La Vera Cucina

Came here for lunch with my boyfriend and his family. We had the fried calamari, the chicken scarpiello, chicken franchise, chicken parm, and the New York strip steak. First off, the bread was very good, we are lots of it. I like how there’s a complimentary salad to start our meals. The fried calamari was good, all of them were crunchy. The chicken franchise tasted a lot like egg. The chicken scarpiello was too cheesy but still was a decent dish. The chicken parm was full of flavor and the New York strip steak was huge and was delicious. The tiramisu was a nice ending to our meal. Definitely worth a try if you’re in the neighborhood.

My boyfriend and I found this place by accident on our way home from the Catskills. The place is delightful and a veritable treasure trove of carb laden delights. First of all their bread is amazing and totally sets the meal off to a great start. We had the grilled calamari is light but super flavorful. We had lobster ravioli and the trifecta ravioli as our mains. Both were phenomenal albeit extremely decadent.
We were a little (okay a lot) underdressed for this place, we came in in spandex, hiking boots and sweatshirts. The vibe is definitely more of a special occasion place and is perfect for birthdays, holidays, or fancy date night. Regardless of being dressed like we spent the last 4 days in the woods (we did), We were treated kindly and the service was thorough and relaxed. We will definitely stop by again after trips upstate and to Harriman, but with a change of clothes.

Wish I did not have to give any stars. Food was horrible I found paper in my eggplant and the cake was so stale we could barely cut it with my fork.

Dare I say this is one of the best Italian places in this area? The food here is so amazing! I’ve been here a few times, and while I think the place itself needs some updating, the food never lets down. Here are my favorites:
Chicken Francaise
Chicken Parm
Chicken Scarpiello
Yes, I only stick to the chicken dishes, but that’s because they are the best! They cook the chicken perfectly and you can tell they put a lot of effort into the quality of their food. I also love the salad that the entrée comes with. It’s always fresh and is a good portion. The bread with the olive oil type sauce is addicting. I’ve only tried the chocolate mousse with a cream puff inside for dessert, but that also did not let down. The service is a tad bit slow, but the reasonably priced high quality meals are worth it.

My wife and I went there for Valentine’s Day. The place is very very nice. They did a great job decorating specifically for Valentine’s Day and every woman who ate there that evening received a beautiful rose (nice touch). We started at the bar while we waited for our table. My wife’s sex on the beach was meh. When we got our table we order a bottle of wine (Pinot Grigio) which was ok. We tried to order the baked Brie for appetizer but it was sold out. Odd considering we were eating kinda early. I instead had lobster bisque which was great. I then had pan seared Tuna with sweet potatoes which was really very good. My wife ordered Chicken Cardinal which sadly was overly lemony for her.
The saving grace for my wife was the cannoli for dessert. As she put it «to die for».
Overall a pretty good experience and we’ll try them again when it’s warmer to try the outside seating.

The food here is very good, IMO. Have come here several times, and have never been disappointed with either the service or food.

Unexpected find near Woodbury Common. Attentive service and really good southern Italian fare. I had the sausage and veal in red sauce — it was very good. My companions shared a huge Porterhouse Steak with Texas fries and homemade onion rings. They loved it. Save room for the house made desserts which included crème brule with berries and excellent cheese cake. We’ll be back!

Good food, but terrible hospitality. They made my boyfriend and I eat in the waiting room and it took a while for them to get us an actual table. It’s crowded and it’s impossible for you to even pull out your chair without having to worry about bumping into someone else’s. I recommend you to go somewhere else.

One of the better Italian restaurants in the area. The food is delicious and fairly priced. My standards for Italian cuisine are very high because I’ve had the best from family cooks. I’ve never been disappointed from the lunch menu to the dinner menu. The Seafood Fra Diavolo and the Tilapia Livornese are two of my favorites. The service is excellent and the staff very friendly.

Made reservation for 6ppl on Friday at 8pm.
From outside the place looks homey like someone’s house with a large porch. We were seated in a corner table with plenty of room for 6. Waiter was very pleasant and gave us plenty of time. We ordered a few bottles of wine and began with appetizers.
— Fried Calamari: fresh calamari mixed tentacles and body. Perfectly fried great sauce.
— Stuffed Mushroom with veal: great flavors with tomato sauce and cheese
— cold antipasto: simple (prosecutto, roasted peppers, fresh Mozz, salami, ham and provolone) drizzled with balsamic and basil.
For dinner I had the veal chop special which I chose grilled medium. Perfectly grilled with hot cherry peppers and onions with a light white wine sauce. All our dinners came with a house salad. Pasta was very fresh and made in the restaurant. Overall everyone enjoyed their meal and plenty of leftovers. I had homemade tiramisu and were given sambuca on the house. Price was reasonable, portion was large and customer service was great. I would recommend this place.

The wife and I love this place. I found it by mistake, but it was while worth it. The one thing we love is the food is Freshly made, so when you finally get the entrees you won’t be disappointed at all. Can’t wait to go back with the wife.

Once again fantastic. This time we sat near the fire place and it was so wonderful. The service was excellent. The food was great, especially the Veal chop and pasta with prosciutto. Its been consistently impressive and glad to have this place nearby.

Food is always good and the staff is nice. My only qualm is the last two times I ordered lunch, it was wrong and I got overcharged. My advice would to double check when ordering and when you get there. I would still recommend this restaurant.

Italian food to die for. Every dish is amazing. From salads to appetizers to entrees and deserts. You will always be more than happy with whatever you order. Their wine list is extensive. BUT, let’s get back to the food. You must have clams possilipo in the white sauce. Eggplant and chicken is another winner. Oh heck, try everything. The ambience is delightful and the staff is superb. I could probably go on and on, but you get the idea. La Vera Cuchina is a must place to eat.

You will not find a better place for Italian and American cuisine. I have had almost every kind of special, every kind of entrée and all were excellent. It’s not a «hit or miss» type of place. From their appetizers to their amazing salads and onto their entrees. Been coming here for years and it never disappoints. If the branzino is on the menu — GET IT. I usually stick to their Chilean sea bass or their clams posillipo (white) as an entrée. Their cold antipasto is my favorite along with their calamari and clams oregano. I occasionally order pasta (clams and linguini) and their penne ala vodka is amazing. My wife gets the lasagna which never disappoints. They have this arugula salad on the menu to which they don’t describe it well — it’s amazing — it has arugula with a caprese (tomato/​mozzarella & roasted red pepper) in it. I sometimes just get that as an appetizer. I’ve also had their filet mignon — they cook it exactly how you want it. Mine always still has the cow bell on it. Perfection. I can’t say enough good things about this place.
The staff are wonderful, attentive and all have sparkly personalities (which is HUGE in the restaurant business!!!)
The atmosphere has a couple of ‘scenes”: first there is a cozy and decorate dining room (very romantic). The second section is more casual, near the bar and very beautiful. The outside seating is just amazing as well.
The place is very clean, well kept and the dining or bar experience is always super fun! This is my favorite restaurant — even above ones in NYC.

Food Here is amazing! Family run business and the staff is very accomodating. Definately recommend :)

This place was an amazing find. After a movie in town with friends, we Unilocal’d a dinner spot. We took a walk to La Vera Cucina. First off, it’s in a residential neighborhood on a large piece of property and is very relaxing and quiet. You can sit inside or outside. The service was prompt and professional. I had an amazing fillet mignon with polenta and vegatables for about $ 30, not bad at all for a larger piece of steak cooked perfectly!

Great service, ambiance and amazing food. My boyfriend and I come here often and we are never disappointed. I’m a customer for life!
Every pasta dish is excellent, my favorite is the spinach ravioli with pink sauce. For appetizer try the baked Brie is fantastic!
The prices are very reasonable, for the quality of the restaurant.

This is a nice elegant restaurant with a classy ambience and a great menu. If you feel like dressing up and eating out for the night, this is a solid choice!
The steak has never failed me, and the classic chicken parm is always a steady contender. They used to have a surf and turf option which doesn’t seem to be on the menu anymore, but maybe you can put in a special request. The desserts are also quite good. They bring you a display platter so you can see what each one looks like.
The main complaint I have is the last time I came here there was no music playing. We came at an odd hour as well, so there was only one other family eating. The silence was pretty awkward.

Aaaaand I was wrong. In the past few years, La Vera went downhill big time. It all started a few Christmas’ ago. We went for Christmas Eve as this was out go-​to at that point and we hadn’t been for awhile. There wasn’t one person who was satisfied with their dish. We chalked it up to the holiday. Awhile later when we visited again, we noticed little things that had changed. The pasta wasn’t al dente anymore. Dishes weren’t seasoned quite as well as before. Service became a bit more patronizing. This continued to the point that my family’s last few visits have been downright problematic, including sending dishes back. La Vera as a result is no longer on the table for dinner options.
I’m not sure what happened here. At first I thought that I may have jumped the gun with my initial review but this seems to have been a trend. As cute as the setup is, if the food and the service falls off, the place has lost its charm with this funk they’ve been in. I hope they snap out of it but just in case they don’t they seem to be doing fine.