Villain & Saint — Restaurant in Atlantic City

We were a group of 8 for a Bachelor party weekend in AC. We were struggling to get reservations just about anywhere in and around the strip, but were finally able to get booked at Villain and Saint (which we are grateful for). We were seated quickly upon arrival, and there was live music during our visit which added to the atmosphere.

For our group, we placed orders for our drinks with the waitress, and myself and another groomsman put in an order for "The Kraken", an octopus focused appetizer. Shortly after placing our order, the Waitress returned to inform me that the beer I ordered was out, but I was able to easily ordered a cheaper beer instead (important for later). After about 10 minutes, our appetizer arrived followed shortly by our drinks.

The Kraken was solid, it was well seasoned and the cream sauce elevated the flavor well enough. For entreés, we each had one of the following: Saint Lobster, Chef Burger, Guava BBQ Ribs, and the Korean Fried Chicken Wings (actually an App).

This is where Villain and Saint started to lose stars. The quality of each dish varied greatly from person to person.

For the Saint Lobster, my Lobster was far overcooked. It was rubbery and extremely difficult to chew, the other groomsman with the same dish had perfectly cooked Lobster, it was easily cut with a fork. The dish itself was bland in both cases unfortunately, and was actually not "tempura" as it was described. The Lobster was just battered and fried like any fried shrimp you can find on a street corner.

The Chef Burger was cooked correctly in 2 cases, each groomsman asking for well done. For the groomsman that ordered theirs medium-well, the Burger was undercooked and fell closer to medium-rare. Luckily they didn't mind too much, but unfortunately all 3 burgers were flavorless as well.

The Ribs were fine, as were the wings.

The service was also disappointing, especially for the prices charged at this location. High-end pricing comes with the expectation of high end service. Our waitress was nonexistant for our entire meal after taking our orders, only returning to give us our check at the end. We were never provided with refills on our water, and were never asked if we wanted a refill on our drinks.

Most egregious of all was that I was charged for the beer that I had originally wanted, but they were out of. This wouldn't have been an issue if it wasn't for the fact that the beer I replaced it with was $5 cheaper. Unfortunately we hadn't caught this until after we paid and were figuring out how to split the check.

We asked to see our waitress to see if we could get the issue resolved, we were actively trying to avoid asking for the manager as we felt it was a simple enough mistake. Unfortunately, we gave up on that idea after 15 minutes of waiting for our waitress.

The Manager was no better, when we pointed out the issue his response was "What do you want me to do about it?"

We were actually so taken aback by the question that we hesitated on how to respond. We simply asked if there was any way that we can have that $5 reimbursed. The anager didn't actually answer the question and just offered a "free" beer. We asked about the money again, and he repeated "What do you want me to do? I can give you a free beer. The same one?" Not wanting to draw it out any further, we just agreed to the free beer to go.

Worst of all,, the manager gave me a completely different beer than what I asked for.

The place is nice visually, and has some interesting food options, but it's not worth the prices they charge. Maybe it was a bad night for us, but just keep our experience in mind if you choose...

Just got here for the first time it’s in the Ocean casino in Atlantic City a little short, hostess older lady. The place is empty. Had to ask me when I walked up to her if we have a reservation so I said to her oh, is it gonna be packed tonight then she looked up to me and said no, OK so far I ordered brussels sprouts they are awesome. Will make another interview when I am done with this meal. I just saw Think the old lady. Hostess was a little rude anyway that’s just me stay tuned. OK they are out of my specialty drink. The one reason why I did come here. It’s supposed to taste like apple pie out of it. OK they are out of my shrimp. It’s supposed to be a you ate shrimp, a large shrimp cause I’m paying six dollars for each shrimp, he gave me an extra one, so I’m still paying, I ordered for shrimp for $24. They’re six dollars each they don’t have the large large UA so he gave me an extra one so far this place sucks the brussels sprouts are good but there’s more skins brussels sprout skins than there are whole brussels sprouts on my plate. OK part two I ordered as an appetizer they call it fried shepherds pie. It came like a fried half a softball or baseball to the table didn’t even know what it was. My aunt Elaine said it tasted like liver then we finally figured out it was the fried shepherds pie, I wouldn’t order it again note to the hostess who asked for a reservations if you do have reservations most people 99% of them will say I have reservations for 5 o’clock or 6 o’clock or whatever just remembered that next time OK, the entrées came. I ordered the fish and chips. I could smell it before it came to the table and you know what they say about seafood when you eat it stinks you know it stinks came to the table very oily honestly, the french fries, which were just out of the fryer or the best thing tonight sorry to say it is what it is. I’m 63. I’ve been eating at restaurants my whole life practically On a good note, my aunt ordered the salmon and she liked it !!!!! OK and enclosing they serve you water and the water was good. It was tasteless. It’s the way it’s supposed to be water but then I asked for ice cause it was a little warm. Once I put the ice said OMG it was stale. The ice was stale and made all the water style disgusting, oh and by the way, my aunt does not like the salmon and she told me it was dry. I guess the first piece she had tasted better. Plus she was drinking wine and she told me she would never order the salmon either OK enclosing don’t go here if you want a real tasty meal it’s just not worth it. Sorry but the truth hurts sometimes. sorry, one more footnote the drink they were out of I decided to order a bay breeze which you can get anywhere and I believe I ordered one with alcohol but it tasted like no alcohol in it. This place. OMG I know I’m rattling on but I just get sick and tired of places that charge $170 for a meal...

🏆 🏆 🏆 From the moment I entered I had a feeling it would be a top notch experience - the Hostess at the front podium was so incredibly warm and welcoming (she resembles Rita Moreno)…ends up she’s from Puerto Rico 🇵🇷, a place near and dear to my heart 💙.

I went on a Sunday night and enjoyed a very relaxing dinner at the bar…no rock & roll that night , just a wonderful warm and welcoming time enjoying their super healthy Chopped Salad ($14) with an option to add a protein at a reasonable up-charge. My only suggestion is that it would be even easier to enjoy if it was served in a deep bowl. Next time, I’ll request that.

I wish I could recall my server’s name, he absolutely loves his job and was grateful to be a part of this team 💙, he previously worked at the famous “Chef Vola’s” and spoke highly of all that he learned there - a super impressive guy who comes from a family of food professionals.

Gotta say, the menu at “Villain & Saint” is one of the ONLY ones in all of Atlantic City offering HEALTHY 🥬 Options! Next time I plan to try their Cauliflower and every vegetable 🍄 they offer! Their menu is inventive and full of great flavor combinations. PS I used to write about food for a noted culinary organization and the kitchen treated me to a generous taste of their Risotto, it was phenomenal. Thanks team! 💐

Please note that they offer a special Summertime Happy Hour on Monday nights from 5-7PM, while I don’t drink, it’s a good opportunity to try a variety of appetizer-sized food items coming out of this highly creative and capable kitchen. “Villain & Saint” makes a concerted effort at using the FRESHEST ingredients all plated beautifully, the service was totally professional and top notch! Unlike too many restaurants in town, “Villain & Saint” is most definitely NOT “phone-ing it in”, this is restaurant that is definitely on a NYC level, excellence is the goal and you can FEEL the team effort. As they say in the food world, “this is a REAL restaurant”. Highly recommend!!! 😃

PPS The convenient Atlantic City Tram is the perfect way to get here and back when in Atlantic City, it stops right in front of the Ocean Casino and the lit up Atlantic City Boardwalk is simply magical with its twinkling lights at night! 🎡 A memorable...