La Stalla: Family Style Italian With a Rustic Atmosphere

Dinner and bocce sound like a wonderful combination. Add light, family-style Italian food, a glass of wine, and perfect summer weather, and Newtown’s La Stalla is the ideal venue for a summer night of fun.

The restaurant is housed in the 1929 Lovett barn, a structure that previously housed dairy cattle -- hence the name La Stalla, meaning “the stalls.”

Wood beams, stone pillars and artifacts from its days as a farm add to the experience, creating a rustic atmosphere perfect for the Tuscan-style food that father-and-son owners Vince and Marc Masso offer.

The restaurant takes reservations for parties of only six or more, so we arrived without one. The host accommodated, seating us outside in the shade of a terrace and with a view of the restaurant’s custom-built bocce court. Outdoor seating is a must for the summer months, and the bocce court adds atmosphere and fun.

On Tuesday nights, the restaurant hosts a bocce league with players competing for the cup that takes a place of pride behind the restaurant’s bar.

Our server Hugo was quick to the table with menus, delicious Italian bread, and flavored oil. He read us a list of specials: crab cakes, a veal chop and a bow tie pasta dish.

He advised us that the food is served family style, with large portions designed to share. A drink menu followed, and we quickly settled in with a glass of sauvignon blanc ($8.50) and a wonderful key lime martini ($9).

The menu is quite large, making our job of choosing difficult. We requested more time and Hugo obliged, returning after we made our choices. We soaked in the evening and waited for our food to arrive.

An outdoor bar sits in the courtyard, offering guests another venue to take in the restaurant’s charm. A TV showed a baseball game as patrons ate at the bar enjoying a cigar and conversation.

An antipasto plate ($6.50) was quickly delivered. A combination of portabello mushrooms, green beans, yellow squash, roasted peppers, artichokes, olives and Parmesan cheese cried out for seasoning. Lemon juice, garlic, or even plain sea salt would have focused the vegetable’s natural flavors. In the end, the table’s salt and pepper provided some aid and we moved on.

Steamed mussels ($9.50) with white wine and lemon juice were next to the table. They also lacked focus in flavor; the mussels seemingly had been out of the water a day or two too long. Once re-seasoned, the cooking liquor was perfect for mopping with the crusty, dense Italian bread.

My bride chose a special of the night, red snapper ($26) with sautéed escarole and tomatoes. The fish was nicely cooked but, again, under-seasoned. A squeeze of lemon or a little flavorful olive oil would have done the trick. The sautéed escarole was another recipient of the table salt to bring out its natural flavor, and the out-of-season tomatoes just added color and texture.

I ordered what was the best dish of the night: Bucatini San Daniel ($22). The combination of prosciutto de parma, walnuts, arugula and crabmeat in a white wine and garlic sauce worked. The crunch of the walnuts with the bitterness of the arugula, the saltiness of the prosciutto and the sweetness of the crab made this a well thought out combination, something I would order if I went back.

La Stalla is a beautiful restaurant but the kitchen lacks focus. The dated menu needs an update and, with almost 70 items, needs to be trimmed to help the kitchen reach its potential.

The atmosphere is rustic. The history of the barn is intact and works in creating the atmosphere. A private wine room, plenty of seating both inside and out, as well as hidden corners and balconies make this a venue perfect for large family gatherings, intimate get-togethers or just a glass of wine, bowl of pasta, and game of bocce with friends.

La Stalla is located on Swamp Road across from Wendy's. www.lastallarestaurant.com