate the old Italian culture .They would be better suited going to McDonaldas and getting a chicken patty with tomatoe sauce. The service is from servers who have been at the restaurant for years and are accustomed to waiting on the old time customers who appreciate suggestions and recommendations from the waiters. The parking lot is small so they valet park your car. the person that complained is obviosuly very cheap and should stick to fast food. If you want want old time quality Italian food and service I would recommend you go and enjoy. Lastly,The prices are a bargain compaired to many Philadelphia steak houses and center city restaurants.

I had read Matt's review that the server ruined their meal and was hoping we didn't get that guy but guess what? I think we did! He was pleasant at first but seemed very pushy. He went to each person in our party of 5 and asked "what salad would you like" not would you care for a salad so youkinda felt obligated to order one. We got the antipasta salad and all shared it and it was fantastic. They bring out bread,butter and peppers to start. The food was all really great and we are always willing to pay for great food but at the end, he bought the check and came back 4 times to pick it up and because of the review I had read (hand written, be careful etc) my husband was checking everything and the matrie'd asked if there was a problem!? (is there something wrong with taking your time to go over your check?) After figuring out what each person owed, I made a mistake counting out our money and was $40 short (for our portion) He came back and asked if there was a problem with the service (which he should have of course) but then got huffy and said 3 or 4 times "my girl counted it and there were 13 $20's! " He got very rude when we told him we would try to see what happened. We put the $40 back then removed $10 because he was so obnoxious about the whole ordeal. He ruined the meal.

1. Valet parking when there is an entire parking lot with many open parking spaces about 20 feet from the door. The valet guy was pretty rude when we asked to park our car. Host corrected me on how to pronounce my name!? 2. Ordered a glass of Riesling which they are out of, then a Gewurztraminer which they are out of. Then the waiter brings out a glass of White Zinfandel without asking if we want it. His explanation is it is sweet like the Riesling. So we ordered a glass of red. Asked for a Zinfandel and his response was that he had a White Zinfandel in his hand...........Zinfandel is red. 3. Ordered one of the special appetizers (fig and prosciutto), which they were out of. So we ordered the grilled Calamari instead of the $10.00 Fried Calamari on the menu and a Caesar salad appetizer. Both the Caesar salad and the grilled calamari were special appetizers. 4. The Calamari was slimy and stale and the Caesar salad was maybe four small pieces of Romaine and a couple of pieces of cheese. 5. The vegetable and potato plate that comes with the meal was all combined on a side plate the size of a coffee cup holder. Very small portion for a side dish. BILL comes and it gets worse 6. Charged $46.00 for for glasses of wine. Menu has them priced at $10.00 a glass so it should be $40.00, not $46.00. Ask the waiter and he makes up an excuse that it actually says $40.00, not $46.00 (it is handwritten), but it adds up to $46.00 when adding up the bill. Trying to rip us off for $6.00 here. 7. Ask about the two charges of $16 and $17 on the hand written bill. The $10.00 slimy calamari is now $16.95 since it is a special AND the SALAD is $17 for four pieces of lettuce and two rotten tomato slices. $17.00 for a salad?? All the salads on the menu are priced between $6.95 to $8.95. What a rip off for the Calamari and Salad $33.00 Waiter and manager/host had no concerns about the mistakes and pricing and blamed it on the chef!

I thought everything about the restaurant was top shelf. The servers couldn't do enough for each one of us. The food was excellent. There were many things ordered and each dish was cooked perfect. Thank you

I write this review mainly as a counterpoint to the soreheads at the top of this review. I've been to La Collina 4-5 times with my family and have always had excellent meals and fine service. Everyone has been most cordial, from the valet parker to the maitre d' to the waiters and waitresses. I think what is left unstated in these reviews is that this isn't a restaurant that attracts a younger clientele. If you are looking for hip, you won't find a lot of it here. But so what! It's good in all the ways I want a restaurant to be good. As for price, let the naysayers go instead to Center City, where the parking alone will cost you $15 and the meals will invariably cost more than La Collina. And on a final note, I can't remember a single meal (typically three courses for us) where the service wasn't very prompt.

My boyfriend and I actually left this place feeling degraded and angry. The service was poor from everyone. Our waiter sneered at us when we asked for meatballs and pasta, even though it was not on the menu it does say "will make custom meals". Food was alright not for the price though. Went to the bar then to finish our glasses of wine. Bartender walked by our two glasses multiple times, we tried asking him for another drink but he waved us off and actually went to refill a drink of a customer who had not even asked for one. Waited so long that we finally decided to leave. We will not be returning to this place. It's obvious that they do not appreciate new customers.

I agree with reviewers here who say the food at La Collina is average, the service below average and the value also below average. Our waiter looks like he's been on the job too long: No personality, not helpful, seemed very bored. The only time he showed enthusiasm was when he was trying to rush us out the door. The food was good -- but not as good as the prices should require. If you sit near a window, you'll have a nice view of picturesque Manayunk, but it aint worth the tab. One can find better Italian restaurants at cheaper prices.