Villa Massimo Restaurant — Restaurant in La Prairie

This was my first time trying the Villa-Massimo and I must say that I was quite surprised by my experience.

The decor and the service look like they were straight from the 80's, which was quite charming in some way.

Then the food. Just after catching a glimpse of the menue all the members of my party realised how expensive the food was. Priced like a casual fine dinning restaurant in the downtown of Montreal, my expectations were suddenly quite higher than when I first entered the villa. Ordered the table d'hôte, for $60, which included an appetizer (sweat potato cream), entree (osso bucco) and dessert (crème de caramel). The portions were big enough but the presentation was seriously lacking precision and style. The food was good but not extraordinary. The dessert menu should seriously be updated as I was quite reminiscent of a "Cantina" in the 90's and my creme the caramel was quite bland. Otherwise, I must say that the service was excellent and the staff was always there when we needed them.

Then the wine. This restaurant really does have a fantastic wine selection but the hot mess that is their wine list made it seriously difficult to browse, as no vintages were indicated and the thing looked more like a scrapbooking project than a wine list. With the help of our waiter, we finally started with the 2000 Sito Moresco from Gaya, priced at $200. Wine was well preserved and the wine service was great.

Overall, the experience remained fun, mainly because of the service, staff and...

The décor is very dated (can we get out of the 80's please?); the food is over-priced; the service is slow, and the atmosphere in the restaurant is noisy to the point where it is difficult having a conversation. The I ordered the veal scaloppini off the table d'hote and it tasted good, but I was only given three small pieces of the veal, a few beans, and a mountain of mashed potatoes. Seriously, I could ski down that thing. For $35 (table d'hote), I expected more veal. My wife ordered the pasta and it was better than my veal. Furthermore, the table d'hote was supposed to include coffee and a dessert. But when the bill came, we were charged additional for two coffees ($5.50) and my tiramisu ($8.50). After asking the waiter, he agreed that the coffee was supposed to be included but that my tiramisu was not included in the table d'hote. Yet the waiter said nothing about that when I ordered it. Anyway, I won't be coming back...

I didn’t know what to expect but my girlfriend raved of the authentic food and wide variety of wines available. My kind of place, was my first thought. From the moment we were greeted to the hugs when we left, it was by far one of the best experiences of Italian food, ambiance and warmth I’ve ever had. Tony from New Jersey was both charming and funny, welcoming and helpful. He knows his stuff! The wine variety is extraordinary! Tony listened to my taste preferences and made 5 or 6 recommendations (the menu and specials were almost endless). Everything was exceptional - the wine, the entrees, the meal - all of it. Tony, this patron from PA will be back to see you again. In the meantime, I’ll be spreading the word. You will see my face again, but you will hear my name...