Villa Romana Italian Restaurant

Reviews 4

EM

Emily E

TO BE AWARE OF BEFORE GOING HERE: * management/supervisor (wish I got her name) was rude and unprofessional to us through no fault our own. Treated us very disrespectfully. * several waiters carry the check book by stuffing it halfway down their pants. Gross!! THE GOOD: * The food is authentic and well seasoned, good prices, huge portions (although not the BEST authentic Italian Ive had) * Lovely ambience including a live accordion player who was excellent. Very nice. OUR EXPERIENCE if youre interested: When we were first seated we noticed that several of the waiters were carrying their check book by sticking it halfway down the back of their pants so that it was literally touching their butt. We were pretty grossed out but fortunately the waiter for our table (Michael-nice guy) was using a waiters apron and carrying his book in the apron pocket as it should be so we just let it go. However, as we got friendly with our waiter we mentioned it to him casually just to say we were glad he wasnt carrying his in rear of his pants. His response indicated that he completely agreed that its disgusting and has mentioned it to the owners/manager before. He then pointed out one of the owners/managers (?) and caught her attention. We had not intended to talk to management about it but since he called her over we had to. My husband kindly, with a smile, told her what we had noticed and how it could affect the guests, etc. She stared at him with a smirk and said scoffingly as she shrugged "SO. Its just touching their shirts. Its not a big deal." We were both taken aback. We are both professionals and have lots of business dealings with a variety of managers or owners. Never have we witnessed one so embarrassingly unprofessional. That aside, even just some human decency and common courtesy should move a person in that scenario to at least say "thank you, Ill discuss it with the staff" or such. Even if she didnt agree, a business person needs to at least be professional. My husband replied in shock "Oh. Ok...so you condone it?" And she again just stared at him with a smirk and didnt even respond. So that was our unfortunate experience. It was very disappointing, she singlehandedly ruined our impression of Villa Romana and we will definitely not be returning. We would rather spend our money somewhere that makes us feel welcome and respected.

ER

Erin Greene

I really wish that I could give 10 stars. Please bear with me, because this review will be a long one. This place was out of this world and the owner and staff are simply amazing. I started off having a bit of trouble placing a reservation via email, but that was very quickly resolved after some correspondence with the owner on facebook. Upon finding out that my husband and I were celebrating our 5th anniversary, they really pulled out all the stops! We were seated at a semi-private table, in what one of the staff referred to as a "cubby," complete with its own small chandelier. Within about two minutes we had delicious bruschetta in front of us. The tomatoes on the bruschetta were undeniably fresh. As soon as we finished that, we were presented with delicious stracciatella soup (chicken broth with egg white is the best way I know to describe this, I was weirded out at first, but it is AMAZING) and warm bread, which was served with FRESH, WARM marinara sauce! I have never been served warm marinara in any other Italian restaurant, and this was BEYOND delicious! Then came a lovely salad, and then the main course. My husband ordered Eggplant Parmigiana, which was cooked to perfection. I tried a bite to see, because Im used to the eggplant turning out with an almost crunchy skin and mushy flesh. This eggplant was perfectly cooked throughout, firm yet tender with an al dente skin. Again, topped with undeniably fresh sauce. I ordered the Manicotti di Ricotta - again amazing! We ate all of this amazing food to the ambiance of the live accordion music being played by their house musician. As we were preparing to pay our bill, we were in for another surprise. The bruschetta, the soup, the bread and marinara and the salad, did not cost anything extra! The only thing we paid for was our drinks and entrees! Then our waitress brought us two cannolis, complete with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle, with a piped chocolate "5" on the plate, complements of the restaurant. WOW. Our bill came to about $41, and it was well worth every penny. And to top it all off, another couple who happened to be their for their anniversary as well and had overheard the staff talking with us about our 5th, came over and left a $20 tip for our waitress. This was our first visit to Villa Romana, but it will definitely not be our last!

A

A Private User

My family was vacationing in the area and we decided we wanted Italian one night, so I Googled "italian seafood restaurant" and this came up with good reviews, so we decided to give it a shot. When we arrived, the building looks a little older and the parking lot only had one car (this was at 4:30pm - yes, we were eating dinner early), so we were a little skeptical. We walked in the front door and the lights were off and two guys greeted us. They werent opening until 5pm, but they went ahead and turned the lights on and sat us. The inside of the building is very nice with a great atmosphere. Our waiter was named Jeff (I think). He was great! Very personable. In fact, the best waiter of any restaurant we had all week. They put bread on the table like every other restaurant while youre waiting for your food, but this bread is the absolute best bread weve ever had. We had to get another loaf of it. We had never had escargot before and he talked us into trying it... it was great! I have two boys and they didnt know it was snails... they thought it was mushrooms and they are rather adventurous and good eaters, so they tried them and loved them... of course, they didnt like the thoughts of them being snails after they found out after they ate them, but they both decided that they were delicious enough that they would get them again. In fact, we all decided that we would have been extremely content just to come back and have escargot and their bread ;) My oldest son had spaghetti and meatballs, my youngest had a pizza and my wife and I split a seafood pasta plate with a variety of seafood (shrimp, scallops, squid, mussels, etc.). All of us loved our dishes and the prices were very reasonable. If this restaurant was in the city I lived in, I would eat there regularly. They really provide great service. I honestly cant recommend this restaurant enough! Stop reading reviews and just go! :)

A

A Private User

I went to Villa Romana with a group of girls for a bachelorette party on a Saturday night. We were hesitant seeing the outside of the building and the sign, but all reservations went away once we sat down. We had a phenomenal server and couldnt believe the amount of food that came with the meal. The bruschetta was probably the best Ive had, and my entree - Chicken Fiorentina - blew me away. Plus, the homemade soup was unique and delicious. All in all, probably the most authentic Italian food Ive had. We also received lots of food on the house - an antipasti platter (sooo good) and several desserts, along with a bunch of complementary alcoholic beverages, including a carafe of wine and house-made limoncello. We never had to ask for anything - it was always there before you could think to ask, even refills on water. Plus, the accordion player was entertaining and very skilled, which added a lot to the atmosphere! The whole group was very impressed and well all be going back every time we visit Myrtle Beach. I highly recommend it!!