Via Emilia Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in The Woodlands

While me and my husband loved this place I have to say we will not be back ! I have never felt so disrespected, First off the waiter was so kind so no compliments on our server .However, management could definitely use some work both manager and assistant manager need retraining. we came for dinner service tonight and both decided to try the chefs “specials “ my husband ordered the veal and I had the stuffed lump crab ravioli . The problem arose when he began to try and eat the veal it came covered in fat and even the steak knife they provided was having a tough time trying to cut through the meat so majority of the veal was left on the plate .while I ate ,my husband picked off of my food , and while we are never the type to complain I urged my husband to say something since he had only taken a couple bites we let our server know and he was so kind and assured us he would go to the kitchen and figure something out for us seeing as majority of the meat was left on my husbands plate .However we were then approached by the assistant manager asking what the problem is, we reiterated what we had just told our waiter and he assured us he would find a solution. However, we were then approached by an unidentified man who asked if I was done with my food and who boxed up my daughters food but never introduced himself and lastly we were provided with the check .. with no explanation , we then asked our waiter what had been done to fix the problem and he stated that his manger had told him to bring us our check . We were left confused and slightly upset so we asked to speak to the manager once again and once again were approached NOT by the manager but by the assistant manager who then asked us if we had ever tasted a ribeye .. (mind you my husband ordered veal )when we assured him of what we had tasted before he then finally brought the manager who said the best he could do was give us a dessert. So moral of the story if you can’t chew or cut through your meat at this establishment they won’t care and give you the run around and but hey give you a cheesecake instead . (That we...

Hold on. Let me get this right.

You’re telling me the best Italian food you’ve ever had wasn’t in Little Italy? Wasn’t in some tiny restaurant tucked away in Rome where the nonna in the back has been making pasta for sixty years?

It was in Bangkok.

That’s beautiful. That’s exactly what makes travel so incredible – those moments when your expectations get completely shattered in the best possible way. You walk into this place probably thinking you’ll grab a decent plate of spaghetti, maybe some acceptable marinara sauce. Instead, you get transported.

The seabass sounds incredible. But those mussels? When someone says mussels were “to die for,” you know they were swimming in something magical. Probably a white wine broth that made you want to drink it with a spoon when nobody was looking.

And here’s what really gets me about your review – the owner making the rounds. That’s old-school hospitality right there. That’s the kind of thing that transforms a meal from good food into an experience you’ll remember forever. When the person who built the place cares enough to check on every single table? That tells you everything you need to know about the heart behind the kitchen.

You know what this reminds me of? The best barbecue I ever had was in Seoul, South Korea. Not Texas. Not Kansas City. Seoul. Sometimes the most authentic experiences happen in the most unexpected places.

Five stars sounds about right. Hell, sounds like you’d give it six if you could.

What was the name of this place? Because now I’m adding Bangkok to my list for reasons I never...

This was my first time dining at Via Emilia and it was excellent! The service and the food were both impressive. My husband and I went with a group of 9 or 10 people and there were no complaints about anything, no incorrect orders, food not cooked as requested, or empty glasses.

The only cons were a very pervasive odour at the front of the restaurant around the hostess, the expense which was commensurate with our experience, and the requirement that our party guarantee to spend 800USD not including tax and tips in orders before being permitted to reserve the private room. For larger or more affluent parties this would likely not be an issue. In our case, it was a slow Tuesday night and the result was simply that the doors of the room stayed open and other patrons could have been seated in the room with us had it been necessary.

Regarding the odour - it was so strong that it made me nauseous to the point that I left to sit outside while waiting for the rest of our party and some members mentioned that it was noticeable from outside whenever the door opened. Before retreating outside I asked the hostess if there was a candle or air freshener responsible for the odour and was told there was not and she seemed genuinely unaware of it. The very affable manager approached my husband and in the course of their conversation he divulged that the odour was from some kind of cleanser used only at the hostess station. The odour was not apparent from the private room at the rear of the restaurant where we...