La Costa Restaurant 209 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley, Queensland 4006

"Dined on a Wednesday evening. Found the service by staff to be fine, seated in a timely manner and staff friendly and well mannered. The food took a long time to come out for such a quiet time. The food, while tasty had copious amounts of Balsamic dressing which for such a strong flavour ruined the salad. Steak was ordered and came out as a steak with no sides other than a few wedges. Again, lots of Balsamic on the plate. The steak while well cooked Haad little flavour other than balsamic. Quite disappointed on that. Pizzas were tasty, but don't expect a huge amount of toppings (it's made more towards taste rather than quantity which was appreciated as if you want quantity over quality find a Domino's) Atmosphere was rather average and decor bland for an Italian restaurant. Bar decorated with several bottles of the same thing. Lighting levels low enough for an intimate atmosphere but the decor didn't match. The drinks list isn't huge but a reasonable wine list. Parking for area is rubbish if you are driving in."

"Overall, the experience did not justify the price. Ratings for each item: 1. Margarita cocktail: 2/5 - At $22, it lacked garnish and didn't have a satisfying taste, making it not worth the cost. 2. Burrata: 2/5 - Though the menu mentioned bread, the thin biscuit provided didn't complement the burrata and prosciutto well. 3. Lamb Pappardelle: 2/5 - The pasta was slightly undercooked. 4. Margarita Pizza: 2/5 - The pizza lacked authenticity and was only average in taste. The staff's service was mediocre. However, the ambiance was pleasant, with ample space between tables."

"A really cute place situated in the valley. Heaps of options for gluten free. Food is generally amazing. 10/10 recommend the baked scallops The arancini was a little too hard and dry 7/10 recommend the burrata (def add the prosciutto) Lamb pappardelle was AMAZING although don't expect huge chunks of lamb, instead small bits are stirred through the pasta. The steak was beautiful! We asked for rare and got a bit more of a blue steak, but that might be due to the thickness of the steak. Pizza was the uncontested loser here. Very disappointing and almost a little bland. 3/10 Drinks were alright. Cocktails were good although the menu seems to have changed from what's available online. Which is a shame. Only thing is, despite making a reservation and arriving early, we were told to wait and then forgotten. We waited 40 minutes for our mains, so don't eat here if you're in a rush. However, staff did apologise for the delays and explained that kitchen had some delays. Staff were generally friendly but they did seem very overworked the day we went. Overall, 7/10"

"What a night. Let's start with the good. Location is great in Fortitude Valley under the FV peppers towers. Nice decor in restaurant, but close the windows and use the A/C. it was uncomfortably warm in the restaurant with the windows all open. Service was pretty poor during the night. We had a waiter who was either on trial or new. Un ironed shirt not tucked in.... took food and drinks order, then came back 3 times to double check as he did not have a pen or paper to write down an order.... Ordered a bottle of wine was a nice pinot gris went to order a second bottle and after about 10 minutes the manager came over and said they didn't have any cold ones but could place it on ice. No point as we were halfway through our mains( it's a Saturday night at 7pm surely you should have plenty of wine chilled). Ordered a different bottle and had to ask for new glasses. Food the menu was nice full of classics and over all solid the two things that let the meal down was the over all lack of seasoning salt pepper ( none on table or offered during service either) especially in the pastas we ordered and the tiramisu that was quite dry and should of been soaked better. Would I go back? Probably not unless something changed. It's a shame as the venue has a lot to offer and could be so much more"