La Fia is a new restaurant that opened in downtown Wilmington. I read several positive reviews about the new bistro and was excited to try it – it also has the same owner as Talula’s Garden in Philadelphia, which I enjoyed when I went there a few months ago. The front of the bistro is all windows and there are a few small tables inside – I think that I read they can seat 35. There is a small market connected to the bistro. The inside is rustic – lots of wood and exposed pipes and beams. Pretty nice and comforting, although it can be a tight squeeze to fit around the tables. The hostess was friendly, but advised that our table was not ready yet. We waited about 20 minutes to be seated. When we were able to sit down, the server was slow getting to us. And when we did order drinks, he completely ignored my husband, only taking orders for three in our party. We finally got that straightened out.
Looking at the menu, I saw a couple of options. My first thought was to ask if the risotto could be made without ham and with vegetable stock, but my husband cautioned against it. Instead, I asked if the seemingly innocent-looking pasta dish was vegetarian. Alas! They use chicken stock and could not make it with vegetable stock. There were some vegetarian side dishes, so after confirming with the server, I ordered the gazpacho and the vegetable bread pudding. We waited at least an hour for our food to come out, but they did serve various bread and rolls with butter while we waited. My soup arrived first, and it was barely a cup-full of soup! It was tasty – of course it had a tomato base, but there was a bit of spice to it. It was satisfying. My “main” was my bread pudding – they brought me out a slice that was just larger than a credit card and about ½-inch thick, for $9! It was OK – soft and chewy with some vegetables inside, but not worth $9. We did not order dessert.
My husband was not satisfied with his food either, so I don’t think that we’ll be giving this restaurant a second try. The next day, both my husband and I had severe indigestion. I’m not stating that this was from La Fia, but it was an interesting coincidence.
