La Scala Ristorante

1st time coming here last night (9/20/25) on recommendations, we were not disappointed at all. Food & service was great!!! Definitely will be going back.....

Smaller restaurant on Shrewsbury street with side parking but it’s a rather intimate when you go inside. Lots of options on the menu, ordered the calamari which the flavors were well combined and salted perfectly. However, I wish that the sauce on top of it didn’t necessarily soaked so much of the breading, because the calamari did become a bit soggy. The bolognese was delicious, the meat was rather tender kinda remind me of beef stew. I wish there was a little bit more flavor in it but overall still good. Shrimp vodka coconut was good, it involves risotto, spinach, and some red peppers, which gives it a very sweet undertone. I’m usually not into shrimp but today I was feeling it so it was solid. I didn’t see that you can make reservations here but walk-ins are pretty easy to get. Our server Mia was great, she was attentive and had a great positive atmosphere to her.

Our usual place was closed so we tried here as we haven't been here in awhile since the owners changed. Had a great Lemon Drop Martini. Bartender was friendly and outgoing. Food was good as we had a Veal Parm and a Veal/ Eggplant combo. It was a Weds night but passed on their chicken special as we wanted Veal. Always liked this place and is usually our 2nd choice on the strip. Worth the trip as is always consistent.

A Worcester staple for very good Italian food in a casual yet intimate atmosphere. I love the antipasto with slices of grilled sausage on it. You cannot go wrong with the chicken parm or the La Scala, which is a combination of chicken and eggplant Parm.

The only reason I couldn’t give 5 stars is because of the marinara sauce. Bland for my taste. But the coconut vodka shrimp was spectacular, I wish I knew what the sauce was made of I’d love to make it at home. The sicilian pizza was awesome, toppings were so incredible I was blown away. Will definitely try again sometime soon!

Such a nice cozy environment. Food was great. Fresh! I'll come back for sure. UPDATE: The pistachio cake was so good last time that I stopped by to grab some to go...

I went here with my family for the first time yesterday. We ordered arancini balls, chicken piccata, chicken and broccoli alfredo, and pesto sausage alfredo. Flavor wise: Arancini balls with pepperoni cheese and garlic 9/10 Chicken piccata 4/10. Chicken was bland. Thin sauce that didn't stick to pasta Chicken and broccoli 5/10. Nothing to write home about. Chicken was bland. Flavor was just ok. Pesto sausage alfredo 9/10. Delicious! Would definitely recommend. Tons of flavor Overall, this place is a hit or miss.

To be concise: way better Italian options not even a mile down the road. Food sucked but the waitress was good. Bruschetta was soggy to the point where the mouth feel was bad and the actual entrees (chicken parm and a chicken and sausage pasta) were worse than what can be made at home by a teenager with grocery store ingredients? I was surprised at the bad quality of ingredients and even how the food looked when the prices are the way they are on their menu lol

This was our first visit to La Scala, and it certainly won't be our last. Note that they have a small parking lot at the back of the restaurant, though there is usually sufficient on-street parking. Wednesday is "chicken night" at La Scala, featuring all you can eat chicken, salad, pasta, and fries for only $15.95. The chicken is a baked rotisserie style chicken with your choice of the sides mentioned above. A tempting value, but we couldn't resist the many other tasty dishes on the menu, and ordered: * Garlic Bread $6.95: Grilled Italian bread baked with house-made garlic butter. * Cousin Vinny's Chicken $24.95: Sautéed chicken & spinach in a roasted red pepper cream sauce served over cheese ravioli. * The Godmother $25.95: Chicken parmigiana layered with fresh herb ricotta & spinach, topped with eggplant, cheese & pink sauce. We were dining al fresco, they have a small patio on the side of their building, and it was a beautiful evening. We started with the Garlic Bread, which was nicely executed, crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside and served with roasted peppers. It arrived with 6 slices, we ate three, and could have eaten more. Fortunately, we left room for two excellent entrees. I tried both and had a difficult time determining which I liked better. I selected The Godmother which was delicious. The chicken was cooked perfectly, a tender and juicy breast. Of course you had to get past the cheese, spinach, and eggplant on top, which were tastier than the delicious chicken below. The cheese was lightly browned, slightly chewy, and very tasty. A really great dish! That said, Cousin Vinny's Chicken was an equally excellent dish, with tender chicken and a delicious cream sauce. There was a light touch of red pepper permeating the sauce, and the sauce wasn't overly heavy. The ravioli was cooked nicely al dente, and both our dishes arrived hot. The portions were substantial, and there were plenty of take-home leftovers. Service was excellent throughout the meal, Anna was our waitress, she was friendly, helpful, and attentive. We'll be back and look forward to trying some of the other tasty sounding dishes. I have my eye on the Capone ($25.95), chicken parmigiana layered with meatballs & sliced cherry peppers, topped with eggplant, cheese & home-made tomato sauce. Kudos to the La Scala team for an excellent dinner.

Overall 4 stars because of the service we received at the bar from Bryana where we ate. What made us try LaScala was because when we called on the road coming home from Maine for the weekend, the owner Dave answered the phone and was so very friendly, so we picked LaScala over the other Italian restaurants in Worcester. The food we had was good but my wife and I both talked about trying other things the next time. I started off with the Meatball appetizer which came with delicious garlic bread. My wife started off with the Caprese Salad which she said was fantastic. I had the Veal Marasala which was good. My wife had the Eggplant Parm. Again, we had a such wonderful service by Bryana we will definitely come back to try it. Next time I will try the Steak Tips which she highly recommended.

Honest people ! I left my wallet on the table and frantically called the next day. Dave, the manager on duty, called me back to let me know he had it safely in his office. I rarely post reviews, but if you care about rewarding folks who do the right thing, please support this restaurant. Delicious food, too!

We ordered the cod, mashed potatoes & broccoli. It was delicious . Server was good, she was in our table making sure we were having a god time. The restaurant is a cozy place. I do like it. We have been a few time there.

I don't know where to begin.... I made a reservation for 3 at 5:30. We ordered an appetizer of the steak and cheese egg rolls... they were ok..... at 6:00 we were asked what we wanted for dinner. Service was painfully slow. My carbonara had zero flavor. After a couple bites I was done. The other 2 meals were veal piccata and chicken ala vodka. They were ok. I was very much looking forward to this meal and I was completely underwhelmed!

We didn't have a reservation but we were able to get seated right away. We had a great waitress and a couple requests (due to Lent) that they were able to accommodate. The salad dressings were delicious, the fresh bead was perfect and the meals were excellent! See you soon!

Food and drinks were perfection this evening. Service top notch! Check it out when you can it does not disappoint.

Solid food, good portions, good service. Small place, like that they take reservations. Not a big fan of the chopped antipasto, feel like it's short of ingredients one expects in an antipasto, and lots of lettuce. Soups are tasty, as are the arancini. Good choices when it comes to entrees, along with tasty pizza. Takeout, tho, be aware. They offer weekday specials which are good deals. The menu states their Wednesday all you can eat chicken special is not available for take out- understandable. But they will not honor the other specials for takeout either, although not noted on website or menu. Also, menu prices are significantly higher when you order online through the 3 services they offer. Call them directly and order, you'll get the actual menu price.

We were planning to have dinner at Via but they were closed and my parents have said great things about La Scala. Service was great! Warm, friendly and happy to answer questions/accommodate. We started with a small antipasto (which was perfect) and the arancini of the day (3 baseball sized spheres of crunchy, undercooked rice). My husband had the ribeye, which was perfectly cooked and a great deal at $32. It came with some tasty brussels on the side. I had the chicken parm, which was tough in some places and tender in others, but the sauce was tasty and it had just the right amount of cheese. I opted for the homemade pasta on the side and like the arancini, it was not just al dente but chewy. The ambiance is small, casual mom & pop Italian American - clean and comfortable enough, but nothing fancy. Our server was great. $150 + tip for two apps, two entrees and two glasses of wine each. We didn't finish anything except the wine : ) If I could give them 3.5 stars, I would, but it's closer to a 3 than a 4.

The food was excellent and the servers were really nice. The pistachio cake was SO good. Definitely will be coming back.

Excellent. The pasta is homemade and is just wonderful. Appetizers were good. I had garden salad with house dressing and it was perfect. My son enjoyed the Caesar salad and husband got steak and cheese egg rolls but those were just okay. The main dishes were wonderful. My husband loved his veal Marsala. My son loved his penne vodka and I also enjoyed my pasta with marinara We will definitely be back!

We ordered take out for our anniversary. We were all disappointed. Tough veal parm, really? We have been here many times before, maybe it was an off night?

The service is terrible. I don't know if the restaurant is understaffed, but no one seems to be moving too fast to do anything. We had a 5 pm reservation and were seated promptly. We also ordered fast, because the man I made the reservation with said he would need the table by 6. We got our food at 5:45! My food was delicious. The roasted red pepper sauce was divine! My friend had piccata; it needed more lemon. My wife said her gnocchi was chewy and the pesto was a little thick. Good, but nothing special. My daughter got nuggets and fries. The fries were crispy, but the nuggets were average. We didn't get water without asking. We got the bill at 6:15 after we asked for it, too. We didn't have dessert, because we didn't know if we'd get home by 8 now that the restaurant had filled up. This place is not worth it. Give it a pass.

The classic Italian-American dishes were excellent! Fried calamari was crispy and tender. Chicken parm was juicy and had bright perfectly seasoned tomato sauce. The bolognese was thick and rich with a velvety dollop of seasoned ricotta. Enjoyed a bottle of wine that was only $32. It was a red blend: Sangiovese and Syrah. Great accompaniment to all of the food we order. Overall, very impressed and we can't wait to go back.

Went here with coworkers after getting back from training. Never eaten here before and it was absolutely DELICIOUS! My coworker got the sausage pesto Alfredo that had tortellini for pasta. Omg it looked amazing. She said it was really good. My other coworker and I got the chicken bruschetta pasta and boy it was so good. The portions are plentiful and I took some home and had enough for lunch the next day. Heated up it was still good. They start you off with bread which was also yummy. The service was great and the place was small but cute. I'll def be back here.

Called for reservations for 2 on a Thursday night at 7 PM. We waited a few minutes and were suited within minutes. It is a small and cozy restaurant and was seated per the last available table. We ordered their local IPA and we both ordered Seafood pasta d'avalo. The food was delicious and the multiple mussels were large and plump. Service was also above average and we recommend this place as long as you call for reservations.

We have been here more than 5x and the food and service are spot on. We have had pesto, vodka, Alfredo, and their red sauce with different meals and every one of them are flavorful and delicious! Drinks are full, they give you a full glass of wine, not half full like some places. Mixed drinks are good too. We have had their desserts and the pistachio cake which is homemade is so delicious I've never had anything like it. The restaurant is small so it can get a bit noisy but good crowd everyone seems happy. Staff are all hard workers and attentive. Good prices for a lot of food. This place is a must go too!!

A small cute restaurant that holds about 60 people. Including 10 to 12 at the bar. The chicken Parm and pasta were good. The sauce was unique and I just couldn't place what ingredient made it taste different from traditional sauces. My favorite was the antipasto with sausage. I would come here just for that, incredible! The waitress was pleasant and attentive and the food came out on time with very little wait. Try it!!!

What an amazing little place this was ! The food was phenomenal ! Service was wonderful. On top of things desert Pistachio cake was a top notch ! Highly recommended and will be return it back

The food is delicious with generous portions at a reasonable price. The staff is wonderful and friendly! I recommend the eggplant parmesan!

Smaller restaurant on Shrewsbury street with side parking but it's a rather intimate when you go inside. Lots of options on the menu, ordered the calamari which the flavors were well combined and salted perfectly. However, I wish that the sauce on top of it didn't necessarily soaked so much of the breading, because the calamari did become a bit soggy. The bolognese was delicious, the meat was rather tender kinda remind me of beef stew. I wish there was a little bit more flavor in it but overall still good. Shrimp vodka coconut was good, it involves risotto, spinach, and some red peppers, which gives it a very sweet undertone. I'm usually not into shrimp but today I was feeling it so it was solid. I didn't see that you can make reservations here but walk-ins are pretty easy to get. Our server Mia was great, she was attentive and had a great positive atmosphere to her.

We are not from Worcester but took in a WooSox game on Sunday. Most of the Restaurants were closed. Saw LaScala as we drove on Shrewsbury Street and thought it looked inviting. To our surprise the place was great. They served well made cocktails and their food was delicious and prepared extremely well. Their signature Antipasto is a must. We had the small one and it was more than we can eat. Their servings are large but does not mean that is good. But in this case it was good and we had dinner for another night and I love left overs that are good. If you are in Worcester - I highly recommend LaScala - Great Service and great food and in this day and age that is hard to find...

Just got back from my first meal at this place and it was wonderful! It is a tiny Italian place with excellent service, homemade pasta, and great desserts. I got the bolognese, my husband got the pasta Capone which is chicken parm layered with meatballs, peppers, and eggplant, one friend got chicken broccoli alfredo, and another friend got the pasta with spicy vodka sauce. Everything was incredible! The bread was fresh and absolutely divine. The drinks were tasty and generous. The best part? We got the dessert special of pistachio layer cake and it was out of this world! I will definitely be back, even though it takes me an hour to get there!

We were in Worcester for funeral services and wanted place to eat before heading home to NH and Boston. It was a Sunday and first 2 places we chose were closed. Stumbled onto La Scala as it was on our way home. What a wonderful place!! First, our server Mia, was great. Very personable. Started with antipasti for 3. Savory sausage in salad was delicious and unexpected. One of us had pasta with mussels in marinara sauce. And 2 diners split The Godmother. Portions are ample and so we'll executed. For dessert we split Pistachio Cake. Unbelievably good. Cake seemed like combination of angle food/sponge cake with whipped cream frosting. Just delicious!!! This is small venue, maybe 30 seats. But there's bar with seating and outside seating as well. I highly recommend this establishment if you are in Worcester! All you Polar Park attendees

My #1 favorite Italian place in Worcester. The service is always excellent. They have an amazing outdoor patio in the summer. The food portion are large enough for sharing. This coconut shrimp risotto is absolutely heavenly - a must try.

The food is always great. Really big portions. The service is fantastic! The new owners have really brought a new life into this small space. They have updated the recipes making them so much better and they are so friendly and engaging. I recommend getting a reservation because the place fills up. If you get a chance, get a table on the patio, it is the perfect Worcester setting. Will be back time and time again! Also, pistachio cake... need I say more?

We had the exact experience last night. Ordered the same exact meals. Too expensive for what they offer.

Foods always good. Got the pizza and salad special for 20 bucks. Can't go wrong, the pizza was great and the salad is legendary. Always a good spot on the patio....

Haven't been in years due to dissatisfaction with meals and service. Went a week ago for their Wednesday night special, chicken, salad, fries and pasta! AMAZING is all I can say! Food was piping hot, service was 10+! Nice pace between courses. Not one bad thing to say. Great family night we did the $14.95 with all white meat. Can't get to Wright's Chicken go here, you will be impressed. Went back for Thursday special, house antipasto with pizza for $19.95. Any additional pizza is $9.95. Again totally impressed, service, food all excellent! This is one restaurant that has figured out how to keep customers coming back for more. New ownership and it is obvious he knows what he is doing. Tried the pistachio cake for dessert.....wow so moist and delicious. This will be my new go to for dinner when I don't want to cook!

Great food, the service is unbelievable, beautiful atmosphere. David has done a great job with the new menu! Feels like you are in the north end, Boston.

It's okay in general. 3.5 would be accurate. A little small and cramped for my taste. There is a large bar area which may be more comfortable. There is also an outdoor dining area as well. If I return, I would chose that option. You're given a complimentary portion of bread with olive oil, which is okay. It's good to sop up the sauce with your meal. The Caprese salad we ordered had unripe raw tomatoes. I actually make better at home and I'm not Italian. The eggplant rollitinni was very tasty. Not a generous portion by any means, but enough. The eggplant Parmesan also looked tasty too. I haven't tried the pizza, but from the photos it looks yummy. The owner was present and very friendly and kind. Kind of constantly lurking though. Like standing, or seated five feet from our table the entire time. We were seated dead smack in the middle of the restaurant however. It didn't help that my companion was an attention-seaking smoozer that invited that energy. Our waitress was efficient, but devoid of a personality. Young, short, stockey girl with her brunette hair pulled back in a ponytail. Upon exiting, I handed her the cash bill with a 25-30% tip, and she didn't even make eye contact or mutter a word. I would return, but just pick a better seating area

Visited on a weekday evening. Enjoyed their pizza. Service exceeded expectations. Waitress was friendly and attentive.

We love going there for the steak egg rolls but they have changed lately. Not as much steak, and the steak is not the same quality, caught a few hard fatty pieces in there and that is unusual. Also, the wrap and excess cheese is different.

What a difference! The food has improved, along with the atmosphere. It's actually a pleasure to go here now. The owners are very accommodating and hospitable, which is a great change from the bad attitude of the previous owner.

I love it hers, very quaint. The food is delicious, had a bad meal. The service is excellent and the owner has come over to our table almost every time to check on our meals and has a conversation with us.

We went for my birthday this weekend. I have always passed it and wanted to sit out on the patio. Everything was flavorful, prices are reasonable and portions are huge. Staff was very attentive. Cocktails menu was creative and my blueberry lemon martini was delicious. We will definitely be back!

Food very good . Portions large. Service attentive and friendly. Prices great! Cozy restaurant

Food, service, owner amazing! This restaurant is the hidden gem of Worcester. The food was absolutely delicious, with huge portions and great prices. Service was great! The owner, Dave, was everywhere. Visiting each table and bar customer. Do yourself a favor, and make Lascala your new favorite restaurant.

So disappointed! Don't waste your money on this place. Fake Italian taste! Go to Mare y monti instead!

Excellent service. We never had to wait for anything - it was awesome! Our shrimp scampi came out of the kitchen within 15 min! We got the caprese salad (generous portion), shrimp scampi (great taste, good portion), and spumoni to finish it off. Everything was wonderful - I can't wait to go back and try their other dishes.

Nothing amazing about this place, but nothing to complain about. I can see myself coming back here again for the cozy and clean atmosphere, but I doubt it will be something I get a craving for. La Scala has been around forever but they are constantly updating the décor and adding things like a patio. La Scala is also a famous restaurant in Beverly Hills and while Shrewsbury Street is about as far from Beverly Hills as one can get, I have to admit the atmosphere is warm and cozy and as tight as the space is, they do a good job of making it feel open and airy. (high ceilings and exposed brick help). The food was mediocre. Lots of bagged and canned ingredients. The olives in the salads were canned (tasteless) black olives vs. the brined fresh variety. The salad seemed the pre-chopped bagged salad you'd find at the supermarket. The sauce was a typical American-style Red Sauce. Slightly acidic but very typical. Pasta seemed boxed and was not cooked to al dente. No points off there, this is an Italian-American joint vs. Italy-Italian joint. You will be taking food home ... the pasta dishes come in bowl/plates that would feed a table in Italy! Salads are literally a mound so big, a midget could ski down it. You won't leave hungry! Their drink selection is great at the bar. They have plenty of alternative draft beers/bottles for those who are not fans of boring old Bud Light. Props for having Peroni on draft ... I believe they are the only Worcester bar who has Peroni on tap! It's so much better than bottled Peroni. The drinks were also very potent and wine pours were amazingly generous. (although the wine selection was meh ...) Also, they serve homemade tripe! Not to everyone's taste (although if you didn't know what it was made of, you'd probably like it if you tried it) This is something you don't find anywhere else in Worcester. Bottom line ... if you are looking for good ol' fashioned Italian-American food ... red sauce and Sunday gravy ... this is your spot! If you are looking for fresher ingredients and slightly fancier food, there are other options on Shrewsbury Street. I know 3 stars doesn't look like a great rating, but it's actually above average, which I'd say is right on the money. I had no problems at all with La Scala ... I just wasn't blown away by the food. Seemed more about the portion size than the quality but the inviting atmosphere makes up for it. Don't judge a book by its cover ... the inside of the restaurant is much warmer and nicer than the outside which looks more like an office building than a restaurant.

Four of us had a 7pm reservation on Saturday. Place is 'cozy', seats max 35/40 people and is noisy enough you can't hear your dining companions. Salads are HUGE and tasty, whether a side salad or small antipasto (essentially side salad is with some meat, cheese, and peppers), one can easily feed 4 people. Dressing is nothing special- lite on seasoning but easily remedied with salt and pepper. Entrees: 2 of us had The Godfather (layered chicken, sausage and eggplant parmigiana). Lots of tasty sauce, enormous portion. Chicken was rubbery though. Also tried Veal Marsala and Veal Parmesan. Both good, not great. At least Veal was way more tender than chicken. Prices are reasonable and service was pleasant if not overextended (multiple requests for water, etc.)

Enjoyed our dinner here. Saw in a previous review that they offer a dinner-for-two deal on Tuesdays, so we decided to try it. I enjoyed the chicken a la vodka a little more than my wife enjoyed her haddock, but both were good. Nice portions. Friendly staff. Good atmosphere. I'd go back again.

Went for the family style meal on Weds night to celebrate the end of 2016. Most of us had the week off for the holidays. We put in a reservation a week in advance since there were 14 of us. We were served chicken (white and dark meat), french fries, salad, and pasta with sauce. The chicken had good flavor, the french fries were great when hot. I came late so the first order got cold. The salad was great w lots of fixings in it. The pasta needed to be cooked more so I did ask and they did cook it up to el dente and still could have been cooked a little more. We got cannoli and spumoni for dessert. Overall it was OK but I'm not sure I'd go back. It was basic. Nice company.

Nice restaurant and staff but not authentic Italian. This is an Italian inspired American restaurant. To start, there are no true aperitivo on the menu except Prosecco. The bread was good but seemed more American style than Italian. I wanted to order pasta fagioli but it was made with chicken stock which is not typical so I didn't order. I got linguine instead. You can tell the cooks and wait staff aren't very familiar with Italian culture. The linguine was broken into small pieces. And the pomodoro was referred to as "red sauce". I got bruschetta which was good. After dinner I wanted an espresso but they don't have an espresso machine. It's a great restaurant; friendly, clean, huge portions, they listen to orders, and good service. But if you're looking for true authentic Italian like your Nonni used to make you, this isn't it. But I will say, I think mostly everyone will enjoy this restaurant. I know I'm in the minority with my expectations.

Happened to go here on a Thursday around 6pm, which happened to be quite fortunate as it was relatively empty and because they have all you can eat pasta and salad on Thursdays. We had the Chef's special sauce, which tonight happened to be a simply amazing pink sauce, with sausage and meatball for myself and my friend respectively. The waitress was friendly and the service was impeccable. The food was excellent I only wish I could've eaten more, I'll have to prepare myself for the next all you can eat trip there.

My search for a great local Italian restaurant continues. Although the gal bringing the bread and water was very sweet, the server was almost rude. When I asked for a knife (mine was taken with the appetizer plate), she took her time to get one, and handed it to me. She couldn't be bothered to be sure to actually had it-- no eye contact, not one word, and it was nearly dropped. That was just one of many things to share. Just very strange. There are so many places to go, there is no reason to go back. The food was okay, but not great. The atmosphere was diner-like, but the prices were high. Large portions were served-- but not of meats and veggies-- lots of pasta. Pasta was from a box-- and not a good brand. Disappointing all the way around.

Excellent food, excellent service. Our favorite place in Worcester! Highly recommend

We are regulars at La Scala and it's always outstanding! Last night was no exception and the pistachio salmon special was fantastic. Great service, fresh ingredients, welcome atmosphere, and nice hosts - what more can you want. We just love the place!