Review La Villetta Ristorante - Burnaby

Tried it for the "Crave" event on the Heights, but they didnt have seafood medley available... Appetizer and risotto were okay. The curry pasta was delicious and very unique! Creamy and seafood tasted fresh. Portion size was pretty big too so we were able to share everything between 3 people.

I was really hoping this would be my little piece of Italy: the decor, and borderline rude service... it was all so promising! Starting from the menu, I knew I wasn't gonna get the Italian experience I was hoping, and I wasn't wrong. The mussel and clam was probably the only decent thing on the table that night. Tomato sauce in the pasta was way too sweet, and the Greek salad was bland. Pizza was... Ok. It was half Italian, half American. I'm all for support local business, but there are definitely better options.

Decent food and good service! It felt like our group was the only non-Italian in the restaurant, so it must have been super authentic too :) The risotto was pretty good, but not sure about the spaghetti since they are pre-made.

Traditional Romanian food, also good variety of Italian cuisine

I love this place, I only come here for events. But the food and staff are top notch. I don't know their regular menu, but they make some killer Romanian dishes and pretty much anything else. I've probably been here over 15 times and have tried numerous variations of the menu, I have never been disappointed. If you're thinking of renting this place for your baptism or whatever, do it. They are amazing. If you're coming in for a quick bite, based on the food I ate, I doubt u can go wrong.

Ordered the spaghetti and meatballs for takeout. Maybe it was an off day as the pasta was not edible. The spaghetti was cooked fine, sauce as okay but the meatballs were not good. The texture was mealy and flavorless. Perhaps they had put too much filler in the meatball mix. Unfortunately I had to compost this meal and felt so disappointed as this place has so many good reviews.

This is the best time of the year to go, no lineups like in the summer. The food is soooo good. Not overly expensive, yes one could make the same at home, but the atmosphere would be missing and maybe that little touch of Italian know how as well. Enjoy, it should be a great evening with friends a family.

This place is alright in terms of food. They have good portions and average prices for an Italian place. The decor is typical of an Italian restaurant. They have terra-cotta looking walls and that type of thing. They also have a 40 person party room that can be rented out which is nice.

The food was delicious and the service was top notch!! Would definitely return again!

Best lasagna ever! Friendly staff. Cozy place!

Great place! Must visit if you're in town and try the lamb and soups!

The best italian restaurant in town!!!

Awesome food haven't been for a while

So my husband I tried this place out the blue last night when our original plans fell through. Appon arrival, we noticed that it was packed. There was a mix of patrons with in, a few groups of 6, some with 4, but mostly couples. Right off the bat I noticed a few down falls: how loud it was and how packed it was. The area where we sat, I was struggling to hear a word my husband was saying, thats how loud it was. The room was laid out poorly, that staff and patrons could hardly walk free around the room. It felt claustrophobic, almost like we were a tin of sardines. I noticed there was no rhyme to the service. One person taking orders and 3-4 other ppl running orders. This was how dysfunctional things ran, we ordered 2 entrees and amongst the chaos, we ended up with someone elses appy (served by someone other then our server and we at first were charged for it, even though we didn’t eat it). The staff figured out the mistake, but was to late. We got our food. It was nice and hot, however my spaghetti and meatballs was very bland, there was no taste to it, almost like it was missing something. After eating I ended up leaving almost immediately after as the noise level was deafening. Trying to leave was a struggle as well, the tables were so close together, I had to ask my husband to stand up, his chair pushed in and still could barely get by other tables of patrons (this is a fire hazard if I ever saw one). Won’t be back.

La Villetta is a Burnaby Heights institution serving up European cuisine with world influences. The dining space is quite intimate and is divided into a more casual dining area on one side and a more formal set up on the other. For Crave the Heights they are offering a $19.99 set menu as well as several appetizer, pasta and drink specials. I stopped by to try their set menu as well as their seafood platter special and vegetarian pasta special.

Brought the family for my daughter’s birthday dinner today. Took plenty of pictures but completely forgot to take pictures of the food so borrowing some stock pictures which was similar to what we had from the restaurant’s website. Great experience overall. Free bread was warm and fluffy. Prawns appies were nice and juicy. Had the rack of lamb which was cooked perfectly to our liking i.e. medium well but still tender. The veal on the other hand was a bit overcooked and was a bit too chewy. Servers were quite patient and attentive to our needs. For what we paid, this place provided great value.

Our favourite neighbourhood Italian place-it has a friendly family-run feel! Prices are really good for the food you get-I love the pastas! If I had to choose a favourite it would be the cannelloni. The wine list is pretty good too! Sometimes very busy on weekends, call ahead-they occasionally close the restaurant for large parties too.

We stumbled upon this restaurant once when we were looking for a store in the neighbourhood. The restaurant has a slight European feel, and the place is divided into two sections. The fancier side was a lot more busy and noisy, so we opted for the more casual and almost empty side. Service was satisfactory, with a family-run like business feel.

One of the casual Italian restaurants we normally dine at. I tried several pasta dishes including tiramisu and I enjoy all the dishes there including the tiramisu. Friendly customer service also

We had a pleasant dinner here to celebrate our anniversary. Service was very good and attentive, my gluten free pasta was very good, hard to say it was gf...great! Sometimes it's hard for me to dine out without worries. Hubby says his lamb was good and tender..they forget his side dish but it was solved inmediately... dishes presentation..good..dessert was very well presented...had gelato ..was pretty and great.

This place is great. Atmosphere is good, service is good and food is good. At least I'd like to say most times during my visits. Just like a previous review, everything about the restaurant is a hit or miss. Some days its an amazing experience and others...not so much. I don't come here often enough to really know when is the best time to go but overall I would come again for their pasta which is very decently priced.

Amazing food compete with Italiano vino. The main dining room was covered in terra cotta tile which gave the room a nice warm feeling. The meal started off with a wonderful european waitress who had a wonderful sense of humor. The meal started with great fresh bread with real butter. THat was a nice change of pace...next, an amazingly fresh 'greek' salad. No pits in the olives! The came the main course of Lamb Osso bucco...meat falling of the bones! Yum. <br/><br/>Long story short: we'll be back.

Greatest time ever. I went to this place yesterday with my boyfriend. From downtown it took me about 25 min with bus and Place was very close to bus station so we didn't need to look for the restaurant. When I got there there are two ladies working and they were so nice and warm. Ordering food was easy and quick and whatever we ordered was amazing I found Greek salad was just my style! I normally don't like to eat Greek salad because others only gives you 3 olives with bunch of cucumber n onion but little bit of feta cheese n tomato. My boyfriend ordered soup also good. Our pasta was so lovely!! Mine was clam pasta and there was so many clams that I don't know how many it was. I am going back there again soon with my boyfriend!!

Popped in for lunch on a whim, reasonable prices so we sat in the patio, nice fresh bread braught to the table, friendly server, ordered the chicken parmigiana , obviously cooked yesterday and re-heated, pasta was bland, no flavour, very disappointing , won't go back

Great food, great service - they accommodated our large party without a reservation. Old Italian world charm! It was obvious that there were regulars, who the staff was familiar with, which it was nice to see. My entree was delicious, as was everyone else I ate with. The bread was generous and delicious. Even though the printed menu could use an update - the food itself was fresh and vibrant.

La Villetta. Just came back from dinner there, Sunday night 7 people. Overall quality is very good and price was reasonable. Would go back. Service was okay, waitresses were quite busy. You would pay more downtown for a similar quality meal for sure. The Veal Osso Buco and Lamb Shank were excellent.

Poor service, and bland food. I've always wanted to try this place out as it has decent reviews. Luckily, a groupon was advertised recently so I decided to purchase one. The groupon for two was sold out but the one for four was available so I decided to buy that one thinking they would be nice enough to honor it for my girlfriend and I. The appetizers came in about 15 minutes (it was soup and salad...)The food was ordered at 7:00pm, the main entrees did not arrive until 8:00pm. I inquired with the senior level waitress if she could check on our food, and she said that the kitchen was busy and was backed up. To me, that is an unacceptable reason. If she had offered to double check my inquiry and get it out asap that would have been an acceptable gesture, but instead she made excuses. The food was bland and soggy upon arrival. The chicken was overcooked and the veggies burnt and soggy.<br/><br/>Upon departure, I went up to settle the bill. I showed her the groupon and she redeemed it and credited only the paid amount not the promotional value. I asked her why wasn't the full promotional amount credited. She said that there were only two of you and not four. I did not even bother arguing with her given the that fact she should have mentioned and offered to me whether or not I would like to redeem it since she can only offer the paid value. But she didn't. The best $80 dinner I've spent. I guess finding the groupon wasn't such a fortunate event after all. I will never return to this place.

Groupon. Dont bother,quite possible worst restaurant .All four main courses bland.I put chili flakes,salt,pepper and cheese.There was no flavor.I only ate cause i dont like to waste food.My other three friends only tasted and rest of food went into garbage..That was the Veal Osso Bucco,Penne Abbriato,Seafood linguinni and rissotto was not even rissotto.It was a long grain rice...I do have to say that the bread and appitizers are good and drinks are very reasonable.Waitress friendly and it is an nice looking restaurant.So if u already purchased Groupon,I suggest Appies. We were enjoying ourselves with atmosphere,drinks and appies then big buzzkill when main entrees arrived,Veal was tender and pasta a la dente but again,taseless.A can of Chef Boyradee would have been more paletable

This place is a little hidden gem I discovered through Groupon. I had the seafood risotto with prawns and scallops, which was cooked perfectly. My partner had the lamb chop special; it came with seasonal vegetables and rice or baked potatoes. He ordered it medium and it was tender, juicy, full of flavor and cooked the way he had asked for. We had the tiramisu to end the night; it was so rich, creamy, and dripping with coffee. It was probably the best tiramisu I've ever had! Our server was really friendly as well. The prices were fair, with mine costing $18 and his $20.

A hidden gem. Just had our first meal here and it was delicious! We were a little apprehensive as the place only had a few tables but figured the reviews on here were pretty good so we'd try it out. Well I'd have to say that this is probably the best pasta place we've tried in the area. We shared the clams to start, they were fresh and yummy. The bread arrived hot and crisp on the outside. I had their pasta ala casa a vegetarian dish with mushrooms, vegetables in a nice tomato sauce. My partner had the special meatball soup and the house pasta with italian sausage, chicken and prawns in a rose sauce. He really enjoyed his meal. We finished with some tiramisu and espresso. It was a really nice meal and we will be sure to go back again. I really can't understand why there isn't more of a crowd as the food was yummy and the ambiance is quite charming.

Yummamia!. What a great find! After having a hankering for some pasta, we decided to check out La Villetta. First out came some warm, fresh italian bread, then we shared a Caprese Salad, which was delightful! It came with an ADDITIONAL salad on the plate, which had some sort of cold, plain tomato sauce as the salad dressing, that despite seeming strange, was quite tasty! Then the meal came, one of us getting the gnocchi with meat sauce, and the other a penne calabrese (with sausage and a spicy rose sauce). Although the penne was quite tasty, the gnocchi was the clear star. or rather, the sauce on it. Gnocchi is gnocchi, and can only really get so good, but this sauce was savory and sweet and tasted like it had been simmering for hours. Following dinner we had espresso (ground on a Rancillio machine, for anyone that follows coffee equipment!) that came in sweet little Italy-themed espresso cups. The decor of the restaurant was rustic and elegant, with wooden accents and Italy everywhere. It was a fantastic meal, and I hope to go again!

Very nice surprise!. Recently on a rainy Saturday night we stumbled onto La Villetta. We ended up here since Anton's was packed and we had to get to a concert. When we first walked in, the restaurant smelled a little old and musty, but we were pressed for time so we didn't have choice.<br/><br/>There were 4 of us, all very particular when it comes to food quality. <br/><br/>What a wonderful surprise! Starting with the warm, crusty italian bread that tasted as if it were right out of the oven. It was to die for. Good salads and excellent pasta dishes.<br/><br/>The Gnocchi with the tomato basil sauce was amazing. We all kept reaching across the table to steal from our friend's plate. The Risotto with prawns and scallops was excellent as well. Very rich and creamy.<br/><br/>I don't know if we will feel the same when we go back, but it was a great first experience at La Villetta!

...curry sauce was surprisingly good! Really generous amts of seafood too...

So La Villetta was a bit of a hit and miss. I thought the prices were pretty reasonable– although the dishes seemed small at first, we ended up getting really full off of what we ordered. The pastas themselves were alright, but there were some pretty big execution problems in terms of the sauces for most of our dishes, which to me is a bit weird at an Italian restaurant. The servers were also hit and miss– we had one who was really nice, and another who was a little brusque and made us feel rushed. Perhaps it was just that night and those dishes that didn’t showcase the quality of the restaurant (many people do like it on Urbanspoon)… in any case, I would be willing to return sometime in the future to try the other items on their menu, but I think I would try some other Italian restaurants in the area so I can get a better picture of the cuisine first.