Cafe La Scala

I work only four blocks away from this place and was looking for something different. I was a little leery; because it’s part of the Italian Community Center, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Whatever I was thinking, I was wrong. This is a really nice place, and the prices for lunch were very reasonable. I was alone so I sat at the bar. The place is not big, but it was pretty busy… a good sign. Even though it’s an Italian restaurant, it had some regular American options as well. I ended up getting a meatball sub with extra sauce and mozzarella. I eat a lot of these at various restaurants, and this one was the best one I’ve ever had — ever. The meatballs were big, the bread was very good, and the sauce was great. But the real surprise was the french fries — I wasn’t expecting much — but these were the best french fries I’ve ever had. Sorry Five Guys, sorry McDonald’s, you’ve been beaten! One thing that I liked about this place was that it was very bright inside — due to the huge windows on one wall. I like to see my food when I eat, so that’s good. If you’re looking for a pure Italian, intimate, dark place, this will probably not be what you’re looking for. But I loved it, and will be back again.

I have lived in Milwaukee all of these years and have never tried Café La Scala. I needed to pick up my Festa tickets so why not give the place a shot!
I had the lunch buffet which changes every day. Thursday is an Italian buffet with eggplant pasta, antipasto, arancini, chicken florentine, minestrone soup, and sauteed cauliflower. I had high expectations for the arancini but it lacked the right flavor and texture. The eggplant with pasta was probably my favorite dish with the right amount of eggplant, savory tomato sauce, pasta and cheese. The chicken florentine sauce was not too rich; however, they overcooked the chicken which disappointed. The cauliflower and antipasto plate were spot on.
For $ 8.50 the buffet is a good deal. There are just enough options to not overwhelm you. Every day is a different cuisine with some days Tex Mex, Italian, southern BBQ, fish fry, etc.
The service was not very good. When you walk in there is no hostess station so you are left to wander around. Finally they told us to take any empty table. The server really didn’t seem like she enjoyed her job at all. It seemed like we were a bother for her. When we were finished we had to bug her for the check even though the place was not that busy.
For a quick lunch buffet if you are in the area I recommend trying Café La Scala. However, I would not go out of your way to eat here.

Located in the Italian Community Center, Café La Scala is a small restaurant with a very large patio that is popular in the summer (of course).
I’ve enjoyed their pizza in the past, but recently some friends invited me to lunch and they picked Café La Scala.
Maybe a year or so ago, they started opening for breakfast and added a lunch buffet with a different theme each day.
Monday is Tex Mex featuring a taco bar and chicken enchiladas, Tuesday is Pasta featuring lasagna and eggplant parmesan, Wednesday is BBQ with pulled pork and roast beef, Thursday is Italian with Chicken Florentine and pasta alla eggplant, and Friday is Fish Fry day.
Today was BBQ day. I started with the small salad bar featuring mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, sliced eggs, chicken strips and ranch and Italian salad dressings. The veggies looked and tasted tasted fresh, but the chicken looked and tasted packaged.
The Mississippi Roast Beef was pretty spectacular. It was incredibly tender and packed with flavor! The BBQ pulled pork was also tender and not drowned in BBQ sauce. Small rolls are provide to make sandwiches, and they were soft inside and slightly crisp outside, definitely not stale.
The mac-​n-​cheese was basic, but a good basic. Most of the mac-​n-​cheese I’ve had in town has a gritty texture as if the cheese powder didn’t finish mixing and diluting. That was not the case here. It was very creamy and the pasta was cooked properly.
The potato wedges were good if you’re a fan of seasoned wedges. I’m not, but I still thought these were good.
Last up was a tray of house made jalapeño corn bread. The flavor was great. You could actually see corn kernels and tiny bits of jalapeño in it. The corn bread was a bit too moist and didn’t have the «cake-​like» texture that it should have. In fact the corn bread reminded me more of a Scalloped Corn recipe that I’ve made before. I got the same overly moist texture by keeping tin foil over the baking pan after I pulled it from the oven to trap the moisture.
The lunch buffet is $ 8.50 and a great value at that price. I would like to come back and try the Friday Fish Fry some day.
Other than the pizza I’ve had in the past, I can’t speak to the authenticity of the recipes for the Italian food, but I know that the facility has large banquet rooms and does a ton of catering.
Large batch cooking for catering and buffets will not generate the home cooked meal feeling we prefer. I doubt anyone will confuse the food with Ristorante Bartolotta or Mimma’s, but I think Café La Scala puts out solid food at a good value, and I’ve always received great service. That works for me.

I went here for my birthday with a couple of friends on a Tuesday and it was AWFUL. the service was TERRIBLE. We barely saw our waitress. I actually had to track her down after half an our of not even being acknowledged and then had to go to the bar to get my own pitcher of water so I could serve my friends. When we finally got our food it was mediocre and something I would expect from Denny’s not a place claiming to be authentic Italian food. I am shocked that there are so many positive reviews because after word spread that I went here people shared in the mutual disgust in the place.

Actually we went to the Italian Community Center to play Bocce with our grandchildren, but we also took advantage of the Buffet in La Scala. Not really advertised (a waitress I asked didn’t even know what it was), for $ 8.50 each weekday, a small but ample presentation lets diners eat all they wish. It happened to be a Thursday, so luckily for us the fare was Italian (not a joke, because the fare on the buffet changes each day). The Pasta ala Norma (which I often make) was excellent and the Arancini (both of these being Sicilian specialties) would have satisfied diners in Palermo. Add to that some fine Antipasto, a nice Minestrone, and Chicken Florentine, and one could hardly complain. (The almost-​raw cauliflower was a disappointment as was the boring, cold, sliced Italian bread). We will certainly be back to try Mexican on Monday, Pasta on Tuesday, BBQ on Wednesay and Fish Fry on Friday. The same space offers a full, more expensive menu and one can eat outside in the patio if he/​she chooses. The service was friendly and attentive. (And why not work off the calories with an hour of Bocce thereafer!)

Great Pizza and our server was quick and kind. They have free live music (Jazz and Blues) on Tuesdays indoors and will move outdoors in May. People were dancing to the music while dining, very awesome, old school vibe. We will be returning!

The restaurant La Scala, though in the Italian Conference Center, is not very Italian. I don’t get the sense there is very much «homemade» here or a single Italian involved in the cooking or preparation of the food. It’s obvious those who are responsible for preparing the food are not properly trained in the true Italian tradition. That is the responsibility of the restaurant GM. A restaurant in the Italian Conference Center should have some of the best Italian food in the city. The food doesn’t have to be pricey and fancy but good, homestyle, trattoria style dishes — reasonable, hearty, simple and delicious. I hope that they get the menu, cooking and recipes in better shape here and soon or I fear there is little hope for La Scala to be a success in the long-​term.

I have to say we have been VERY loyal customers for about 3 years. The service has been DUMPED into the lake as of the last 6 months. Philip was the only GREAT server they had. He per the manager states «Philip decided to work the parking lot on Fridays. I could have kicked him in the head… not really just kidding.» Yes the manager said this! Now the server Ben gave is like a child asked to serve. Lack of short term memory is a HUGE issue when you are a server. We went in last Friday 8÷2÷13. We walked in @ 6 pm seated 6:05. Sat nothing in front of us for 10 minutes. Finally bartender/​manager pointed out we were waiting. He came over to take our drinks GREAT! We waited 3 minutes gave us our drinks. We ordered right away. 6:24pm waited again 20 minutes no soup/​salad. Finally again mgr saw daughter and I staring at him. He said something yet again. Ben walked over to us gave us our soups & salad said «oh your dinners have been ready and waiting in the window. I’ll be right back with the food.» WOW I took 3 forks of salad and he was there… ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Food is COLD and then tried to take my food away. We asked for a reorder of fish. He said «Well you know you don’t have to pay for another dinner … the food is all you can eat!» The table looked at him like what??? He said «i’ll be right back.» He brought back round 1 of fish… waited 10 min he came back again dropped off the fish IT WAS WRONG. We ordered 1 baked 4 fried… 4 baked 1 fried was brought we said it was wrong the other way, instead of leaving it there he took it back to the line. Husband flagged him down after waiting for 15 min for the check. NO ONE was up front. No one would have noticed we left. I payed the bill by waiting for 5 min for him to take my card, I stepped to the bar asked the manager to take my money. he asked how was everything I said not good the service sucked and was really bad. He looked at me and had the gaull to ask me «was he inattentive??» Really yes. The manager never offered to discount the check or take care of it for the poor service. The food is usually amazing and honestly the BEST Tiramisu in the city.

good service and free live music looked like small kitchen for two dining rooms but staff did good job.

Staff is always friendly and attentive.
Food is always fabulous!
Prices are great.
One of the best Pizza’s in town!
Try it, you’ll like it…