Napoli Villa Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Beech Grove

Note: I really WANT to rate this place higher, but the extremely poor service execution and inadequate guest recovery experience does not permit me to at this time. I will give this place another chance to impress later.

Time: Friday evening at 7PM Capacity: (~125-150) and 80% full Wait: 10 minutes Our Party Size: 6 (4 adults, 2 children)

Host was the owner/manager. Sweet woman, hard of hearing (couldn't hear phone ringing), struggling to keep head on a swivel. Servers: ~ 4 + Bartender

Service: We were seated next to a 15 top that had been seated the entire time we were waiting to be sat. Most tables in this restaurant are 4 tops, and we were kind of put in a corner behind the big party. Not ideal, but accommodating. Kudos for making the effort!

The same server tending to the 15 top was also our server. Her ability to manage that party, our party, and a handful of 4 tops in the area was beyond her ability. She was not rude. She was professional. However, time management of service was below average, and her ability to read the room and address concerns was non-existent.

All four adults had starters (2 house salads, 1 caprese salad, and 1 soup). The house salads came out first, no bread accompaniment, and they were finished with salads before the other two adults received their starters. The soup came out second, and had that member of the party not waited for the last person's caprese to arrive, they would have finished just as it came to the table. For an elevated family dining experience, we did not come to eat one at a time. Still no bread accompaniment! The server was just in time on drink refills. Positive credit there.

Entrees did not arrive until an hour and twenty minutes after we sat down. I understand being served after a large party. It ruined the experience, especially seeing the other 4 tops in the server's section being served and watching them leave while we are still waiting on food to arrive. While I don't want to come across as entitled, we did have two small children. A good server would usually ask if you wanted the kid's food to come out early/first. That did not take place. Additionally, when we were finally served, the kid's meals were brought out last.

Server did not do table touches to check on our food or service. She failed to get a manager to show concern for slower service execution. I waited until after we paid for our meal to ask for the owner/manager. I didn't want this to come across as trying to get a free meal. I voiced my concerns with the owner, and her solution was to offer free dessert. I explained that while I was grateful for the offer, I am diabetic, and dessert was not something I could have. She pushed that even though I could not, maybe the rest of my party would like it. I have a problem with this. One, I am the one voicing the concerns. I am the one who paid the bill. I am the one who cannot make use of your offer, and your solution does not work for me. To push a solution that doesn't work. This is very poor guest recovery.

Ambiance: Charming with rustic walls decor, dim lighting, soft traditional Italian music playing.

Part of the issue was bad luck being sat after a large party. The host could have made us wait longer to place us in a section that another server could have been better aligned to handle our party. The 15 top should have been handled by more than one server. But the lack of attention to our party for the sake of the bigger one, long wait times on food, failure to address or acknowledge young children, and poor guest recovery from the manager/owner made for a poor experience.

We may return for one more chance to see if it was just poor circumstances. This review did not touch on the food taste and quality as our moods were soured by the guest experience. Should a better time be had on a future visit, we may be able to address that important element...

My family has been coming here since they opened in the 80s and our experience on Friday was so poor, I don’t know that we will ever return. We came to celebrate the life of my grandmother on the anniversary of her passing at her favorite Italian restaurant, and she is definitely rolling over in her grave. The experience was poor from the moment we walked in. The host couldn’t find our reservation that we made a month in advance, even though it was right in front of her. Waited 20 minutes for our table. Then, they split our party between two tables— which was unacceptable. The best part is that we were sat in a nearly empty room, but right behind the only other party and quite literally stuck in our seats (pictured), so we couldn’t even walk over to converse with the other half of our party. Only one of our tables was partially set and we were all missing knives when food arrived! My dad had to walk around to find someone that would bring us utensils. The waitress didn’t write anything down and messed up food and billing, including putting shellfish (I’m allergic) on our pasta and cross contaminating the new dish. We heard staff having melt downs and yelling at each other. Drinks sat empty, beverages took 15+ minutes to arrive. Our main dishes were delivered separately over the course of 20 minutes. Our dinner took well over 2 hours despite the fact that we all just wanted to leave. The restaurant was filthy and they didn’t have enough clean utensils. The staff literally ran away and ignored guests. After all of this AND splitting up our party, they charged us 20% gratuity though our two parties were only 5 people each. The restaurant was out of at least six wines on their very limited menu. Served my moms martinis in margarita glasses. No manager in site and no apologies.

It’s incredibly sad to watch this wonderful family owned establishment go so far downhill. They should certainly consider hiring a consultant to turn them around, or I anticipate they won’t make it much longer.

Do not respond to this asking to make it up. Please hire the help you need, train your staff, clean your restaurant, restock on utensils/glasses, and work on your supply chain issues. We are from the northern suburbs and will likely never make the hour drive to your establishment for our...

Now we know why there were people waiting for the doors to open for Saturday dinner. The food, service and atmosphere were top notch. We started our meal with the Antipasto Misto, a combination of warm and cold options such as cured meats, cheese, toasted ravioli and fried eggplant. The eggplant was the star because it was warm, soft and flavorful with the right balance of toasted bread crumbs for the perfect crunch. Then came the Antipasto Salad. Cool and fresh lettuce topped with cured meats and cheeses, and then topped with a light, refreshing and flavorful vinaigrette. That was a perfect salad course before the main course. My main course was the Veal Caruso. A little salty, but still delicious. Meaty, from eggplant and veal, set off by the milky and melted fresh mozzarella, and saltiness from the prosciutto. Divine. My son enjoyed the Spinach Ravioli with the Vodka Sauce. He felt that there was too much spinach, but not enough ricotta in the ravioli filling. He did mention that the Vodka Sauce was the best he has ever had. My wife loved the Lasagna, but noticed that when she cut into it some of the layers slid apart, but enjoyed it. The side of spaghetti was simple, and topped with a flavorful tomato sauce. For dessert I enjoyed the Spumoni ice cream. It was light, refreshing and a perfect way to finish the meal. My son loved his NY style cheesecake topped with chocolate sauce. Unfortunately, my wife's Cannoli dessert was not good. The cannoli cream was loose, and had such a strong orange flavor that I could not taste the sweetened ricotta. Then the raspberry drizzle over the cannoli had an overpowering flavor as well. My suggestion is to stick to the basics when it comes to cannoli because simple is best. Overall, a great experience and we look forward to...