Villa Nuova

This restaurant deserves it’s own little castle by the sea so it’s location can match the quality of the food and service. This is really a top notch place. Good wine selection, robust food

My cousin I want here for her birthday dinner, the food was amazing, the desserts were delicious, the staff was friendly, and the overall service was a 10! Would recommend to anybody looking to find a quiet little Italian restaurant, it is romantic, quiet, and really clean!

This is one of my most favorite restaurants in Washington. The food is superb! The owner is very kind and will do all he can to accommodate. The bread and olive oil is wonderful! The gnocchi (which is made in house) is perfect, not over cooked or under cooked. When you walk in the restaurant has beautiful paintings each room with a different color, and different mural. The only con I can think of is the waiters, I was literally asked by one of the waiters for a tip. However that should not keep you from trying the amazing food, as well the owner is very nice! Hopeful he will hire on new waiters as they don’t belong there and are a horrible representation of this beautiful restaurant.

This review is written in conjunction with the one for Lombardi’s, and is rated lower than Lombardi’s, as it was not open when it was supposed to be. To truly appreciate my UNappreciation for this place, you’d have to read the one for Lombardi’s first.
I ate here once at least over a year ago on the advice of some friends who lived in the area. Mill Creek is low on the Italia vibe, with non-​pizza places few and far between, and my mama-​mia-​starved friends had found this place through a coupon. For me, the meal was pretty average (three stars max), and I wouldn’t have remembered this place had it not been NOT open on a Friday night without any signage or message on their voice line, despite my friends calling and driving by repeatedly to get their Italian fix for the last two weeks. With nothing left to live for, my friends took the pot-​holed road to hell and we ended up in Lombardi’s instead. Our experience there made me hate this restaurant even more.
As a restaurant that’s been in business several years with loyal (albeit deluded) diners who look forward to dining there at the times stated on the restaurant’s website and on its door, it ‘s insulting not to inform customers as to WHY it’s not open on the busiest night of the week for such a long time.
Throughout my stillborn birth of a meal at Lombardi’s I called this restaurant at least two times and the phone just rang and rang and rang. A «We’re wanted by the IRS, so have gone back to the homeland», or «Guido’s taking the month off to audition for American Idol», would’ve been nice. Even if a restaurant’s closed for good, there should be a note thanking customers for their years of patronage. Just to close up without explanation is disrespectful, but seemingly in keeping with the negative reviews about the service here.

The ambiance is Italian with murals on the wall and music. The restaurant has about 20 tables for four and a couple of private rooms for larger gatherings. The menu is large. The bread is fresh baked and it comes with garlic infused olive oil. The wine list is great even the house wine. The salads, soup and caprese salads are great. I love the eggplant appetizer the best. There are a lot of choices for entrees the best one being pork ossobuco. The desserts are great especially tiramisu and spimoni ice cream. They have had a deal including appetizer, entrée, dessert and a glass of wine for a fixed price. Mr Santana is a gracious host. A great local restaurant.

Great service, child friendly, amazing warm bread and great gnocchi and calamari. I wish my kids at that well at home

We like to go here because it’s a hidden neighborhood gem, locally owned, and they have good food. We’ve been here maybe 4 times over the last few years and have not noted anything to complain about. We’ve always experience nice service, good house wines, no problems using a coupon if we have one, and their entrees come out piping hot and very tasty. I really enjoy their Carpaccio appetizer as well. I would choose this place over Grazie or Capri anyday… Any bad reviews must have just been an «off» day kind of fluke…

PROS: Good bread
CONS: Shit service, bad entrees
The complimentary bread was good, as was the clams-​and-​mussels appetizer. From then on, all spiraled downhill into darkness. Our water was never refilled. The waitresses practically rudely threw the food at us. The entrees were gross — drowned in sauce and unappealing. Definitely a crappy experience… and I had higher hopes for this restaurant based on other Unilocal reviews!

So my girlfriend and I thought we’d try this place out for our anniversary dinner since we saw a coupon from
and just wanted to try something new in general. Bad idea.
When we arrived at the restaurant, I figured we should have taken into account the fact that the signage was already poor. It looked like cheap Chinese restaurant lettering.
Since we had plans for after dinner, we had already looked at their menu and prices online and decided what we wanted to eat so that we could order right away to be on schedule. To start the downfall of this restaurant, the hostess wasn’t pleasant at all. She didn’t smile and she even seemed irritated at us the whole time. When the waiter finally came over to take our order, he curtly walked away mid-​order to scream our appetizers to the kitchen. We tried to flag him down to finish our order, but both the hostess and our waiter ignored us every time they walked by. The place wasn’t even busy — two other tables besides ours. We were finally able to finish our order when he came to deliver our appetizers (10 minutes-​ish).
We had the Bruschetta, Grilled Eggplant, and Calamari. All pretty standard Italian dishes that were completely messed up. The presentation of the Bruschetta was poor and tasted WAY too garlicky and soggy. It was basically just toasted cut-​up dinner bread with tomatoes and a crap ton of garlic lathered on top. My girlfriend and I couldn’t even see the bread until we moved away the tomatoes. The Grilled Eggplant was also a disaster. Its consistency was less than desirable since it felt like we were chewing on rubber. The tomato sauce it was drenched in tasted almost exactly like Prego sauce, which did not offset the bitter taste of the eggplant. Actually, I believe our entire meal was cooked with Prego sauce or something of the like. I don’t think I need to go too into detail for the Calamari, but it just felt like boiled seafood and Prego sauce on top.
Our entrees were even worse. My girlfriend got the Veal Cannelloni while I got the Pasta ala Chitarra. The veal in her dish tasted like it was expiring soon and they just needed to get rid of it. The sauce again tasted like Prego or whatever was in the appetizers. The only thing that I would say was even mediocre was the cheese baked into it, but that’s hard to screw up. She could only eat a few bites and that was it. It was hard for her to stomach something so rancid.
The one decent thing about this place was their desserts. I had the caramel cheesecake while my girlfriend had their tiramisu. Both were good, but the tiramisu had a strong alcoholic odor. When the check came, the total was completely different from what we calculated with the prices from their website. When we complained to our server, he went to talk with the owner, who so happens to be the cook. When he came out to discuss the mispricing on his website, he interrupted our complaint with his explanation that the prices were old and for lunch only. When we brought their to-​go menu from their front table to compare, the prices that were quoted there were entirely different than the charged prices. Also, if you were to look high and low, their website does not say the listed prices are for lunch.
When he finally accepted his deceitful business practices, he reluctantly decided to charge us his website prices. He told his server, «Just take off $ 1 from each item.» When I told him that was incorrect, he rudely said it was just $ 1. When I showed him his website again, one item had a $ 2 difference. His response? «Fine, ONE more dollar off then.» His server just subtracted $ 6 from our total. If anyone out there knows how to calculate a bill, he should have taken off $ 6+tax. When I complained again, the owner did it himself and finally came to the right total.
After everything was all said and done, we would never come back nor recommend this place to anyone. The service was absolutely horrible and their food was subpar given their prices. Deceiving your customers with false pricing is not the way to do business.
A few words of advice: DON’T TRUST THE PICTURES POSTED AS THEY LOOKED NOTHING LIKE WHAT WAS PLACED ON OUR TABLES and DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT COMING TO THIS ESTABLISHMENT IF YOU WANT DECENT FOOD AND SERVICE.

Pretty decent italian food. A bit pricey and the service is a little slow. It will do in a pinch

This little restaurant is our favorite little secret, but I finally just had to share. After a disappointing meal elewhere tonight, I felt inspired to give this little restaurant the bragging rights its so well deserves.
The setting is indeed somewhat less than awe inspiring, since it sits next to a Casino in a strip mall. That aside, parking is readily available and there was no wait.
The inside is very clean and very nice.
The meal kicks off with fresh bead and dipping oil. it was simple yet delicious. Addicting and delightful. I ordered the Osso Bucco (pork) that was the special and my husband ordered gnocci. Also a couple of glasses of wine.
Our server was efficient and polite. Non-​intrusive.
Our meal was sent from heaven above.
Osso Bucco: The meat was fall of the bone delicious and the mushroom/​lemon sauce was really, really good. It came with seasoned, fresh cut potatoes that were a wonderful addidtion to my dinner.
My husbands italian sausage filled gnocci was cooked perfectly, flavorful, saucy and garlic-​y. Perfect in every way.
I will return soon. I have been dreaming of Osso Bucco. It was the best thing I believe I have ever eaten. I swear!

Absolutely amazing! The food was great, prices reasonable, and there was live music. I will have to go here again.

Crème brûlée cheesecake.
Let me say that again: crème brûlée cheesecake. In the ranking of desserts, cheesecake reigns supreme with crème brûlée and other custards coming in second. A marriage of the two? Heaven, pure heaven. It doesn’t taste like cheesecake with crème brûlée toppings or crème brûlée with a cheesecake consistency, it truly tastes like the perfect blend of what a crème brûlée cheesecake should taste like. We ordered two slices to share between three people and I was regretting not ordering my own!
Overall, the food here is excellent and seems to be true Italian or as much as is possible a continent away. The lemon chicken is divine, although the gnocchi I had last time was also quite good. Bread baskets are common at Italian restaurants and often seem like an afterthought with unpleasant, chewy, flavorless white bread. Not here. Their bread is excellent and in fact is the reason that my sister chose this place for her birthday dinner.
Prices are not cheap, but for high-​quality Italian food they are more than reasonable and the cocktails are a great value. The place is family-​run, or at least gives off that vibe with il padrone welcoming guests into his home — I mean restaurant — which is decorated with scenes from the Sistine Chapel and photographs of Venice and other Italian locales. Don’t be fooled by the simple strip mall veneer outside — this is quality food, friendly service, and did I mention the incredibly awesome crème brûlée cheesecake!!!

This is a great Italian place. It’s authentic and the food is great. I love that their menu isn’t just a focus on pasta but have great chicken, pork, and veal dishes.
The bread they start you off with is awesome. I always decline for more bread because I would easily fill up on it.
Next time you want Italian pass on the screaming kid riddled old spaghetti factory and olive garden and give this place a try

Love this place, their food is so good. The white sauces seem to be made fresh and and people are so friendly.
Makes you feel like your grandma is in the back room cooking just for you.

Definition of Sleeper: n. someone or something that achieves fame after a period of invisibility.: The movie «Red Willow» was undoubtedly the sleeper of the year, winning six awards.
Villa Nuova has been in business for over a year and is definitely what I consider a «sleeper». Who would have thought that nestled away in an out of the way business building strip, such an upscale quality restaurant would make its home!!! It is truly unexpected culinary bliss. I’ve been looking for a good local Italian restaurant to patron as often times mid-​week, I don’t have the time or energy to go to my favorite, Osteria La Spiga in Seattle… and I’ve found my GEM!
COZY LAYOUT: Smaller venue, with strategic wall divisions creating a feel of coziness. Warm rich colors splashed the walls donned with Italian artwork and a mural. A cutout window opening near the wine cabinet has corks neatly lined up… it looks like they put the corks there out of practicality and found that it looked pretty quirky and fun and kept it. I think it’s a clever décor idea.
STROLLING MUSICIANS! We lucked out and dined the evening they had the strolling guitar and mandolin players… it set the mood. We walked into a strip center restaurant and were transported to Italy… For all of you. it’s generally on Friday nights, but consult their website calendar to confirm. I would highly suggest reservations for these nights as the secret of this restaurant is getting out. * * DON’T FORGET TO TIP YOUR MUSICIANS!!! * * *
WINE: As I got comfortable, I decided to order a glass of wine, and like many times before, I consulted my server who suggested a nice flavorful red Montepulciano d’Abruzzo which was VERY reasonably priced at $ 5.00. They have a very reasonably priced, extensive wine list if you have more than one person having wine.
QUALITY…this rivals the likes of The Purple Café… but of Italian fare. Taste is on pointe as is the quantity and freshness. Looking at the menu, I was torn by a few menu selections so I put my trust in my server who suggested the Shrimp Scampi. Perfect golden strands of angel hair al dente pasta with 8 jumbo shrimp seasoned and cooked to perfection. Lovely warm bread with a superbly seasoned olive oil that had that extra «umph» that many dipping oils lack. For the end of the meal… a decadent flourless chocolate cake served with chilled fresh whipped cream that was shared with my dinner companion. It was just right for the two of us. All items are served a la carte. However, bread is included with your meal.
SERVICE: Friendly, well timed, helpful but not intrusive.
DRESS: It has a nicer ambiance and l would venture to say, this is someplace you would want to look nice for. Not ragged jeans and every day kick around clothes, but attire for the office, church, or a nice casual night out.
PARKING: They have a lot. Easy access off of Bothell Everett Highway and 185^th.
I am most definitely a fan and will be back with all my friends and family. :) I am a huge supporter of great local businesses and am thrilled when a fantastic privately owned-​run restaurant opens. The owner has been in culinary for decades and clearly knows his business. This girl says GO! You won’t be sorry… if you remember, make a reservation to ensure availability.

If I had to sum this place up, I’d say it’s simple, tasty Italian fare. Everything I’ve had here has been delicious and very well executed. The food tastes great, everything seems fresh, and you leave happy.
We went with a 3 toddlers, and they found us a nice table where we could hang out and not bother anyone else. The service was good and our food came out hot.
That said, the simplicity of the menu works against this place a bit, as I sometimes feel like «hey, I could make this at home», but overall I’d go back if I was in the mood for some tasty Italian food, and didn’t feel like cooking.

Went there on a rainy monday night. No wait to be seated. The hostess/​waitress that greeted and seated us was nice.
We were served warm bread wedges with an olive oil/​garlic/​herb mix. Quite tasty. I found the menu to be a little abbreviated, it felt like a lot of italian staple foods were missing… but don’t get me wrong, of the abundance of items on the menu a lot of them sounded decadent and delicious. Gorgonzola, stuffed chicken, chioppino, calamari oh my.
I opted for the tortellini (beef tortellini with proscuitto in a cream sauce topped with parmesan) while my boyfriend opted for the baked cannelloni. Both were superb. The cannelloni was bubbly and filled with lots of delicious meaty goodness and melty cheese on top, and my tortellini was decadently rich. My only complaint about the tortellini is that the proscuitto was very overpowering over the other flavors of the dish, and even just eating the tortellini without the ham felt like the tortellini’s flavor was very subdued. I strongly recommend dipping their homemade bread in the cream sauce and/​or the tomato sauce. Their sauces were delicious, It’s a treat.
The bad:
The service was a bit slow, and it took a while for us to get our check. The tables are not very private, and the ambiance isn’t too warm.
Overall, I think this place was very good and I would definitely go back to try different items on their menu. The food is well prepared, well seasoned, and served hot. Well worth any of their short falls.

Great pasta. The only complaint I have is that the salt level is somewhat high. It gets a little hard to eat near the end because of the salt content…
The meatball sausages are outstanding, and sauce isn’t too heavy.
Otherwise, delicious. Would love to visit this place again.

The food is excellent but the guy who usually waits on us is a little surly. If the staff had better attitudes we’d be there more often.
Editing to put at three stars — we really never go anymore because of the service.