Armondo's Villa Tuscan Grill — Restaurant in Town of Rotterdam

Ate here with my boyfriend and his family to celebrate his father's birthday and had an overall pleasant experience. We went on a Saturday night around 7pm and it was packed and pretty busy. Upon entering I discovered just how small on the inside the place is. The main dining room is small with as many tables and chairs as it can fit, but the area where you enter and talk to the maitre-d to be seated is especially tiny. We had to wait a bit to be seated and while waiting we were cramped awkwardly in the small space and we were a party of five; needless to say there is not much space inside the building for people to wait for seating. The restaurant has an overall charming and cozy atmosphere and appearance. Our waitress Brianna was very friendly and helpful. We ordered two appetizers and although they didn't quite look appetizing, both made up for it adequately enough in taste. I tried some of the calamari and thought they tasted good. They also served me a delicious vegetable side that I greatly enjoyed. My true complaint is in regards to the service here. During our nearly two hour stay we found service to be very slow. We had to wait quite a while for our orders to be taken and to get our food. I am not blaming the slowness of the service on our waittress, but overall I think it's an issues with the restaurant's kitchen and staff. I noticed periodically throughout the night that our waitress looked incredibly busy serving other tables which led me to believe that the restaurant had a lack of staffing issue. If that is an issue for every busy night then they should hire more staff. The food overall was good. I personally enjoy a nice delicious big plate of alredo fettuccine and the one from this restaurant did not disappoint; however, I did notice that my food wasn't quite as hot as I expected it to be like something would be fresh out of the kitchen. My boyfriend also complained that his pasta side-dish had parts of it that was on the cold side. This led me to suspect that our food had sat slightly too long in the window before finally being picked up and served to us; that or the chefs hadn't made our food simultaneously. Again this all just points to how sluggish the service was. Despite that however, the biggest highlight of the night was when our waitress brought out a big complimentary cannoli with a lit candle for the birthday dad. We each tried some of it and it was delicious. I thought it was kind of them to do that and it showed that they seemed to care at least about customers (and if not at least they made an effort to pretend to care, but I'm sure it was genuine). There was also a nice elderly lady there who took some time to make sure we were satisfied with things so far. I should add that this place is a little on the pricier side. All main dishes were $18 and up for the most part, so if you come here and don't buy any appetizers be prepared to spend around $20 for yourself or per person. The portions can vary too depending on what you order, so keep that in mind as well. Overall it was a wonderful experience despite all the waiting, and I would encourage anyone to come here, even if it's only on a special occasion, and...

Swung by Armando's for Restaurant Week tonight. Legend has it, that Armando was the head chef at Cornell's for years. Eventually the owner sold the restaurant to a new family. She and Armando continued to work there until she was asked to move on. So Armando opened his own place, hired her to work with him, and they now are the dynamic duo of Rotterdam.

With that out of the way, let's now get into what makes Armando's worthy of a 5-star review. First and foremost, the staff is great. They were friendly, attentive, and we felt at home right away. It was the kind of experience when you never wondered where your waiter was, and you always had a fresh glass of water. AND the food was absolutely spectacular!

We both started with the Mushroom Risotto, which had a strong but not overpowering mushroom flavor combined with a pancetta finish. It was a very memorable appetizer. Both of us really loved it and we'd come back for this baby alone!

Next we had the Italian Wedding Soup. You know those places that serve soup that feels thin, canned, and anemic? Well this isn't one of those places. The soup had lots of mini meatballs, had a hearty flavor, and warm and comforting. Dare I say that it was super-meaty and flavorful -- and I don't use those terms lightly.

I was expecting the third course to be a snooze-fest because it was rigatoni. But I was wrong of course. The meat sauce was sweet and yummy, had little carrots, and the pasta was aldente. Simple and well done. Nuff said.

For my fourth and final course, I had the Coquilles St Jacques (scallops and mushrooms in a cream sauce) and I nearly lost my shizzle! The scallops were cooked perfectly and the sauce was great. Really well done and delicious. I'll definitely be back for this as well.

Overall, this was a great experience and I highly recommend Armando's to anyone who is looking for a quality and memorable meal. By the way, our waitress Nadine was polite, professional, but really cute and funny the whole time. She was a joy to be around. She told us that they do a Four Course Meal for $20 every Tuesday and Wednesday. So make a reservation with...

Poor Service, Tiny Portions, Bottom of the Barrel menu. Typical "BS ITALIAN FOOD". Was asked to order take out checked the menu, Nothing That I wanted all the dishes are dishes they make BANK ON! Lots of chicken that cost nothing to make. I declined to order a dish for myself but ordered for those who made the suggestion to order from Armondo's. Linguine and meatballs, Chicken parmigiana, Chicken Marcella. Had a conversation with the taker of the order about included sides. The menu is not clear about sides that are included with the dishes. Take a look they make up what they want. Was told one dish would include potatoes and veggie. Picked the food up paid $62. Got home to find out were shorted a side of potatoes and veggies. Called to let them know and was told they checked the order and the side was present. Counter person glanced in the bag upon pickup. I guess this is their checking of the order procedure. They basically accused us of lying about the missing side. So my wife requested a callback from some form of management, owner or someone with some common sense. Never received a callback. Wife called back Tuesday upon Armondo's reopening. Was then told that Armondo rolled back the security footage and verified the side was present. No kidding this is the reply! Can't make this up! Really Armondo? Over Potatoes and veggies? Keep your side eat it yourself! Anywho we ate the food and it was as anticipated, run of the mill fake Italian food. Now I know Armondo's is skimping on more than the sides. I remember when his place was JG Roman villa was much better. If you want real Italian food at a better price and portion go to Canalis. Hope having your family members muffing up your orders and insulting your customers was worth it. I don't think your food is any better than a...