We had a beef and reef for a Saturday lunch along with a great seafood special of a huge platter for $60. The food and service was great and even the chips were very good. We will be back.
Celebrate our friend birthday, coudnt be more happy with the food and service
Well done, thank you for your hospitality very much appreciated đź‘Ť
compliments to the chefs for the amazing seafood! And Thank you to all the attentive staff! On point villa! Keep up the good work đź‘Ť
Will come back for:
+ Focaccia
+ Prawn linguine
+ Chicken Risotto
This place was pumping on a Saturday evening service and for good reasons. The meals were generous, and the flavors on point. The service was warm, and efficient despite the crowd. We shared the focaccia which had generous amounts of herbs and cheese on top. And a linguine and risotto. All the dishes were well cooked and lovely. We also shared a seared scallop dish and a few of these were a little over although they tasted fresh and were well spiced. Prices are above average but not dissimilar to their neighbours but the place had a great homely vibe. A great place to come and share a few drinks and a meal with some friends in this strip.
Villa Romana is a fun and easy place to eat on Lygon Street. Staff are friendly and they make a fuss when you have a special occassion.  Large food and drink menu.  The place is a little dated, but that's part of the charm. You can eat at cheaper places along the strip, but we keep going back because we feel welcomed every time.
Very good service, staff are friendly and the boss looks after you. Pasta was excellent especially the clam one which actually IS what the name says it is compared to some places where they give little seafood. Ambience outdoors was good. However I found the chicken parma dry and the food is on the pricier end compared to other Italian restaurant near by which is equally as good.
the best on Lygon streetÂ
you can't find a better pasta or pizza aroundÂ
management are greatÂ
very nice atmosphereÂ
do your self a favour and try the lasagne its the best
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Strolling down Lygon St and the first thing you will notice are all of those annoying Greeters enticing you to enter their restaurant by offering a free drink or some other treat. So, just by chance, the guy standing out front of Villa Romana was one of the first Greeters that we came across and he was pretty much the same as all of the others. "Come in and I'll give you a free glass of beverage and a garlic pizza".Â
Anyway, we gave it a go because we couldn't be bothered with the hassle of other Greeters and it was surely nicer than any other restaurant I'd been to in that area... or maybe ever. We ordered a couple glasses of red wine and 2 lemon lime bitters. Firstly, I'm not much of a wine drinker but I actually ordered it for my partner but I had a quick sip of it and ended up drinking it myself. It didn't taste like your regular house wine but was one of the nicest reds I've ever had. The lemon lime bitters of my friends came with a noticeable amount of alcohol in it, which they weren't expecting to get since it was 'free'.Â
Now, the food. We got that gratis large super-tasty garlic pizza and it kept us happy until the mains came out. All four of us ordered a different meal and all four of us were exceptionally happy with the taste and quantity. Although, my friend who got a pesto gnocchi dish probably could have done with a handful more of gnocchi. I couldn't believe that every one of us got such tasty dishes.Â
Also, on entering the restaurant, we told the Greeter that we were out for my friends birthday and he said that he would organise a surprise. So, just after we'd paid the bill, the Greeter came over and got us all to sing happy birthday... and then he went into his own little solo for about a minute singing all of these other songs. Funny and slightly quirky! And then, they brought out a free cake for the birthday girl and four spoons to share. We were just about to head Brunettis for dessert but the cake was so delicious, that we didn't have to. All in all, this is probably one of the best dining experience I've had. If you read this review and decide to go there, I hope it's as enjoyable.Â
Tip: don't pre-book a table otherwise you forgo all of those little treats they try to entice you with to eat at their restaurant.
Interesting. Got dragged in by guy out the front with promises of free garlic bread and virgins in heaven (we did get free garlic bread), the food was pretty good, three of us rated our meals as 9 or better, the seafood spaghetti got a 10. The fussy one gave his pizza a 5, but seriously, how can any pizza be a five? Service was Ok, perhaps a fraction slow, and not worthy of a tip, but overall the experience was good. I would go back, but probably without the fussy 14 yo, he would just make it miserable! Had a preconceived idea before he walked in that he wasn’t going to like it and of course it came true!
avec mon amie nous avons mangé des spaghettis alla scoglio, une pure merveille, le service était parfait et rapide, la serveuse s'est même proposé de nous prendre en photo, je conseille vivement ce restaurant. Parfait.
I found myself dining here for a friends birthday dinner as this is her favourite restaurant on Lygon. While I enjoyed my meal I didn't see how this was preferable to any of the many other Italian restaurants peppering the street. The menu reads almost verbatim from the surrounding similar offerings. Having said that there are plenty of options available and all at quite reasonable prices. I had the pesto gnocchi which was delicious as it always is being conceptually a dish that i adore. Unless it's stogy it's hard to stuff up heavenly gnocchi in my opinion as I just love the little pillows of joy so much
Pretty family friendly vibes inside and quite a casual atmosphere. Amiable service
My favorite Lygon Street restaurant. European vibe, excellent friendly service and a menu, even though it has changed somewhat, that keeps me going back when in the area.
Had lunch in this nice Italian and have to say that the street (Lygon street) where it's located has pretty serious competition.. but they definitely delivered.
Had lamb cutlets - and it was fantastic dish. Lamb was just perfect.. fries crispy and yummy. So often restaurants can have effort with fries.. here they do. Perfect!
Service was excellent. After main had some crumbled leftovers on table and waitress quickly wiped table clean before the dessert. All these little things together... easy 4.0
Was not so happy about tiramisu.. maybe should have taken creme brûlée... to make it 4.5.
Ordered one of their pizzas and honestly one of the best pizzas I have had. I don't know if it was because I was super hungry but got one to share and I ended up having 7 slices while my friend had one and watched me devour it all hahah! I wasn't fully satisfied as I was still hungry, the pizza was thin and wasn't as filling as I thought for the price but still great! Overall, good setting, good service and good food, would go again for the pizza :)
First time on Lygon street since we has kids and to be honest I was nervous as no kids menu on the website. We were seated out the back so was perfect. 3 big tables for a surprise 30th and I don't think anyone left hungry or disappointed. Everything was great. Very good service and very accommodating. I had a delish pasta and hubby the steak and he said it was in the top 3 of his life and he is a big steak lover so that's a big call.
Now we’ve moved to Brunswick expect less reviews for Northcote and more for this side of town.
Lygon Street (the Carlton end – not the Brunswick one) – in my opinion is the most over rated strip of food in Melbourne. The same thing over and over and over with similar prices and not great quality.
Though B and I were craving pasta so off we went and we chose Villa Romana after walking both sides of the strip. A good decision on our part.
B went with the Fettuccini Carbonara and I went with the Pappardelle alla Popeye.
The carbonara was sufficiently rich and definitely a big serving. No let down there but the Popeye was superior I felt. The bacon was well cooked, the right amount of mushrooms and spinach and the sauce was deliciously smooth.
The wine was pretty good and overall it was a rather cheap night.
Overall it was a good experience. The staff were a little inattentive but it was busy so not a huge deal.
We will be back to try a few more dishes.
Staff were very polite and fast, food was delicious and perfectly timed! Would 100% recommended coming here! Quite cheap for such high quality food!
It's the only place I will eat in this part of Lygon St. I have my favourites but everything is good. Perfect Italian, simple ingredients cook to enhance there true flavours. The prices are reasonable and the service is always outstanding.
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Went for dinner here last night and we enjoyed it. There was a good wine list to choose from, with some wines I haven't seen elsewhere. We ordered a garlic pizza for entree and then two steaks, a veal dish and a pizza for mains. The steaks were cooked to perfection, but they were quite fatty. The sauces were delicious and the vegetable side was worth ordering as it was very tasty. The pizzas were very nice, wood fired and thin based. The veal dish arrived with olives even though we ordered it without olives, but it was still incredibly tasty and cooked perfectly. The veal was melt-in-the-mouth excellent.
Staff's were attentive and friendly (but perhaps a little inexperienced) and the experience was good. Recommended.
EDIT 08/12/16: Returned here again not long ago and the place was even better. Â Got some great advice on where to by gluten free bread from the manager who overheard us discussing what one of our party with a stomach condition could eat. Â The food was great, the service was great and the price affordable. Â Try the veal (pictured) it's a winner!!
Friendly staff. Best gnocchi I have ever eaten! (Sundried tomato, spinach with fontina cheese and parmesan. SO good.)
I went back specifically to eat the same gnocchi I had had a few weeks earlier. Boyfriend enjoys the pizza and gnocchi too.
Staff is really courteous and sweet . Like every other place they didn't have much option in vegetarian but whatever we ordered it wasn't bad.
But I didn't see much effort done on vegetarian dishes it was edible but nothing great so if you wanna try vegetarian then you can skip the place but what I have heard from my friends the place is really nice to enjoy your a chicken pizza with wine
Came here for Sunday lunch. Staff were lovely and attentive. We all enjoyed our meals however one thing that I found odd was that when offered Parmesan cheese it wasn't fresh but the powder version you would find at la porchetta. I worked in a restaurant for 5 years and we always offered fresh graded in front of the customers. I think Villa Romana should look into this ASAP!
Better than we expected , the seafood platter was good but a bit overpriced . Service was good and I will admit meals were slow to come but we would come again. Better value options out there however.
One of our favourite restaurants in Lygon Street. Very pleasant atmosphere eating on the verandah watching the world go by and yet the noise and action does not interfere with a cosy dining experience. A large list of menu options and staff are very accommodating of dietary issues. Unfortunately GF options are not marked on the menu and this would greatly assist meal selection - currently waiters have to check each meal with the chef. On our recent visit after double checking on a seafood sauce it had to be removed from the meal, because it was not GF, however fortunately this was resolved with minimal fuss.
Nice dine in restaurant. We enjoyed the food and service. Extremely friendly staff and they need special recognition. Lamb shanks was my personal favourite and good pizzas too. Will come back!
I first visited Villa Romana after the reading a blog called Spaghetti Blogenese, that rated VR's spag bol as being #3 in Melbourne. I believe it is without a doubt, the very best there is! Great service, friendly atmosphere, I love it here.
I like this little authentic Italian place on Lygon street. The old man who is the owner was extremely friendly (it helped he threw in a bottle of wine on the house). The food was full of flavour and cooked to perfection.
Amazing. One of my favourite places on Lygon street. A beautiful place with the loveliest staff and incredible food! They clearly take pride in the rich flavours served to their customers, I couldn't fault any of the pasta sauces and between us we had a few!
Joined a collegue here for lunch...both being in the hospitality industry we were happy with service and food. Not a standout but above average on a street liaded with good Italian restaurants.
Amazing food and service thank you see you soon when in melbourne
Perfect Italian food in the heart of city. Tried garlic prawns loved the sauce
Gnoichi is out of world with nice can't sauce
Perfect Italian food in the heart of city. Tried garlic prawns loved the sauce
Gnoichi is out of world with nice can't sauce
Amazing Service & Food !. We came here last night for dinner unintentionally and OH MY we were blown away by a charismatic gentlemen who greeted us walking by. He was an absolute professional and non invasive who warmly welcomed us.
We were promptly seated and menus given in a timely fashion.
Our waiter (I found out his name was "Johnny") professional & gently came and placed our cutlery with out interrupting our conversation.
We ordered bruschetta to start, the Rib Eye steak, pasta (forgot what it was called) every was served to perfection.
Hats off to the Chef who cooked my husbands steak it was amazing and mouth watering just like a steak should be ! and OMG those chips that came with it were delicious !! Pasta was beautifully prepared a decent size serving def value for money !
I noticed this restaurant is under new management and if I was to read any negative reviews I will find it hard to believe.
I can finally say I have found a restaurant I can keep coming back too.
Well done guys !!
7/10. Food was great, fast service, decent pricing, massive servings. Be prepared to loosen your belt.
Absolutely loved it!! I had the villa romana pizza and my boyfriend had the seafood trigani and both were great! Will definitely be back ... And everyone should try the warm sticky date pudding too ;)
The best spaghetti marinara in melbourne always go here just for the marinara I love it massive portion an not just crappy old seafood it's amazing keep it up guys
Likes It. Doesn't matter how often i come here and with a small or large group of people and no matter how busy they are, i always get good service and really good, tasty food. If you are on Lygon Street and not sure where to eat (as there are just so many places) this is worth a try. Really like this place and will continue to go back regularly.
Local hangout. I like seating outside and no matter how many times I have been there, my favourite is the Spaghetti Marinara. Yummm!! Quick, easy and al dente.
Been coming to Villa for a while now! I always have the fish of the day!!! Never disappoints! Had the salmon yesterday and it was absolutely perfect!! Highly recommend!!
Very busy place n the menu is so exciting.. Really enjoyed the eggplant chips which was generous amount too.. The manager was very friendly n attentive.. Really enjoyed the friendly atmosphere.. Will definitely go there back
Good food, good wine, good service and appropriate prices! Thanks! :)
Been here a couple of times now since they have changed owners...the food is good but have noticed if you go on the weekdays compared to the weekends the food is slightly cooked and presented differently. Overall it's still pretty good...only down fall is the coffee which always tops the meal off but I have yet to have a nice coffee..it's always seems to be burnt, too hot and extra strong even though I ask for a completely different coffee...but quick easy convenient place to go too.
If you have not tried the eggplant chips you have not lived. Wow. Between 8 of us we ordered a bit of everything and shared. We had the prawn salad with avocado, beef capaccio, insalata capresito start! I would pprobably order the exact same thing again because its light and easy to share because you cant go wrong on those. They are my utter favorite ( especially the insalata capresi). We ordered some pizzas and they were amazing (very traditional thin crust). Its hard to find good non-plasticy pizza and villa nailed it. The gnocchi zucca was to die for (got eaten first haha) and the risotto was delish! Ill be back for sure! The staff were friendly and charasmatic thank God!! Loved it and wow..that chocolate souffle is Melbournes best kept secret!!!!!
Went here Sunday night with group of friends. Seated outside.
Food was ok some of the menu items were pricey. If u stick to the pasta/pizza average prices.
Had the fig mascarpone special ice cream which was nice. Overall was good As wasnt pushed into here as either places along the same side.
I've visited several times and always found the food to be unquestionable and service to be top notch. It is on the pricey side, but you do get for what you pay. Definitely try the Gnocchi Zuccha
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EXCELLENT & FANTASTIC RESTAURANT. Been going to this restaurant for almost ten (10) years now and we never had a single problem at all. Food is excellent - service is fantastic - waiting staff are happy and friendly and the Manager (Gregorio) is always available and very accommodating. Though some staff are not Italians - the food is authentic Italian with generous serving i.e., excellent value for money.
Compared to other restaurants in this Lygon Street stretch; Villa Romana is highly recommended. Prices are reasonable - 4 pasta will cost you about $100.00; 1 bottle of wine depends on which you choose = $12.00; Mussels is $18.00 = Total cost $130.00 not $442.00 like someone suggested unless otherwise you don't know how to account! OR otherwise you're just exaggerating and not fair dinkum.
We are business people and we go to this restaurant very often not just for business but also for family and friends. Family from interstate are always looking forward to dine at Villa Romana as well as our international clients.
Highly recommended and cannot fault this restaurant at all.
- Lou and Ramon
14th July 2012
As a big fan of Italian cuisine I have been to villa romana in Carlton several times and I can tell is one of the best places in town where you can find a great variaty of dishes and truly authentic Italian flavours. There is a great environment and the staff is always ready to serve you in the best possible manner.
If anybody is looking to try this great place I strongly recommend you the always great spaghetti marinara or the linguini with fresh mussels
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