Vino Villa — Restaurant in Greenwood

TL/DR:

Pros: Pretty atmosphere with soft ambient lighting, tasty wine selection, outside dining option

Cons: Cramped inside ("cozy"), way too loud for such a small space, not enough parking for the occupancy allowed, lengthy service, and told they didn't take reservations but honored reservations from several other patrons who came in after us. Overall, would not recommend (particularly so for anyone sensitive to noise and tight spaces, or introverts)

Details:

••• Very limited parking. Had to park several houses down the street because the lot was filled (probably 20 or fewer spaces) and parallel space was full in front of the restaurant.

••• When we came in, were were told a 30 minute wait, which is reasonable for a walk-in patron. We were walk-in only because we were told they didn't take reservations, and their website reflects the no-reservation policy as well. However, several couples and parties came in after us and were immediately seated when they mentioned reservations. What?

••• When our table was ready, we were seated in a really small room - immediately could tell the noise level was uncomfortable. Way too many people for such a small room with bouncy acoustics. I couldn't even hear our hostess when she was getting us settled in.

••• Waitress seemed either overloaded or inattentive because we waited for her for 15 minutes after the hostess gave us our waters. When she came, we ordered our appetizers but she walked away before we could order our entrees (she probably couldn't hear us!). We then waited another 15 or so before she came back to take our entree order. Lengthy service overall.

••• It was quite cramped, tables seemed way too close for COVID-19 social distancing standards. I can't believe they're only at 75% capacity - what would it feel like at 100%? Oof.

••• The noise level was so uncomfortable and distracting, we couldn't even hold a conversation over some of the other patrons - had to take our food-to go because we were so miserable.

I'll be real here, we're not high strung people by any means. We're typically laid back and understanding of inconveniences. We have just never had such a poor...

Went there for first and probably last time in my life. The hostess was extremely rude on the phone and answered my questions as if they were known by everyone (like making reservations, rush hours, etc). She had made comments about not being able to understand me on the phone (have a small accent but never had any complaints about being not being understandable) and listed my reservation as another name after having to spell out my name. We went at a time that was not busy (only 3 tables were taken) and upon arrival was ignored, was told they did not offer wine tasting even though they say they have it online. We wanted wine tasting and asked for other well known wineries and they directed us to Brewing companies. We decided to give it a try still and when they were finally done at the hostess stand they took us up stairs in a room which all the tables were dirty except one that we ended up sitting. Our male server was amazing don't really have anything bad to say about him. He helped us decide what wine we should get and overall he was great. When we were finished with food and drinks we waited for about 30 minutes without our server checking on us before I decided to get up and find our server for the bill. Unfortunately, I could not find him but a female server crossed my path and I asked her nicely for the bill. She looked at me and said go sit down, your server will come and walk away. My friend had to tell that female server that we could not find the server and asked to find him for us. Other interactions with guest were much kinder, never going back there. Not sure if they treated us so bad because we are young and foreign but that behaviour is unacceptable. And please update your website if you no longer provide the wine...

For starters, the drinks and food were excellent! We ordered the Italian Spritz with Blackened Mahi Caprese Salad and the Charcuterie Board. The Mahi was perfectly cooked and the salad was very fresh and delicious (fresh ingredients)! Meanwhile, the Charcuterie Board was among the best we have encountered. It was well portioned for the price point and could easily serve 4 as an appetizer.

The outdoor seating is standard and comfortable. Our only recommendation may be some cushions but it’s not a deal breaker!

Lastly (and the reason for a missing star), the staff was hit or miss. We don’t normally move seats at a restaurant, but on this occasion it was a hot day so we opted to sit inside and were placed on the 2nd floor. The server for our area entered the room twice to help the only other table that was seated and failed to address us for about 15 minutes. We then escorted ourselves downstairs to ask for seating outside. Once seated, we were greeted within seconds and our server was excellent the rest of the evening!

The only other point worth noting was an evening rain shower that blew through while we were on the patio. Since the majority of the patio is uncovered, most patrons were forced to move to avoid getting soaked (just a reminder for those visiting during iffy weather). However, the staff was very quick to help people move inside or under the gazebo!

All in all, we will be visiting again because the wine selection was nice and it’s a charming...