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I've been here once before a few years ago and wanted to try it out again so I went for dinner with my father. We showed up at 8pm on a saturday night without a reso and there happened to be one open table for 2 so we were in luck. Nice little place with very friendly staff.
Food - for an appetizer we shared the Vongole a la marinara (clams in sauce) and dipped our bread into the sauce. Sauce was a bit watery and thin. Wish it had some texture, onions, something.. was average, 2.5 out of 5.
For my entree I had the Risotto a la bascaio (risotto with mushrooms & prosciutto) Very good and had good sized pieces of mushroom and prosciutto. I would eat this dish again and give it a 4 out of 5. My father had a spaghetti with meatballs and was very happy with what he ate. The place is very good priced as well. His pasta was $15 and my risotto was $14. We both would come here again in the future.
After the most horrific experience at Papa Joe's, we decided to give La Villetta a try. The fate of many restaurants on Hastings is either: they flop within 6 months of opening, they do really well, or they stick around for a long time.
I think La Villetta is the last-named. I'm sure they do well on some days, but unfortunately I never see a large crowd in here.
We went on a weeknight and aside of us, only another table of 2 and a table of 6 were there. It's a good thing for the diner because it's quiet and peaceful and you get the attentive service, but I sure hope they do enough business to keep them around.
The 2 pastas we ordered were of good size. They were both very tasty and I could tell the quality was much better than that at Anton's down the street.
The service was great. Very attentive and friendly. The ambiance was also just as great. The name is so fitting as the restaurant is just that - La Villetta. Very comfortable and homey with an semi-outdoor courtyard for private parties. I think we need more restaurants like this around.
Our bill for 2 entrees and a half litre of red came to only $30 including tax and tip (the 2 for 1 coupon really helped!).
I decided to take in some pasta; I don’t know if its force of habit but I find it odd the host/server would ask us if we had a reservation when the place is nearly empty. Then to top it off "let me see if there is a table available” When there are 8 empty tables right beside her in one room and 4 out of 6 tables empty in the other room. I did not enjoy being seat right beside the table of 8 with kids, cerebrating a birthday. Or the comment “let me light the candle to make it romantic”, sure when there is a loud table behind you with screaming kids lighting a candle makes it romantic, right up there with ordering your meal from a clown.
Service other than that was ok as she was the only person that seemed to be waiting on tables. We made our order and to my surprise and disappointment in 10 minutes or less she was already bringing out our dishes.
We were given bread and it was tough it was old and my knife could not cut it, I ended up ripping apart with my hands. Fresh dishes do not take that short of time and they were not well prepared. Small portions more appetizers than main course. The chicken of what was in it was tough almost as tough as the pasta.
I have had better frozen pasta dinners from Safeway for a 3rd of the cost.
I would have made a comment to the server about the quality but my companion a novice to pasta dishes thought it was good and did not want to make issue of it.
I had my 23rd birthday party here yesterday night with a group of 44 people, they did an amazing job. Everyone got their food on time ( which i wasn't expected due to the amount of people attending , which happens at most restaurants i've been to ) and we paid our bills by the table and everything was settled nicley. No mix up of bills =D The place has a fine dining feeling to it and the food is very reasonable. $14-$20 dishes. I obviously minimized the menu so it would be a bit easier on the cooks.
I am more than happy with the service provided the waitress were very attentive and friendly and the owner was extremly kind and helpful. I would suggest this resturant for everyone ! Especially group of parties or anyone that wants to take their date out. It can be a casual or fine dining experience.
We went here for lunch on a weekday - and we must have been part of the lunch rush. There was only one waitress and it seemed that there was only one chef in the kitchen!
We had to wait to be seated, wait to order, had to wait even longer for the food, and then waited for coffee and the bill. A casual lunch suddenly turned into a near-2 hour affair! wow. Was the food worth it?
Everyone seemed to enjoy their food - a companion ordered the linguine with prawns, another the spaghetti with bocaccini, mushrooms & sundried tomatoes. I had the veal cannelloni. It was good and very filling, but with the long wait, it didn't seem worth it.
I'd try it again, perhaps for dinner, to see if lunch was just their weakness.
This is my favourite Italian place, though I don't frequent it as often as I'd like. I have a strange love of bread, and this place has really good bread!!!! The dishes have always been really good, and I went here for my last birthday. I've never seen it super busy, which is just the way I like it. I enjoy having some space and quiet, and the servers have always been pretty friendly. The decor could use a little improving, but oh well. The food is still amazing! My friends loved it too.
My wife and I decided to go here on our first date since the birth of our little girl. The restaurant was mostly empty -- on a Friday night but we decided to give it a try anyways. The waitress was nice enough, but didn't know much about the pastas or wine. We both ordered the lasagna, and we didn't finish either of them. They weren't terrible, but they were very bland. The amount of cheese on them was over the top. They should substitute some flavor and sacrifice the amount of cheese- it would likely make this entree much better. Overall the service was pleasant, the ambiance was nothing great, and the food was unappealing. We have decided not to go back since there are many other Italian restaurants on Hastings and in North Burnaby that we can try.
We had the pleasure of dining at this cozy little restaurant last Friday night. We had very good food and wine. The girls who served us were informed and pleasant. (However, I did noticed a woman who looked quite grumpy while she was cleaning up.) The atmosphere was perfect while we dined with our out-of-town guests. I would definitely recommend this place to family and friends!
We visited la V last night April 3rd 2009 for a casual dinner with my Inlaws. If your Italian or European, you will love this place. The restaurant Itself needs some updating, but overall It reminded me of a few Restaurants In Italy. The server was a wonderful pleasant woman that I have seen before, I forgot her name but she was truly fantastic In the way she presented herself. The food, we'll I had the Vongole a la Marinara which was absolutely awesome, the sauce, the amount, WOW. I followed with the Rack of Lamb, which was cooked to perfection. My Inlaws, my wife, all were truly Impressed. If you are looking for a fantastic dinner at a great price you have to go here. Grazie
First time going to this place last night. Actually, I tried to go a couple weeks ago but it was only open for a dinner party. I did, however, see the menu and the prices were noticable cheaper than others in the area which piqued my interest.
The ambiance is quite good, and better than most of the other Italian restaurants in this area. It's buidling seems that it was actually built to be an Italian restaurant as it feels like a rustic house. The decor won't floor you, but it's certainly nice.
The serive was good, especially when it mattered. We were seated promptly, our drink request, food order and bread were all done quite quickly. I did notice that we were only asked how things were as we were eating once, but it did get busy - so they weren't lazy, and they were timely when it most mattered.
The value is VERY good. I am tempted to put 5, but won't go overboard. All the pasta dishes are right around $13 and the entrees at around $15-19, which prices it quite lower than many others in the area. The soups were a very low price and the appetizers were all under $10. I was curious about this to see if the food was a bit of a drop as well, considering that's barely more than White Spot, but...
The food was great. They brought out delicious bread, and the 1/2 litre of wine was very good (and only $12). I forget the plates' names, but mine was a penne in a tomato pesto with Italian sausage, bacon and onions. It was terrific, and only $13. The sauce was delicious, the pasta was fresh and firm and the meat was great quality. My wife had an even better plate and ordered chicken breast stuffed with prosciutto and mozzerella over a cream sauce. It normally includes veggies and potatos, but she opted for pasta and rose sauce instead. This was only $16 I think and was wonderful. We were too full (good portions) for desert, but will try next time.
I give a full recommendation to La Villetta. There may be slightly higher end places, but for this range, it's the best I've seen. Actually, it's better than many other Italian restaurants that charge 10-20% more than this place. Try it for yourself!
The service was good. Polite, cheerful and observant. The service wasn't fast but most people were there to chat so that was excusable. The display of food was nice and there were big portions for meals. The salad was small. Overall, it's delicious. Three people went for $62...and we're all very full!
I went there last night for my friend's birthday.
We weren't too big of a crowd -- and not too demanding either.
There were approximately 17 people or so. They placed us in their semi private party room that seated two separate long tables so that gave a nice intimate feeling.
The decor and feel of the restaurant seemed positive. The servers service was average...nothing you wouldn't expect out of the ordinary.
Unfortunately the food was a different story. A few of the dishes were quite bland. I ordered the shrimp scallop risotto dish that came last because the server didn't bother making note which of th two tables had ordered what dishes. So when she brought out the food it was basically whoever answered first, claimed the dish.
That resulted to a few people missing food and we had to wait for our orders to come up again. When my risotto had finally arrived the rice was particially cooked. It was gritty and hard. I sent it back to the kitchen - the waitress was questioning at first but brought the dish back in and later informed me that the chef would 'cook it some more'. One thing I didnt quite understand was that, my risotto was in a cream base ...why would they garnish it with wedge of lemon?? Would it taste better if I curdled my cream sauce?!
When it came to settling the bill, the waitress set everything all on one bill. I understand if the restaurant was busy sometimes it's easy to over look these types of errors, but we were the only tables in there aside from a few extras .... and we weren't at all demanding or high maintenance for the servers to always have to get stuff or fix stuff for us.
Overall I didnt appreciate the lack of organization of the servers and the food. The servers didn't serve us our food properly or write it down appropriately and when the bill came everyone had to calculate their own meals because they couldnt separate by table.
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| 3. | Little Tokyo's Sushi (124 m) |  |
| 4. | Big Shots (127 m) | |
| 5. | Tino's Bakery (131 m) | |
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| 8. | Kato Japanese & Chinese Restaurant (201 m) |  |
| 9. | Chez Meme Baguette Bistro (203 m) | |
| 10. | King Mahal Restaurant (235 m) | |
