Villa Romano Review
Located just outside of town in what looks like a large farm house, Villa Romano offers its take on Northern Italian cuisine.
Villa Romano food
Villa Romano focuses on a Northern Italian style of food. No, I didn't know what that really means so I had to look it up. Here's one explanation.
Appetizers
We've had the I Gamberi E Calamari Fritti as an appetizer. I thought the seasoning could've been better, but it was fine overall. I like the artichoke hearts tossed in there.
One of Villa Romano's calling cards is their cheesy garlic bread. For some reason, it's not on the menu even though the server always offers it. A bit on the heavy side to start off your meal, but what's not to like about roasted garlic, cheese, and toasted bread?
We've had a few of the pastas there over the years. They are on the stronger, creamier side which is supposedly seen more in Northern Italian cooking. And I thought they were ok. It's sort of like Allegria's food.
- Fettucine Con Anatra - sun dried tomatoes, oyster mushrooms, asparagus and duck with fettuccine on a porcini mushroom cream sauce
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Linguini Al Frutti Di Mare - linguini pasta with clams, rock shrimp, scallops, and mussels in a tomato garlic butter sauce
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Farfalle Con Pollo Affumicato - bow-tie pasta with smoked with smoked chicken, Prosciutto and radicchio in a pesto cream sauce
Here's a picture of their tortellini con formaccio which is a three cheese tortellini with pancetta, tomatoes, mushrooms, artichokes in a light garlic cream sauce.
Here's a picture of the Maiale Con Funghi - grilled pork tenderloin with a mushroom cream sauce, served with mashed potatoes and vegetables. Although when I ordered it, they didn't have tenderloin left so I had to get medallions instead. Medallions weren't as tender as as I would've liked, but the cream sauce was nice.
Villa Romano Deserts
Some of the desserts are good, and some of them are ok. They had this great gelato platter once that had white chocolate, peanut butter, and a caramel / balasamic vinegar blend which was a lot better than it sounded initially.
Villa Romano setting and service
Villa Romano is sort of located out in the middle of nowhere between Soscol and 29. The building looks like a big, historical house and sits on a plot of empty land. No landscaping, not even much grass. Just a parking lot and what looks like a big house on it with a highway sign to remind you that it's a restaurant.
From the Napa Valley Register:
Soscol House. Just north of the Dream Bowl, on the side facing the Napa-Vallejo highway was the historic Soscol House bar and restaurant. The building was later moved during highway construction to a site with access from Soscol Ferry and Devlin roads. It now houses the Villa Romano restaurant.
Even though Villa Romano isn't one of the best restaurants in the area, we still go occasionally because the food is ok, and it isn't a place to see and be seen unlike some others in Napa. There isn't a hostess babe in a tight-fitting outfit at the front door. It's not packed. People aren't screaming at each other to be heard. Definitely seems to be an older crowd there usually.
Maybe some see the dining area as fuddy-duddy and too low key, kind of like eating in someone's dining room. And maybe you could say the same about the food. Sometimes, you're just not in the mood to have an “experience.” Villa Romano feels a little family-like in the setting and the food. During the fall and winter seasons, there's a nice fire going in the fireplace, and it has more of a homey feel.
I guess I have one big gripe of the setting in that putting in electronic candles with an artificial flame is pretty cheap. They need to toss those.
Price of our meal
1 appetizer, 2 entrees, 2 glasses of wine , 1 dessert, tax & tip = $75
Other Villa Romano reviews and links
