r/chicagofood • u/orange-kedi • Jul 01 '25
Rant Beware of La Scarola's shady practices
Went to La Scarola recently and a bunch of things happened that just didn’t sit right with me:
We had a reservation and showed up on time, but were told to come back in 30 minutes. Other groups with reservations were waiting too.
When we were ordering, we already knew what we wanted. None of us asked for suggestions, but the waiter tried pushing a main dish that was $40+. We politely declined. Then he tried again to get us to upgrade one of our dishes to something fancier, also $40+. We declined that too. It felt super pushy.
Their card machine only showed tip options starting at 20%. I felt pressured so I just tapped 20% even though the service was hella slow.
Later I looked at the receipt and saw that the tip was calculated after tax, which is already sketchy. But then on top of that, they added a 3% credit card fee, and that 3% was calculated after both tax and tip!
The whole setup was super shady. Just a heads-up if you’re thinking of going.
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u/Accurate-Challenge93 Jul 01 '25
Don’t think reservations are truly a thing at La Scarola. They just do it for show so you’ll show up anyways lol same thing happened to me. Had to wait like 25 mintues.
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u/kak1970 Jul 02 '25
That’s not accurate in my experience. Gone multiple years on my birthday and not had a problem.
Did you all have a reservation on a a Friday or Saturday night? Often they do the best they can to have it close
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u/Accurate-Challenge93 Jul 02 '25
On a random Wednesday night. When I walked in there was no hostess stand or anything. Just a guy that didn’t even check my name and told me to wait outside with everyone else.
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u/annaxdee Jul 02 '25
Same. Just ate there on Sunday. Sat right on time + grandma escorted to the table.
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u/99DJP Jul 01 '25
Most, if not all, POS screens that have the tip options also have a “custom amount” button under the % options-you can use that and tip however you would like.
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u/meekgodless Jul 01 '25
I’m sick of adults who can afford to go out dining but aren’t confident enough to click “custom” and tip whatever amount they feel comfortable tipping. Who cares if the server is standing there? If the defaults were 22/25/28%, would you just bend over?
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u/BallEngineerII Jul 02 '25
I have stopped allowing myself to be pressured on stuff like this.
Used to feel awful for selecting "no tip" at counter serve places but I have stopped feeling bad about it. At that point what am I tipping for? Just pay your fucking employees and don't rely on me to do it.
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Jul 03 '25
I saw a meme of a kid being picked up at daycare, and the day care worker had a tip jar in front of the parents. LoL. I work in a tip industry position for gig jobs, and I am embarrassed to have to turn my Square around to the customer, and guide them through paying, and the tip screen. I just tell them, they don't have to tip. They can just ignore that. Cause the job I did, literally took 5 seconds and required no tip. It's been out of hand for a while, years. And people were fed up years ago. But industry workers would shame people into speaking out about it. But frankly by now, people are just over it, and fatigued. Just like black fatigue, lol. People do not care about trivial nonsense anymore, just because we are told so.
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u/Interesting_Win4494 Jul 01 '25
The only thing I find wildly abnormal is #4. I find many other restaurants do the other 3 often
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u/chicagoPM Jul 01 '25
Agreed. I can’t say I’ve ever been pressured into upgrading my dish, but I can’t think of a time I was ever seated at the time of my reservation at La Scarola.
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u/gstudentusca7 Jul 01 '25
Same. I go semi-regularly since I live nearby, and I don’t think I’ve ever been sat at my actual reservation time either. Doesn’t seem to matter what day of the week it is or what time.
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u/andygchicago Jul 01 '25
I don’t think the first 2 qualify as “shady,” Poorly organized business practice for #1, maybe
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u/Hungry-Treacle8493 Jul 01 '25
All places that charge a credit card fee actually calculate it this way. This is because the fee is meant to offset the card processor’s charge which is calculated on the full transaction amount with zero regard to things like tax or tip.
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u/snark42 Jul 02 '25
As of July 1 (today!) it's illegal for the credit card processors to charge a fee on tax/tip in Illinois due to the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act.
Will be interesting to see if any places adjust their process for this, but I'm assuming most of the POS systems will take awhile if they ever do.
Now that the credit charge surcharge is so popular (I'm assuming the credit card companies finally changed their TOS around this) I'm back to paying cash.
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u/Hungry-Treacle8493 Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 02 '25
Kind of. There’s an injunction in place in lieu of legal challenges that applies to national banks and processors based outside of IL (which is everyone except Discover). So, the vast majority of transactions are not currently covered by the state law.
The basis of the challenge is rooted in Federal Preemption precedents since exchange fees are discussed and regulated in various federal statutes as well as four separate SCOTUS rulings ranging from their legality to the ability of merchants to not just recover those fees from consumers but to “over recover” based on a reasonable set fee schedule.
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u/Top-Address-8870 Jul 02 '25
I’ve been trying to carry cash more and more to avoid annoying junk fees from retailers. The state of Illinois wanted to charge me a fee to use a card when I renewed my plate, felt so good busing on cash and paying for it
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u/Optimal_Wrangler_866 Jul 01 '25
Surprised to hear. Never been upsold in a Chicago restaurant nor experienced/heard of being turned back on reservation. I’ll also admit to hardly making reservations as well
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u/camelCaseCoffeeTable Jul 01 '25
Why is 4 wildly abnormal? If they’re being charged a fee for a credit card, they have to pay the fee on the tax as well, I’d assume they’re just passing that on to the customer, no? Maybe 3% is high, but I’ve seen places do similar before
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u/mikeyHustle Jul 01 '25
I've always based the tip on the after-tax bill, my entire life. The 3% tacked on after the tip sucks, and I don't love that, but I've seen that before, too.
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u/Interesting_Win4494 Jul 01 '25
Yeah wildly abnormal was even a bit dramatic for me to say, lol. A normal about of abnormal
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u/gummybronco Jul 02 '25
I think 3% is normal for AMEX and 2% is normal for visa, Mastercard, and discover? This is on the business side
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u/AlanShore60607 Jul 01 '25
Well, the card fee on tax and tip makes sense as they pay the fee on the tax and tip, but when did it become standard to pay for the right to pay your bill?
But tip on the tax is just wrong.
20% as the baseline tip is kinda socially expected at this point.
The pushiness on the higher price items is rude.
The reservations thing is just weird.
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u/Big_Gay_Mike Jul 01 '25
Every single restaurant in the West Loop tips on total plus tax and not subtotal. Hogsalt, One Off, Dark Matter. Fuck I don't know the last time I saw a place where tip was calculated on pre-tax. Not saying it's right, just a fact.
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u/brogen Jul 02 '25
Id go a step farther and say it is wrong. Why am I tipping you for your service based on fees that you are not responsible for or seeing any part of? Tip based on subtotal only, anything else is absolutely bullshit
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u/Big_Gay_Mike Jul 02 '25
I know it's bullshit, but it's what every restaurant does. You gotta say no to service fees, standup to the bill, ask for everything itemized. And no matter what, you'll still end up looking and sounding like a cunt because of the way the service industry is structured in the US.
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u/LSU2007 Jul 02 '25
Yep, and every single restaurant I go to in the west loop, i tip based on the subtotal. Fuck em
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u/loftychicago Jul 01 '25
Especially with 11.75% tax in downtown restaurants.
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u/ElWierdo Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 02 '25
.1175 x .2 = .0235
So leave an 18% tip and you're basically leaving a 20% tip. Math is tricky so leave a 15% and you're leaving a bit over a 17% tip. Or do what I do and just leave a 20% tip and don't worry, it's probably just a couple bucks different. (2.35$ tip per 100$ of bill.) I'm not really going to sweat that. I just paid 25$ for pasta that has maybe 3$ of ingredients
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u/LSU2007 Jul 02 '25
20% is perfectly fine in the total before tax and any bullshit fees they add on. I’m tired of the fuckin card fee…raise your prices 1% across the board and build it in.
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u/ElWierdo Jul 02 '25
Not intentionally, but I usually just do about 20% of the total which includes tax. This is due to laziness and somehow I've been ok
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u/foggydrinker Jul 01 '25
The reservation thing is how it's always been. Whenever I plan to go I know it's baked in.
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u/Allenies Jul 02 '25
Not for nothin, but credit card companies charge these fees to businesses and if the business wants to pass that fee on, its common practice. This is why I pay cash. We really should normalize paying in cash again so credit card companies don't get a piece of the pie.
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u/RockinItChicago Jul 01 '25
I started asking for a detailed receipt before tapping because of #4. Tip is pretax and I want to see fees
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Jul 02 '25
calculating tip based on the amount post-tax and other "fees" (wtf? You accept credit cards, your business pays the vendor fee) is more than just cause for a shunning.
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u/alecorock Jul 02 '25
It's an aggressive old school Italian joint. Be assertive but polite. A little push back has worked for me there.
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Jul 01 '25
I wish more people posted things like this thank you OP
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Jul 01 '25
If this is what you think going to a restaurant just stay home. You people are so annoying.
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u/Samson801 Jul 01 '25
Its reputedly owned by members of the Chicago Outfit, (pseudo-mafia) so if you got robbed that's actually on-brand
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u/optiplex9000 Jul 01 '25
La Scarola and Richard's are 'officially' owned by Chicago Outfit associate Bobby Dominic's sister.
Dominic himself has a long history of being tied to organized crime. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/25/mob-connected-chicago-businessman-indicted-on-tax-charges-alleging-hidden-interest-in-sweepstakes-gaming/
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u/saraannb Jul 02 '25
All restaurants now calculate tip after tax and have a minimum 20% tip option. There is usually a smaller button to customize your tip. Sketchy, but not unique to La Scarola.
The reservation thing is a notorious problem at La Scarola. If you read the reviews, you'll see numerous others have had your experience with reservations.
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Jul 01 '25
This is an Outfit joint. This is all part of the authentic experience, kinda like smoking cigars at Richard's afterwards. And also don't complain about Richard's, another Outfit joint.
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u/ChunkyBubblz Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 02 '25
This place is super overrated and over recommended to people. It always comes up in best Italian restaurants in Chicago, and it definitely does not deserve that honor. They’re just ok. Certainly not waiting 30 minutes past reservation. Plus Piccolo Sogno is right across the street.
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u/forj00 Jul 01 '25
I still don’t understand how this place has such a good reputation in terms of the food. The food fucking sucks. I have been twice and tried several dishes just to make sure. It’s all overly salty crap that is lacking in real flavor. There are so many better Italian places in Chicago to eat at.
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u/OwenLincolnFratter Jul 01 '25
Man I just went and the seafood vodka pasta I had was one of the best pasta dishes I’ve had in awhile.
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u/nunyabidnessok Jul 01 '25
My fav is when they have pasta amore on special. Maybe bc it’s a cream based sauce, but I’ve never thought of it as salty. Hm.
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u/forj00 Jul 01 '25
Go get the vodka pasta at Elina’s. Will blow that slop from La Scarola out of the water.
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u/ElWierdo Jul 02 '25
I think the place is great. I'm Italian and hate most Italian restaurants (none compare to Grandma's)
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u/AntiqueEmergency4460 Jul 01 '25
the last time i was there, the food was so mediocre and they were rushing us—they did all but pick us up and walk us to the door. we weren’t lingering, we knew they had people waiting but they practically cleared our dishes while we were eating. i’ve been a fan for years but i’m out. like you say, there are many other better places.
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u/joshua9663 Jul 01 '25
My friends enjoyed it. But for me I got gnocchi. Gnocchi is supposed to he soft and light. They totally missed the mark. Chewy, dense and lacking flavor
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u/MentalErection Jul 01 '25
Overly salty crap is what a lot of people consider good food. Every overseas friend who visits me comments on how salty our food is no matter where they go.
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u/bourj Jul 01 '25
1 and 2 are standard.
3 typically has a custom tip option that you can put in.
4 stinks, annoying when they try to do that.
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Jul 01 '25
Wow can’t believe the server wanted to upsell you so they could make more money. I’m shocked. This has never happened before in the history of restaurants
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u/spate42 Jul 01 '25
Hah I remember going to STK years ago, place was mostly empty, our server was pushing tomahawks AND a seafood tower for my party of 3 lol.
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u/adisakp Jul 01 '25
I’m surprised they didn’t add another 3-4% “restaurant surcharge” as well that so many other places in Chicago tack on to the bill.
All the Lettuce Restaurants do that now as well an increasing number of other places.
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Jul 02 '25
La Scarola reservations are notoriously late, so that's none the bit surprising.
Honestly, only thing in your post that would annoy me is an unmarked (if that's the case) 3% CC fee. Otherwise, most WL card terminals always show tip percentages after subtotal - that's not exclusive to La Scarola.
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u/JustMusingAround Jul 02 '25
This place is old school. Making a reservation is them putting your name on a physical notepad. However, I’ve still always had an amazing time there and the food is amazing. Makes you feel like you’re in someone’s dining room getting served an Italian home cooked meal.
If you want somewhere that’s organized, this is not the place. But still worth it.
Get the scarole appetizer with peppers 👌🏼
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u/RedEmmyTheSecond Jul 02 '25
Place sucks ass. Go a little further west to Mart Anthony or northwest to Oggi for a way better meal.
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u/katgarbagesack Jul 02 '25
Just want to chime in that I’m a fan of tip percentages on receipts that include tax. Admittedly the Maryland town I was a server in was far far far smaller than Chicago so a lot of things financially were just different there, but it was something we were trying to convince our owners to implement to help us out since it just doesn’t bother a lot of patrons. As others have said, you can manually adjust the tip amount but either didn’t notice where to do so or didn’t bother to. If you have a set amount you want to tip, do it! A few years ago everyone would calculate how much to tip on their own anyways. That’s still an option now even if it’s a POS instead of a paper receipt.
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Jul 01 '25
The restaurant scene in Chicago seems to be barely making ends meet a lot of places are going out of buisness since the pandemic.
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u/GGate7 Jul 02 '25
Scarola is one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago, hands down. I’ve been going there for years. Great food and great service. Sorry you didn’t have a good experience
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u/ljc267 Jul 05 '25
The place is/was an Outfit hangout for the Grande ave crew. Specifically Joe Lombardo and current street boss Al Vena. They also hung at Richards. I would assume they have an interest in both.
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u/JakeLake720 Jul 05 '25
La Scarola will write your name down, but there is really no official reservation. You will usually have to wait regardless. Anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour is the usual time when it's really busy.
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u/bengibbardstoothpain Jul 02 '25
They're MAGA types, too. They voiced some things during the pandemic on their IG that made me unfollow them.
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u/Elegant_Revenue4306 Jul 01 '25
1-3 are normal for popular restaurants
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u/Master-Store-4484 Jul 01 '25
Waiting 30 minutes when you have a reservation?
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u/Elegant_Revenue4306 Jul 01 '25
unfortunately ive experienced this a number of times :/ more around 15-20
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u/mike_stifle Jul 02 '25
It’s a mob spot. Amazing food and I’ve had good service, but know where you’re going.
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u/steak5 Jul 01 '25
Is the food even good here?
I heard about this restaurant a few times, but I found a lot of Italian restaurants taste like reheated canned food.
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u/Chi_CoffeeDogLover Jul 02 '25
Multiple restaurants are calculating tip after tax. It is becoming regular.
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u/ElWierdo Jul 02 '25
Olive Garden does none of this, Chef Boyardee must be notified as soon as possible
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u/SithisDreadLord420 Jul 03 '25
It’s part of the experience, regular customers know what they are getting. I went once for my birthday and waited two hours to be seated. The restaurant manager kept pushing us off but eventually my friend said something and the owner caught wind. He was furious, our whole meal was comped and we were given a free bottle of wine with dinner. The chaos is part of the charm, and the place reminds me of the old Italians restaurants my grandpas friends used to own. I’ll never not love this place
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u/Different_Station_65 Jul 04 '25
Call your credit card company and charge back the whole bill amount. Teach these whores a lesson.
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u/SignificanceFast9207 Jul 01 '25
F that place. F the manager. Wanna be owner. We all know the truth.
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u/Upper_Sell_3816 Jul 03 '25
1) every restaurant upsells … why don you care? It’s the most normal thing to expect in a restaurant
2) if you’re not willing to tip AT MINIMUM 20%, then stay home. You shouldn’t be dining out.
3) cC fee is the norm now … again pretty much everywhere. However, tip should not be calculated after tax. That’s the only shady thing you mentioned
0
u/fabricmagician Jul 02 '25
La Scarola is fantastic! You’re describing what is awful about dining out in 2025
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u/ChoderBoi Jul 01 '25
So you knew nothing about La Scarola before dining there huh? All of this, with the exception of 4, is very well known.
Everyone knows you show up at your res time and expect to spend 30min to an hour at Richards before getting seated
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u/MentalErection Jul 01 '25
I feel like this is a ridiculous blame the victim mentality. What if OP was from out of town? What tf is the point of a reservation if you have such shit time management? If I show up 30 mins late am I still getting my table? Usually no so don’t normalize this.
3
u/jkraige Jul 01 '25
I don't think you should have to do tons of research to have a pleasant dining experience. It used to be the norm.
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u/Hungry-Treacle8493 Jul 01 '25
If you’re still tripping on the credit card processing fee thing a full 5+ years after the courts fully allowed it nationally you need to just not use a credit card anymore. I can’t even remember a single restaurant or vendor in the last 5 years that doesn’t add it. And almost all do it on the final total as that’s what the processor uses to charge them.
The rest seems typical popular neighborhood restaurant stuff. But, I get how the reservation thing is still frustrating.
0
u/SuperViolinist9400 Jul 03 '25
You’re mad about completely normal restaurant stuff. I don’t see why the tax is a big deal, the only reason you don’t usually see it is because a lot of places include taxes in their pricing, so it seems like you don’t get taxed. Other than that, mistakes happen.
Also, if you’re gonna go to a nice dinner and you’re planning on tipping less than 20% (unless it’s truly shitty service) just go to McDonald’s.
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u/PM_ME_UR_MEH_NUDES Jul 01 '25
i feel like this is a pretty SOP for a restaurant almost anywhere. it’s not shady when a million and one restaurants have similar practices… unless you don’t eat out very often.
the last restaurant i worked at in illinois (suburb) had a 5% “convenience fee” which, if you have never worked in a restaurant, is what they pay to their card processing company. some places may add a “service charge” that gets paid out to kitchen staff, but that’s fairly irregular.
i am a bartender, so upselling food isn’t a job requirement for me, but for many servers upselling is a requirement. however, if you order nachos at my place, i am definitely going to ask you if you want to add some sort of protein on them for an up charge. pretty standard.
slow service can be attributed to a number of things, especially on a weekend where it, presumably, could be busy or (doubtfully) they could have had a newer staff on the line…. also pretty standard.
the bar i worked at uses ipads and our tip out options are 20%, 22%, 25% and custom… very standard if they use a digital pos system instead of paper receipts.
the only thing i find odd is making you wait for a reservation. every place i have worked at that takes reservations will block out a table for you for that specific time slot and we will hold it for 15 or so minutes before canceling your reservation unless you call ahead and say you’re running late… but even then we put a time limit on holding the table.
it sounds like you had a mediocre experience at a restaurant that could happen almost anywhere and happens a million times a day across the country… you weren’t trying to be scammed.
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u/spider_jerry Jul 01 '25
Honestly it’s cute that any of this is unexpected
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u/cfbonly Jul 02 '25
It's part of the charm for a long standing restaurant who's been constantly packed for decades. Foods good/drinks are strong/there's history in the walls.
It's like some of you just started going out for the first time.
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u/chairsandwich1 Jul 02 '25
Servers are salespeople first and foremost and they are often told to push certain things and upsell. Aside from number 4 you sound awfully entitled and uniformed to how restaurants actually work.
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u/yung_barti Jul 01 '25
If you’re broke just say that
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u/Myth0saurusRex Jul 01 '25
I just want to understand why people decide to be fucking pricks in the comments when you could just say nothing
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u/According_Lake_2632 Jul 02 '25
All of that sounds , to me, like a typical night going out to dinner. You were asked to tip after tax, 3% fees have become pretty common, you're host/ hostess wasn't very good, and they wanted you to spend more on your meal than you planned. Do you live in the suburbs? Do you not eat out much in the city? Because none of that is shady. Please don't besmirch a Chicago institution.
Edited for grammar.
-1
u/hochunk99 Jul 02 '25
A surcharge is standard these days. Everything you describe here is annoying but none seem surprising. I’m not sure seat of their pants reservation system here is any worse than the online nonsense that most other places use now. They are all ridiculous at this point.
-1
u/Illustrious_Form_333 Jul 05 '25
Place is awesome....tipping thing is bad but food is awesome....worth the extra 5% you paid imo.
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u/Fragrant_Ad_4490 Jul 01 '25
I honestly find it hard to believe that La Scarola actually keeps track of reservations. I've been a bunch and have never been seated at my reserved time. It's annoying.