Villa-O
4514 Travis St # 132
Dallas, TX 75205-5454
(214) 780-1880
www.villaorestaurant.com
Price: $$-$$$
Villa-O is located on Travis and Knox, right across the street from Trece (which is its sister restaurant). Villa-O does the same Monday night promotion as Trece...free appetizer and entree. You have to make reservations for this promotion, and I recommend calling wayyy ahead for Villa-O since it gets booked very quickly. It was packed today when we arrived and continued to have a steady flow of new customers even as we were leaving.
I had high hopes for Villa-O...I was told it was really good and from their website I was looking forward to the organic ingredients and home made pasta!!
We were warmly greeted by our waiter as we were seated. My sister and I ordered a cocktail to share. The Original "Frozen Sfuzzi" (frozen house specialty of Prosecco and white peach nectar) $8~ I love peachy cocktails so I thought we'd give it a try. And my dad ordered a beer: Moretti (an Italian beer) $5~ The Sfuzzi was soooo freaking strong. There was only a hint of peach, it was pretty much pure alcohol... Wayy too strong for me, and we ended up not really drinking it.
Once we ordered our drinks they served us some free bread. The bread was really good. Moist and full of herbs and flavor. They also had some olive oil infused with herbs and garlic on the side for dipping.Our orders were taken after the drinks were served. The waiter was very helpful by letting us know which selections were better than others.
For starters I got the Caesar Salad (organic romaine tossed with polenta croutons) $8~
The salad was very fresh and not doused with dressing. But there was A LOT of cheese on it. There was grated parmesan as well as slices of another cheese (I'm thinking Pecorino Romano?? I'm not sure...I'm definitely not a cheese expert). I scraped off most of the cheese. The polenta croutons were interesting...I wasn't a fan of the texture but it had a tomato/herb flavor that was quite good.My mom ordered the Organic Tomato, Onion and Cucumber Salad (tossed with organic red wine vinaigrette; served with garlic crostini) $7~
The veggies were very fresh and the colors were vibrant. It was underseasoned though. It definitely needed some salt/pepper or maybe vinegar.The service was SOO much better than Trece. Our waiter, Michael, got upset because three of us got our Caesar Salads before my mom got hers (even though they brought her plate like 2 minutes after...) He genuinely apologized for her wait. I was like "wow...that's some service!" He was super friendly! :)
Next are the entrees...
I got the Penne Pasta with Vodka Tomato Sauce and Organic Turkey Meatballs $17~
The portions of the entrees were smaller than most Italian restaurants but it was a good size. The penne was WONDERFUL. The pasta was cooked perfectly, the turkey meatballs were one of the best meatballs I have ever had. They were so flavorful and tender! The sauce was a tomato cream, there wasn't too much of it so it wasn't too heavy. And there was just enough cheese on the top melting into the pasta to add more layers of flavor. It was a delicious dish.My sister and dad ordered the Wagyu Beef Lasagna $15~
Wagyu beef is from several breeds of cattle that naturally have more marbling with naturally enhanced flavor, tenderness and juiciness. They are generally higher quality and thus more expensive. It was cooked really well and the beef had lots of flavor...and of course lots of layers of meat, sauce and cheese.My mom got the Chicken Cacciatore with white wine Risotto $16.95~
I wasn't really sure what Chicken Cacciatore was before tonight. It is really YUM! It's basically braise chicken. Chicken cacciatore is a classic Italian dish, also referred to as hunter’s stew; with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, herbs, often bell pepper, and sometimes wine. The chicken was sooo tender it was falling off the bone. The flavor was full and delicious. The risotto was good as well. Normally I find risotto a little too heavy, but this one wasn't. I actually think this risotto could've used a little more cheese. But without it was still really really good. I think this was the best dish of the night.And there's no better way to end a great meal with some desserts! We ordered the Cappucino Ice Cream Pie and Vanilla Budin Carmello, which is like a light custard or flan (recommended by the waiter). Each dessert is $7~
Both desserts were delicious! The pie was chocolatey and packed a strong punch from the espresso/coffee flavors. The ice cream was nice and creamy, and really good quality. 
The Budin was so YUM YUM YUM. It was creamy, yet light, and had lots of flavor without being too sweet.This was a great meal! My dad was very happy and everyone had a good time. The food was wonderful and the service was great! We all said we would definitely go back again. And get this: after the discounts of the free appetizers and entrees, the bill was only $28 for the 4 of us! O.o How freaking awesome was that? We gave a nice tip according to the original bill amount. My sister and I both agreed that ~$50 for 4 people sure as hell beats $50 a pop at Al Biernat's for Restaurant Week and MUCH better food! :P
I totally recommend this place, even if you don't go for the Monday night promotion. With the quality of the ingredients, awesome flavors, and great service, I will definitely be going back!!
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~~CHOMP CHOMP~~
This was a great starter. The tuna was very fresh and there was quite a bit of fish inside the tacos. The texture of the tuna with the crispy taco shell plus the kick of the peppers and hot sauce was great. This was probably one of the best dishes of the night. The only minor complaint is that the taco shells were a little TOO crunchy. But overall really good...great flavors!
The salmon was cooked nicely and it was a nice size. I was excited about the wasabi part since I love wasabi. But I realized what they did was basically take those wasabi covered peas and sprinkled them on top of the fish. The crumbles were very hard...I could hardly chew it...it felt like I was chewing fish scales. Bummer... My favorite part was the coconut rice. It was slightly sweet and you can totally taste the coconut, but it wasn't overpowering. It's sad when the side is better than the main protein.
I really liked this dish. My pork chop was cooked nicely...I ordered it medium...and had a nice seared crust on it. The marinade on the pork was slightly sweet along with the sweet papaya with the beans. They put a dash of sriracha over the plate and that gave it a nice spicy kick to contrast the sweetness. Also there was plenty of arugula so I still got to have a salad after all. But others were not so lucky. The other 2 people that got the chops didn't enjoy it as much. Theirs were overcooked and hard to cut. So they were less than impressed.
I've never had Bucatini pasta before (its like a thick spaghetti but it's hollow). It was delicious. I love thick pasta...especially when they are cooked just right, which they were. It wasn't mushy, it was al dente with just the right bite of texture. The sauce was also very delicious...not too sour like some other marinara. The scallop I tried was overcooked though...slightly rubbery. So minus the scallops, I really enjoyed the pasta dish.
I had a bite...it was pretty good...nice and creamy with the hard sugar shell on top. But it was like most other creme brulees I've had in the past so nothing amazing about it.
I like the taste of coconut, but I hate the texture of shredded coconut. My one bite of it was filled with shredded coconut....GROSS! It was quite sweet...my friend couldn't finish it because it was too sweet.
The pie was pretty good and you can't go wrong with vanilla bean. It was also very sweet and quite dense. I'm not a fan of pie so I can't really say much more about it.
It was basically vanilla ice cream with toffee bits on top...but it was delicious. The bread pudding was super chocolatey...and the parts that were actually soft and moist was really good. My piece was an edge piece or something because parts of it was quite hard. The portion size was quite big...the dessert started out pretty good, but the more I ate the sweeter it became. Usually the cold ice cream cuts some of the sweetness, but because the ice cream was mixed with toffee bits, it was also really sweet. And on top of that we were drinking the creamy cocktail. I managed to eat most of my dessert but got so overwhelmed with the sugar that I quickly developed a stomach ache and I couldn't even finish my yummy drink.. :'( I think if they had made the portions smaller, it wouldn't get so sweet. And I can take sweet...desserts are my favorite, so it's saying A LOT when something is even too sweet for me!
The salad was very good and it had a lot of different components. Everything was very fresh and had lots of flavor except the tuna. I definitely tasted some of the curry but I wish it could've been stronger and a bit more seasoned. There was a flavor in the vinaigrette that I couldn't quite figure out...it had a floraly scent and taste. It was different and very refreshing.
We ordered medium rare but the steak was a little overcooked. I'd say more like medium to medium well...a little tougher than I wanted. But the flavor was still good. The french fries were thinly sliced potatoes that were fried. They were super crispy and sooo yummy! They sprinkled some sort of seasoning on the potatoes...we couldn't stop eating them!
I have yet to try any other dessert at Roy's because I HAVE to have the chocolate souffle. It is in my top 5 of best desserts of all time!!!! It was just as good as always...and never big enough! The chocolate in the middle oozed out as we cut into it, and the vanilla bean ice cream is always a classic pairing to the chocolate. Warm, gooey, and chocolatey...one of the best combos EVER! :D
If you ever go to Roy's, you HAVE to get the butterfish. The colors on the plate are so vibrant and fantastic. And it tastes even better than it looks! It is soooo tender that it literally melts in your mouth...no joke! It was delicious! The creaminess of the wasabi sauce with the steamed rice and the fish was just amazing. I recommend this dish to everyone when I mention Roy's. This and the souffle are MUST HAVES when you dine there. Everything else you can go back and try...gotta have these the first time you go. You won't be disappointed!!
And at $3 a pop, I definitely had more than I should... hehe. The quesadillas were also really good, they just didn't come out fast enough.
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