La Villa Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Lynchburg

First time here, I told the waitress we have eaten at several Italian restaurants in the area and have enjoyed them, she said she will make this an enjoyable evening also. I ordered Penne Chcken with vegetables, which was the night special, which included a salad. The waitress brought me and my girlfriend a salad which was good. When the server brought the plate of food and an extra plate (my girlfriend and myself split meals) the penne was cold, the sauce was hot. So I flagged down a waitress and told her and she took the plates of food back to the kitchen. She returned with the plates and left. The penne was warm but not hot. So I ask for the manager. She came and I ask about how the penne was warmed up, I knew they had to cook it ahead of time. She said they are put in a steamer to reheat. I told her that the first time, they were cold, the second time they were just warm. So she said she will personally handle it and left. She came back five to seven minutes later with a plate of hot penne. I ask her what was I suppose to do with this, she said mix your plate in with the hot penne. I told her my food was cold by now so she took my plate and penne back (my girlfriend is sitting there picking at her food said her's is alright but hates to threw out food). After thinking about the situation I had lost my appetite. I had told the manager to bring me a box. After thinking about that I decided why take the food home. The waitress brought me my plate, I told her I have decided just to leave, I will pay for the salads we ate (we drink water). The manager came with a box and I told her I was leaving. She said after all the trouble she went through to warm up my food, I said there shouldn't have been any trouble in the first place; she picked up our plate and left. The she came back and stood 7-8 feet away from me and told me we could leave, she will take care of the meal. I left a tip for the waitress because she did try to remedy the situation. We will...

You know when you’re in the mood for an eggplant Parmesan sub you sort of want crispy fried eggplant slices with sauce and bubbling hot cheese on a toasted hoagie roll? This wasn’t that place. Or when you’re ready for some crispy seasoned french fries…. This place wasnt it. The eggplant Parmesan roll was soft and seem fresh, (not toasted) the egg plant was thawed and almost cooked through, the cheese was slightly melted but in no way bubbling melted cheese like you would expect. The fries were yellow, soft and room temperature. It was a 2/5 meal at best, got down about 1/2 as I was so hungry and a few of the almost cooked fries. It was around 4 PM so it was not busy at all so that could not possibly be the reason behind the sub par food. It’s just lack of quality control for sure. Not sure if anyone’s checking the dishes before they leave the kitchen, especially takeout. If I attempt to order this again, which is unlikely, I will definitely ask them to please thoroughly cook the eggplant , toast the bun, broil the cheese onto the sandwich, and completely cook the french fries and add salt and pepper or season salt. I just feel like that should be standard and I shouldn’t have to tell them how to do it. I agree with the previous poster, it is likely this used to be a great Italian restaurant, but they really do need to get back in the habit of checking food as it leaves the kitchen. They survive the pandemic, but they really are going to need to make sure their food is prepared properly before it leaves...

I have come here a few times within the several years I have spent in Lynchburg. Before the time I went last week, I had eaten whatever I wanted off the menu. When it came to order this time, I had to think smart because of my health condition of Celiac Disease. At any restaurant I have to be careful and I choose not to go out 95% of the time now due to the repercussion i face if i get cross contaminated by the slightest crumb. I had read reviews from here noticing the attention to detail on the gluten free entrees and was served with such care when I went last week. Ellie, my waitress was very delightful and understanding making sure the kitchen knew of my order and to take special care. Once I received my food I know within the first minute or so whether I will react and surprisingly I didn't have one. A lot of gluten free items tend to be bland and underwhelming but this pizza was not, I also made sure the toppings I got were gf and did not have a reaction to those either! The owner came by and was just as nice and explained to me what he does in the kitchen to keep the Celiac's safe at his place of business. Needless to say I would happily go back again after this experience last week and am glad I can add another place to go out after such heavy...