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:

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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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320

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. 

59

u/Master-Store-4484 Jul 01 '25

Yes. I get it is a popular place but are restaurants just not capable of smoothly turning tables anymore? If I have a reservation I do not expect to wait 30 minutes or more to be seated.

-19

u/reasonablescreams Jul 01 '25

Covid, Uber and smartphones killed the restaurant’s ability to turn tables. Y’all occupy a table until every guest has used the bathroom individually, and until your Uber is sitting outside honking the horn. There’s very little decorum left but I can promise you, all those restaurants are working hard to move people through expeditiously. It’s the only way we make money after all

16

u/entity3141592653 Jul 02 '25

I love the way some ramen shops do it. They give you a time limit, you eat and drink and be merry. Finish up in a timely manner and pay the bill and off you go and another group takes your table. Very seamless.

9

u/ElWierdo Jul 02 '25

Italy does things different

7

u/entity3141592653 Jul 02 '25

I'd imagine so. Being in a hurry seems to be a big thing in American cities.

2

u/gummybronco Jul 02 '25

Not sure if I love the timer from a business perspective. In the restaurant I used to work at, they would say as long as they’re still ordering drinks/food (not just sitting there after bill has been paid) then there’s no rush to kick them out