NOTE: Villa Rosa's food quality has slipped during recent visits, and it is definitely starting to show its age. A 7.25 would be a more appropriate rating.
Located off of Wendover Ave. at 610 Landmark Center Blvd. in Greensboro, Villa Rosa offers pizza, pasta, soup, salads, and other Italian fare. There is a full bar, daily specials, and weekly lunch specials. For parties and banquets, private rooms and custom menus are available.
In my experience, Italian restaurants tend to fall into three distinct strata. At the lowest level, there are pizza-and-sandwich places that offer a few pasta dishes. They tend to be cheap, but you get what you pay for. At the highest level, there are establishments that appropriate Italian naming for their menus (Primi or antipasto for appetizers, dolce for desserts, etc.) and offer bold combinations of authentic-sounding ingredients. Of course, the culinary craftsmanship – or at least the illusion thereof – comes at a price. In the middle are traditional red sauce joints, the familiar, moderately priced restaurants that offer a wide selection of recognizable Italian dishes. Villa Rosa sits firmly in this middle tier, but it is among the better of this type that Greensboro has to offer.
Established by Sicilian immigrants, Villa Rosa is the epitome of an old-school Italian-American eatery. The large menu incorporates plenty of familiar names but little innovation. Capelini replaces linguine for a few of the dishes, but don’t look for squid ink pasta or an uncharted variety of ravioli: the requisite Alfredo, arrabiata, with clam sauce, and diavlo are all here. There is, however, enough variety here to keep everyone happy. In terms of quality, complimentary salad and garlic bread were mediocre, but an order of seafood pescatore really delivered. The sauce was sweet and flavorful, and the dish came with a copious amount of shrimp, scallops, and calamari (the lesser quantities of mussels and clams were fine by me).
Villa Rosa’s conventionality extends beyond the food. The décor is of the sort that you can image Robert Irvine taking a sledgehammer to: wooden booths, tile floor, off-reds on the tables and the walls. It’s tired, to be certain, but it isn’t garish or cheap. There is no shortage of seating, and even on a busy night, you won’t feel like you are eating elbow-to-elbow with another party. Service rates above average. My server was speedy, attentive, and polite, and one of the owners came around to chat with customers at another table.
Price-wise, Villa Rosa gains an edge on its direct competition (such as Elizabeth's). Most of the pasta dishes run from $10 to $13 while grill and Italian specialties are higher. This might not seem like a bargain at first, but the portion sizes are quite generous. Factor in the salad and bread, and you end up with a lot of food for the money. The $4.99 weekday lunch specials are an outright steal.
Villa Rosa is by no means a trend-setter. It lacks the sophistication (and the hefty pricetag) of Giovanni’s and the quirky charm of Bianca’s, but there is comfort in its familiarity. If are seeking reliable Italian cuisine in a welcoming atmosphere, make this your first stop.
8.25/10
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