La Rustica – on Magnolia

My friend and I went for "GOLDEN HOUR" which is their Happy Hour. The garden outside is GORGEOUS. The flowers smell beautiful and strong, and there are interesting cacti and all kinds of botanical goodies flourishing when you walk up. We sat on the covered porch/patio area. Moscato was $5 a glass, my friend started off with one and I started with a Sangria D'oro - $8 a glass. Appetizers - I had the calamari but was dissapointed that online it says it comes with a lemon aioli but my server said no, only the tomato-based sauce was available. I only like my calamari with aioli so just squeezed lemon and ate it like that. Very disappointing! The calamari was good though... 7/10 because no lemon aioli. My friend got the grilled polenta and the description sounded GREAT but she didn't really like it. I tasted it and it wasn't nasty, but didn't want more than the little taste. 5/10. We shared a House made pizza with sausage, onion, mozzarella and tomato. The texture was great and freshly baked. Our server sprinkled extra parmesan for us! 8.5/10. We each had two drinks and then the food I listed and the bill was about $82 before tipping. I felt like that money could have been spent on a much more satisfying experience elsewhere but I don't have many complaints. The atmosphere was lovely and it's worth a try - my friend enjoys dinner experiences there much more but this was my first time.

I had friends hype this place up to me, so my wife and I decided to give this place a try. When we arrived, parking was a little hard to find. If you don't show up early, you'll be walking a block or two. We arrived at approximately 4:30 and found one of the last parking spaces around the side of the restaurant. We did not have a reservation, but were seated within 10 minutes. The tables were very close together, and we could hear the other couple's conversation, just because we were so close, and I am sure they heard our conversation too. Our waiter (Andrew) was very attentive and provided good service, which was the best experience of the outing. I started my order with a small ceaser salad, which barely had any dressing on it at all. I only ate half of the ceaser salad, if that, for the lack of dressing. My wife ordered the Pollo Parmesan, and I ordered the Rigatoni Filetto al Barbera, which is a 4 oz filet cut up and served with Rigatoni pasta in a red wine sauce. I also had a side of meatballs in a marinara sauce. Oh, and the bread we were served before dinner was cold! My wife's chicken parmesan was so tough that she could barely cut into it, which made for a very tough chew. Also, the potatoes that came with the parm were well underdone and crunchy. The sauce was very bland and was not flavorful at all, she said. I was served two meatballs in a marinara sauce. The meatballs were very bland. They had no seasoning whatsoever. I had to drown them in the marinara sauce to get them down. My filet and rigatoni followed along the same lines. The sauce was without flavor and very bland. The steak was edible, but I was so disappointed that I didn't even finish it. I had a few bites, and that was enough for me. The same went for my wife. She had a bite or two, and that was it for her. My overall impression--I was very disappointed! I spent a lot of money on a very underwhelming dinner! The pictures are the Rigatoni with Filet, and the Chicken Parm. respectively.

Great Experience! The waitress and waiting staff were fantastic. My daughter actually requested a custom sauce for her pasta dish and they made it exactly how we requested. The dish came out perfect! 👌 The homemade bread is delicious too. Thank you so much for making our night!

Literally the best Italian food in Summerville, no comparison. Between the breadsticks and salad with that amazing dressing, no where else can compare to real authentic Italian. I went lastnight, 5/11, for dinner for my birthday and the short rib pasta special was so delicious. The atmosphere was so warm and homey. I love the new upgrades to the restaurant

Our first time here. I wouldn’t mind trying it again. The food was fantastic! The portions and flavor are well worth the prices which I thought were not too bad for authentic Italian. Make sure you get on the waiting list after 6pm, this place stays busy! We were #13 on the list and within 30min we were called for a table so wait not too bad considering the size of the restaurant and how busy they were. Also, if they have the tomahawk pork chop as their special I highly suggest it! Too bad it’s not kept on their daily menu. Another suggestion is the chicken parmigiana and the pineapple coconut cake!! The only downer about this place was how cramped it was inside and due to this it was very loud so talking was difficult but I’m sure once it’s cool enough for outdoor seating it spreads out so it’s less cramped. I suggest trying this place at least once!