Dolce Vita Trattoria Italiana

After the experience at South, I was so happy to find somewhere that could accommodate us immediately. The host and our server were very kind.
We'd been hesitant to have Italian since we'd had it the night before, but our meals were delicious- and not options we'd had in Augusta the night before.

I had the saltimbocca, which was so good! Pork and prosciutto, served with zucchini and roasted potatoes. My husband had the chicken scallopini with mushrooms, garlic green beans and roasted potatoes. The portion size on both dishes was perfect. We cleaned our plates and were not stuffed, and didn't have to worry about leftovers.
They weren't trying to rush us off, even though it was a busy game night. There were some empty tables that were reserved and a few that were not. It was nice to find a place where we could cool off and have a nice meal.
I'd recommend this place to people visiting Athens- even in game day, you maybe able to get in and get a table quickly!

All you will do is waste your time at this place.
Out of many things including beer and some wine.
Orders placed and 90 minutes later no food.
Not even deserving of the one star.

I love this restaurant, and don't come here often enough anymore. I frequented La Dolce Vita when it still served lunch, but now it's harder to save up for a dinner. But it's so worth it. I went last night with a friend and had an amazing experience. Glad it has not changed in the past year or so.

We had the bruschetta and Caesar salad to start, both of which were excellent. The tomatoes and basil were so fresh on the bruschetta, and the size of each piece was big enough to split with four people! The salad was perfect and crunchy, with great flavor - especially the Parmesan cheese slices and the house made croutons. Also, their complementary bread is spectacular, with very good quality olive oil to dip. Save some for your pasta sauce!

For the meal, we both went for pasta dishes, because honestly they have the best in town, by far. My friend chose the Strozzapretti alla Buttera, which has a rich creamy tomato sauce with sausage and mushrooms. It was fantastic, despite their being out of the traditional spiral pasta (he got rigatoni instead). Definitely crave-able! I opted for the Gnocchi alla Sorrentina. I'm pretty obsessed with gnocchi - it's my go-to at any place that serves it - so believe me when I say this was one of the best I've had. It was perfectly cooked, just soft enough while still being chewy - "pillow-like" is an apt description! The tomato sauce was unexpectedly good (I thought it would just have diced tomatoes), and I loved the buffalo mozzarella and the basil that came with it. Both have very strong flavor that went great with the rest of the dish.

We split house-made gelato to finish off the night. The chocolate was good, definitely tastes more like cocoa than what you'd expect. But I preferred the creamy Fior di Latte, which tasted milky and sweet. The flavors change day-to-day, so I'm sure there are other great flavors.

Our service was excellent. The waitress was friendly, we were seated quickly without a reservation (7PM on a Saturday too!), and our interactions with all of the staff members who stopped by our table were positive.

If you want some excellent Italian food that makes you feel like you're actually in Italy, and allows you to leave feeling content and satisfied, go here. Just ignore that other more well-known place a few doors down...it tastes like an Olive Garden compared to La Dolce Vita! I'll be sure to come back sooner than next year!

LOVED La Dolce!!! It was amazing, the service was great, and the food was even better. I got the special of the night and my other half got the risotto. Also, we indulged in wine and cheese plate which was exciting!

Let me just say that this was an absolutely fantastic meal! We got there right at dinner opening, and we were the only people in the restaurant for about 20 minutes until people started to come in.

Their bread was light and crispy and when dipped in the oil and vinegar made it even better. I had he spinach salad with goat cheese and my friend had the Caesar. We both ate all of our salads, as hey were wonderful and fresh. After stuffing ourselves with salad and bread, we decided to split the mushroom pasta. It was the best mushroom pasta I've ever had. I ate every single bite! Splitting it was the perfect portion, and they even brought it out already divided on two separate plates for us.

While they were out of a few different menu items when we were there, that didn't affect our order. Our service as great and the food was even better. I'll definitely be back next time I'm in Athens!

Only giving 2 stars because our waitress was a sweetheart. This was the WORST dining experience of my life. First off, it took over 2 hours to get our meals and THEN they forgot my dad's meal. It took over 20 minutes to get that stupid lasagna order. Genuinely awful. Don't go here.
Update: still here 3 hours later.... they use a FOUR FUNCTION CALCULATOR to figure out the checks ?????

Service was actually pretty quick compared to some reviews about delayed service that I read. We did however arrive there around 10pm and we were the only people left when we left. That was the best part. We were the only ones in there at night sitting by the window in a quiet place as we saw throngs of people out in the streets below going bar hopping. Having two servers was another plus. The bruschetta was amazing. The wine was reasonably priced and there was a great selection of pasta. I would highly recommend taking a date out here for a late night dinner.

Went with some work friends, and everyone seemed really happy with their food orders. The menu on here is completely different from the menu at the restaurant. I was looking for more seafood options, but the only one was jumbo shrimp. I got the mushroom pasta, and it was very good, though a little on the oily side. Servers were attentive most of the time (but we were the only table on a Monday night from 6.30p to 8 30p), but were not knowledgeable on wine, and did not bring more bread even though we asked for more after they offered. Meals took a long time to come out, considering that we were the only 4 in the restaurant. I wouldn't want to go if there were other tables because it would be too long of a wait. Food was great, just not good enough to justify that wait.

One of the worst experiences My wife and I have ever had in a restaurant. Used to be one of our favorite places to eat but no more. Understaffed, disorganized, and food oF average quality for the same dishes that used to be outstanding. We visited on a weekend night, the restaurant was perhaps one-third full, and still waited an extraordinarily long time for our food. -- even salads and bread. very disappointing especially considering the prices of a four to five star restaurant. The kicker -- I called and emailed the manager the next day to relay our poor experience. No return communication. My prediction is that they will be closed within 6 months ...

We arrived when they opened at 5pm on a Saturday. Quiet atmosphere, great for a date night. The server was attentive -- just the right amount. Not too much and not too little.

Now for the food .... simply outstanding! The Chicken Marsala was exquisite. I know, I know, Marsala is typically just a bunch of sauce covering up your food. But THIS Marsala, this was absolutely divine. We were thrilled with our dining experience!

Another Yelp reviewer suggested we go to Restaurants.com to get a coupon. And we did!