My husband and I went out for dinner on Friday at a restaurant we found almost by accident. My first choice was for Thai but on arrival at the restaurant in Umhlali, it appeared that it has closed its doors for business (either that or they only operate during lunch hours), our second choice was for Chinese but the restaurant was lacking a lot of ambiance and so we settled on pizza and pasta at La Piazza.
Clearly the good people of Ballito know more than we do … we hadn’t made a reservation and were lucky to get a table.
La Piazza is new on the Ballito restaurant scene but judging by the diners on Friday evening, they are gaining popularity very, very quickly. The restaurant itself is large with an interior area, two wide, covered verandah areas and an outside sitting area. There is also a sleek, brightly lit bar which is ideal to have a glass of wine at while waiting for a table.
The ambience of La Piazza is great; the atmosphere relaxed and welcoming, like a true Italian restaurant should be! The owners (who also run the restaurant) are true Italians and it shows in their excellent service and hospitable manner. Of course, a lot of restaurants can have a relaxed atmosphere, but what is the food like? Trust me, it was delicious!
We both had a starter; my husband opting for Arangini (rice balls filled with mozzarella cheese and ham, deep fried and served with a slightly spicy Aribiata sauce) while I tried the polenta with porcini mushrooms and Italian tomato sauce. The portions were more than adequate and at R45 and R40 respectively I felt like we had had our money’s worth.
Seeing as La Piazza has a wood fire oven, we decided to share a pizza as a main course and chose the Pesto which had toppings of pesto, garlic, feta, brinjal and Parma ham. This too was very tasty although I did feel that the brinjal slices could have been cooked for a bit longer. This pizza was R90 and was only of the more expensive on the menu. One also has the option of ordering a medium size pizza for R10 less off the price.
To end our lovely meal we ordered a slice of choc chip chocolate cake to enjoy with a coffee. Disappointingly though (I do love a sweet treat) the cake was a bit on the stale side so we sent it back and didn’t order anything instead.
Children are well taken care of at La Piazza – they have a pizza dough making section, a jungle gym set up in the courtyard outside and a Playstation section (which is cleverly set up behind glass panels!) to keep youngsters entertained and busy.
We really enjoyed our meal at La Piazza and will definitely go back. They are open 07h00 to 22h00 Mondays to Sundays.
Contact La Piazza
The Well, Albertina Way, Ballito
Telephone: +27 (0)32 586-3565
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