mccaffrey's dolce vita

Recently I was in Decorah for my 40th Reunion and discovered this unbelievable restaurant. Dolce Vita; A great "off the beaten path" place. Dolce Vita is a most excellent choice for a quiet date, or outstanding lunch. A good old fashioned Italian place. Not cheap (most reasonable), but you get good service and an authentic, Italian neighborhood restaurant setting. The meats and pastas, the seafood Chowder were exceptionally good. Nothing is too wild, but very good versions of the traditional dishes. The portions are huge, the owner makes bread that is absolutely positively unbelievable, not a bad wine list either. The surprise is the owner is Irish...figure that. 4.5 Stars.

Posted 11/09/09 | Report Abuse

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I will agree with the previous reviewer about the beautiful setting, great food, and fairly reasonable prices. However, that said, I will never return to this restaurant. My husband and I have eaten there regularly since the restaurant opened, and are always greeted by the female owner, who always asks us if we have been there before? I always figured, shes busy, and brushed this off as she cant remember everyone who walks through the door. But that issue aside, I have had two of the worst experiences I have ever had, in any restaurant, not only Iowa, but in the entire country. The first one was when the servers were busy, clearly had no organized system of waiting on tables, and during a busy night, I sat there with my two small children, and was not waited on. I pointed it out to the owner, after sitting for half an hour with no service, and I chalked it up to a mistake. I did, as I told the owner I would, return when my grandparents were visiting from out of town. We first were left sitting at the bar, waiting for a table for five to come open, while a table set for five sat open, until I pointed it out to a server. Once sat, we had a pleasant meal, but then, once we had received our bill, were asked to move so that another group could have our table. We had just spent $150.00 in this restaurant, and had been at the table for less than an hour and a half. To make matters worse, it was the woman owner who asked us to move, leaving me with no indication that this restaurant values its customers. As we left, a kitchen worker came out and apologized for his bosses actions, and while that was very much appreciated, I will not continue to support this establishment.

Posted 08/10/09 | Report Abuse

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The building is gorgeous--High ceiling, large windows looking out on
beautiful bluff, trees and countryside. It is conveniently located close to Highway 52 but just far enough off the road to be in a very scenic part of the "Switzerland of NE Iowa!!" The chef owner Jim Mccaffrey built the wood fired oven himself after a trip to Naples Italy. The pizza is outstanding. This restaurant also serves great salads, entrees and desserts. Wine is available. reasonable prices!!!! The owner is the author of a great cookbook Midwest Cornfusion.

Posted 01/10/09 | Report Abuse

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