La Cena Ristorante & Wine Bar Menu

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  • Ross S.

    We had a family dinner at La Cena two nights ago and it was DELICIOUS! The pasta is homemade and tastes so fresh. I ordered Trenette de Julianna and I highly recommend it. My husband ordered the Trennete de Cornelia and is was equally as good. Our son got the grilled steak and he loved every bite. I highly recommend this restaurant!

    (5)
  • nom nom nom T.

    Pray to god you don't get the Asian waitress named Marlene(?) who works there. I was here during a work conference, the atmosphere was quiet and cold. The other waitresses were friendly but the service was lacking. Marlene was pretentious and rude when I asked her questions; she was not friendly whatsoever but gave an attitude and looked down at our table like we were idiots. I had already mentioned that this was our first time coming in. We were the first customers of the evening with my table of 4 and it took over an hour for entrees to be served. When I asked for any dinner or drink specials the waitress looked at me like I was crazy. When I asked for recommendations or popular menu items she was neither helpful or attentive. My glass of water had to be filled by another waitress even after someone reminded her that our table needed refilling services. The prices per entree ranged from at least $25+. If you're on a $50 a day per diem I wouldn't spend it here. The only positive comment that I would have to say is that their portions are huge but its definitely what you're paying for. Service and food go hand in hand, if one's lacking I would not waste my time on returning or trying this place out, as mentioned in previous reviews that they obviously treat their returning customers better than ones that haven't been before.

    (1)
  • Aime P.

    My only choice to go when I get the luxury of being spoiled for a quiet and fantastic dinner in downtown Jacksonville is La Cena. This is my favorite restaurant and I am so happy that Chef Gerry has continued to serve amazing Italian delicacies for me throughout my life. As a child, La Pasta Fresca...La Cena's predecessor and one of Gerry's first restaurants, was the only place you could go to truly have an authentic, fresh, and tasty dining experience. What La Pasta Fresca lacked in ambiance has been made up for 100 times over. Seated quietly in the enchanting lower level seating area, a glimpse through the front doors of the beautiful historic downtown architecture combined with the fabulous wines and the remarkable menu makes the guest feel that they may just be in another big city, certainly not Jacksonville. The food is truly fresh and the presentation is always beautiful. My favorite meal, not on the menu usually, and created upon my special request....Cappelletti Rosato....(thanks Gerry!) is always perfect. The Frutti di Mare is one of the specialties and seems to be a favorite...though I will never know more than a few bites of because I always get the same thing! I try and try to make it through to the desserts, because they are incredible, too, but the portions are big. This is a good thing, so I can enjoy the leftovers for breakfast the next day....yummy...nothing like cold pasta for breakfast! I cannot say enough about this all time favorite of mine. Any chance I have to get prettied up for an evening out, especially for birthdays and special occasions, I always say La Cena and I will follow Gerry anywhere he goes. You must try this place and you will love it too.

    (5)
  • Philip K.

    Great food, slow but friendly service, atmosphere is not great

    (3)
  • Sam S.

    Good food but both of our young female servers were very rude.

    (1)
  • Elle P.

    My husband and I love this restaurant. We rarely go downtown but this place is well worth it. The staff is very attentive to your needs and the food is unbelievable for Jacksonville. if you are visiting, give this place a try, I feel like I am back in NY when you go there. My husband loves the veal dishes, I love the Emiliana Cappeletti, Mussels Posilipo and the Ellie Fish. Call ahead for reservations as sometimes they are 100% booked and sometimes totally open, our downtown is so unpredictable!

    (5)
  • Jodi C.

    I had a horrible experience, along with the group that joined me at La Cena for a friend's birthday celebration. We were so excited to try this place but were so disappointed with the service and lack of respect for our group. The food wasn't worth the price and was mediocre at best. But what really ruined our experience was the service, or lack there of. The staff, I believe a family run restaurant, was so rude to us that I would never step foot in this place again.

    (1)
  • Kurt M.

    Great food and fantastic staff. Every dish was great. I just wish that this restaurant was located next door to my apartment in NYC!

    (5)
  • Jay L.

    La Cena, which I think, must mean something like "the dinner" in Italian was a nice surprise for us the other night. Ok, surprise may not be the right word, since I've had multiple people tell me that this place is worth a try. If you're looking for mushy, never ending bowls of starch with a salty sauce, then this isn't your place. Also, if you're looking for a huge platter of stuff that tastes just like your companion's even though you ordered different things, then again, this ain't for you either. I've been to Italy a few times and I can't say that this was anything like the Italian food I've had. Then again, it's all very regional and perhaps this was from a part of Italy I've not been to. Anyway, the decor was cozy, we had the entire joint to ourselves. The chairs could be more comfortable, but that's really the only thing that's a drawback. Overall, a very nice ambience, with earthy tones, white table cloths and flickering candle light. Not 5 star, but nice. The service was friendly and not pretentious at all. I'd read on another review site that it was. Our waitress was friendly and very casual (almost too much so). She recommended a nice wine that I can't recall the name of. We started with Shrimp Carbonata (of course) which was about 8 butterflied shrimp with a light breadcrumb crust. It had a smoky flavor what was different and very good. The crusty bread that comes with the meals was also nice, although slightly dense. I do like olive oil with my bread and this was not offered. I had the Ceasar salad and Glabella had a house. Mine was over dressed in a orangish, creamy sauce. No anchovies were really noted, but it was cheesy. Glabella liked it, but I've had better. The house was a standard house salad with a vinegarette. My entree was really quite good. I had Veal Caprese, which came as 3 pounded, lighltly but crisply fried veal steaks, each with a tomato slice, basil and mozarella melted on top. I had broccolini and an eggplant/olive sautee as a side. Glabella was forced to skip her shrimp mainstay and went with a chicken and eggplant dish that I can't recall the name of. It was very good, almost excellent. Large, juicy breasts covered by a slice of pan fried eggplant in a tomato sauce. It was remarkable because I don't usually enjoy eggplant. Both of our dishes were of large portions and we opted to take some of it home. The waitress was nice enough to include some more bread in our take home bag. We were so full we couldn't even look at desserts. Truly a travesty. This is the kind of place that really should do better and I can't figure out why it doesn't. I think perhaps the pricing is a little steep for most of the simple country folk we have here in Jax. haha. Entrees were almost all $20-30 each. Not exactly easy for the average person to fork over, including myself. I think I'd go back...but there also are a bunch of other spots I'd like to try first.

    (4)
  • Paul C.

    After trying several other Italian restaurants in all of NE Florida, and coming back a few times since my last rating I must go to four stars now. In Italian I would say 'multa tutti bene ristorante' !

    (4)
  • Lisa L.

    Don't let this tiny storefront fool you - there's a lower level just past the bar with a decent sized dining room that could probably fit about thirty people or so. Cozy, which is nice, but better when they turned up the lights and we could actually read our menu. The menu looks complicated, but it's not - the heading tells you what the meat is, and the multiple choices are how you want it prepared. I got the fish, which had about a dozen options, all of which sound amazing. I opted for the seafood mix and it was all I could have dreamed... there was so much seafood, they had to put the pasta is a separate bowl! Definitely not a place to come in a hurry, since there was about a forty-five to an hour wait for our food after we ordered, but if you do have the time, worth the wait. Hot, pungent, delicious, and here I am trying to cut down my portion size. A terrible place to go for sensible eating, but I'm coming back all the same.

    (4)

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Map

Opening Hours

  • Tue
  • Mon :Closed

Specialities

  • Takes Reservations : Yes
    Delivery : No
    Take-out : Yes
    Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
    Good For : Dinner
    Parking : Street
    Bike Parking : No
    Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
    Good for Kids : No
    Good for Groups : Yes
    Attire : Casual
    Ambience : Intimate
    Noise Level : Quiet
    Music : Background
    Good For Dancing : No
    Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only
    Happy Hour : No
    Best Nights : Wed, Thu, Sat
    Coat Check : No
    Smoking : No
    Outdoor Seating : No
    Wi-Fi : Free
    Has TV : No
    Dogs Allowed : No
    Waiter Service : Yes
    Caters : Yes

Categories

Italian Cuisine

The immense popularity of Italian cuisine globally isn't unknown. You can find an Italian Pizzeria around every corner of almost every city in the United States. Not to forget that in every house, people enjoy mac and cheese as comfort food. But it would be wrong to believe that Italian food starts with pizza and ends with good pasta as this Mediterranean country has much more to offer other than these two dishes. In Italian Cuisine, there is a high use of fresh tomatoes, all kinds of herbs, great quality of cheese, all types of meat, seafood and fresh handmade pasta. Many find it hard to believe that Italians have been making noodles long back.

Italian and Greek cuisines are always mistaken to be same, but they are poles apart. The primary difference between the two cuisines is the use of cheese in most of the Italian dishes. Italians love to cultivate their own cheese and process them as per their food requirement. It is believed that some cheese is so expensive that cheese producers secure them in lockers.

If you are bored eating the same old pasta or pizza, you can try some of the authentic Italian dishes like Risotto, Polenta, Ribollita, Lasagna, Fiorentina Steak, Bottarga, Ossobuco, Carbonara, Focaccia, Arancini and Supplì. Another item which Italians love to relish every morning is a good cup of Italian Coffee. Once you taste a freshly brewed cup of Italian Coffee, you might not visit Starbucks ever again. Authentic Italian food is made with heart and soul, so go find a restaurant where you can relish Italian cuisine in your city.

La Cena Ristorante & Wine Bar

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