La Baia

This Italian restaurant is what it is - a good, old fashioned Italian restaurant. Great Italian food with plenty of fish dishes to keep west-coasters happy. My husband and I chose the traditional Italian dishes. He chose the veal parmisan from a list of veal dishes (our server told us a lot of people come here for the veal) be I chose the Cannelloni because it is one of the two dishes for which the pasta is made on the premises (the other is Lasagne). Man, it was good! Both enters were! Their trade-mark Italian sauces - obviously fresh and house-made - are the main draw. Loved the deserts too.

For those looking for upscale swank or a hip place to dine, there are probably better places - the 'in crowd' here mostly have grey hair hand have probably been coming here since it opened. They crowd in around 6 pm - because that's when that generation learned to eat dinner - so make your reservation later if you want a little more personal service. We made ours for 7 and got great service because the party of 8 beside us was already on dessert and coffee. But they so close early - although I did see they were still seating people at 8:40 on a Saturday night when their website says they close at 9 - so don't make it too late. Also, for those people that get disgruntled when the menu says "fresh" and they get frozen Basa - keep in mind where Basa comes from - Vietnam not off the coast of BC! When they say their food is fresh - they mean the house-made sauces and the pasta in their two signature pasta dishes and the Italian flavours in every dish! And, in season, the west coast mussels! Not the decor and the imported fish! It's Italian! Good food. Good service. Good prices. Good atmosphere. What more do you want?

Great traditional Italian the way mama could never make it, excellent service, nice location. This place screams authentic. The decor has not changed in 20 years and I love it, its a great throwback to fine dining in the 80's with service to match. Its fine dining service the way it "used to be".

Food... authentic. I go for the veal and pasta and have never been disappointed. Anyone who is complaining about food quality at La Baia either does not know anything about italian food or works for the competition.

I love La Baia, its a White Rock icon.

Great little spot. Intimate dining, excellent food, not bad service. The interior could use a little sprucing up though!!

All Round Excellent. La Baia is a small little restaurant with a very romantic and intimate feel - perfect for a date!

The gnocchi with rose sauce (not on the menu but chef will prepare upon request), is among the best I have ever had! Nothing on the menu that I have tried has ever been disappointing.

The service is fast, friendly, and attentive. They take reservations on weekends as well!

I highly recommend trying this little gem!

If a restaurant has been around for 29 years, there must be certain values in this place to keep it running. I can see how La Baia Ristorante Italiano in White Rock has done it over all these years. It is all about those traditional bold flavours that keep the locals and tourists coming back. I am pretty sure if a restaurant has been around for that long, there must be some off days when they meet a few unsatisfied customers. Running a restaurant, is after all, a tough business with a mostly hard-to-please clientele. People usually complains more often than they write kind words and show appreciation. But the point is, I did enjoy my dinner at La Baia and I appreciated the charms of this place. They had a great selection of Veal dishes, and I picked Saltinbocca Alla Romana. There was 3 servings of veal scaloppine (thin cut of veal), topped with prosciutto, and a sage white wine sauce. It was delicious. Despite the saltiness of prosciutto and the strong fragrant presence of sage and whi