Villa Tuscan Grille

Had my daughter’s graduation party their and her graduation gifts came up missing while we where inside taking pictures, one of the workers said that its not the first time. On top of that the owner/​management could careless.

There’s nothing crazy special about this restaurant besides the fancy décor inside and the cleaniness.
I had ordered mussels for appetizer and the Chilean Sea bass for my entrée. Which are good in flavor but it wasn’t exciting to eat.
My friend got the chicken parm which was a big portion but for about $ 17 the portion better be big!
I also notice they serve the same sides for almost all the entrees for the menu. Potato n greens, sounds exciting…
The tab was quite pricey for 2 people. For the price I feel like I should be getting more.

I’m writing this after a pleasant visit with a friend, and would recommend it, especially for large parties. There is plenty of space, and the service is friendly and professional.
I had the shrimp scampi and wanted to dip everything into the delicious lemony garlicy sauce. My companion had the veal saltimbocco and although the presentation was a little haphazard, the flavors were highly satisfactory and the portion was ample.
We liked the salad dressings made on site, the bread with butter, not that goofy olive oil dipping thing. The salads were light and fresh and a good prelude for the main dish — not too much. The fresh pasta needs a re-​thinking. My cavatelli was less than optimal.
The menu includes all the classic dishes that we know and love, and if our experience was anything to go by, there will be lots to enjoy.
Is it worth driving all that way from Albany? I’d say go for it.

Just TRY to surprise me! If I jump straight up 20 feet into the air, hair on end, and then take you out with a lightening bolt you will have succeeded, though I guess at that point you wouldn’t know it.
That’s what my dinner out at Villa Tuscan Grille was like. I saw a shack in a big parking lot in the middle of nowhere and I started the evening with very low expectations. AHH!
But coming inside was like WOW — warm, clean, almost elegant, intimate, with a low hum of friendly regulars. We were greeted with a smile and seated immediately — the service proved friendly and professional. BAM. (sorry — didn’t mean to scare you)
Great crusty bread. A very affordable forgettable sauvignon blanc (of which, BOO, I had two). The salads were simple — most of the dressings homemade — nice change (I didn’t expect that). The pastas are dried except the cavatelli, which tasted like it was made with no-​purpose flour, but the linguine I had with the Veal Saltimbocco ($ 20) was perfectly al dente — I asked for it served simply with butter (a shaker of parm on the side) so I could enjoy the main. The dish was tasty but disorganized (the tender veal and thick slices of prosciutto were simply pan sauteed), served with a big dose of frozen chopped spinach I could have done without — salty, greasy, smokey — very tasty actually. It was a generous serving for the $ — no shockers there, considering the venue — tasty on the reheat — SCORE.
FF had the Shrimp Scampi ($ 20) — a beautiful plate with four jumbo tail on shrimp in a lovely garlicky lemon sauce — great with the bread, and a side of the cavatelli topped with their house red sauce — zippy and bright and tart, not sweet, mellowed with a bit of cheese. YUM!!!
By the Beard of Zeus, I was a bit taken aback — VTG was a great meal.
Zena, Goddess of Fire
PLEASE NOTE: No humans were harmed in the making of this Unilocal entry.

We went on Friday night for some apps at the bar. The food was average… however, we experienced the worst bartender ever. Rude, could not be bothered with anything… shut lights off at 1030 and said closing… lets go… will never go back… again…worst bartender ever!

Was so excited to visit since the restaurant has been taken over by Chef Armando formerly of Cornell’s and, of course, he did not disappoint! Everything we had was super delicious, fresh and well prepared. Glad to see our old favorites Clams Bianco, the Bruschetta, Sauted Calamari in Marinara sauce, etc., etc.!! Visited during the Christmas break and though very busy and without reservations, Joanne was able to get us a table very quickly. It was so great to see her; she brings such a warm, caring and truly welcoming presence that you don’t find anywhere else. Best of luck Chef Armando, Joanne and staff at your new location and the revitalized Villa Tuscan Grille.

We came home to celebrate my father-in-law’s birthday and went out to dinner at Villa Tuscan Grille, which is now under new management. We had heard that the chef from Cornel’s was now running the Villa and had to give it a try. We were not disappointed. Arrived almost half an hour early and they still seated us at a lovely spot near the fireplace. The waitresses were cordial and the service was top-​notch. When we raved about the homemade balsamic salad dressing, one young woman even went back to the kitchen to find out for us how it was made. We shared the special appetizer of fried artichoke hearts, which came with a delicious lemon sauce. For dinner some of us had chicken and broccoli with homemade cavatelli, and the pasta «bite» and the sauce were perfect. I had the Veal Saltimbocca and the flavor was divine, with lots of mushrooms. I should have taken some of the very generous helping home, but it tasted so good, I finished it all right then and there. The veal was tender (unlike the similar dish we had had at Cornell’s a few months ago) and the combination of garlic, wine, and sage made the sauce memorable. One thing I might suggest is that the Villa spruce up the outside of the front of the building facing the road, as it could look more inviting. I also didn’t find the marinara sauce on my side of pasta to be all that extraordinary – I prefer more herbs for flavor, but that is subjective. Regardless, we won’t hesitate to return to the Villa when we are in town again, and I recommend you visit them for a wonderful dinner.

Wanted to try this since the chef from Cornel’s bought it. Went for their New Year’s Eve dinner. It was a fix price 4 course meal so the offerings were limited. However the food was delicious and our server was very attentive. Am looking forward to going again. Was also happy to see that it was very busy so word is out.

My wife and I had dinner here last night. We were big fans of Cornell’s and heard that some of that crew moved over here to the Villa’s. They did not disappoint. Friendly service. I took the advice of Benny in the previous post and got the haddock franchise with some cappalini and a salad. Benny nailed it. Delicious. We also ordered the arancini in a white bean and prosciutto ragu for an appetizer. Fantastic. By the time we left the tables looked pretty full. We will be back.

Great old school Italian near 5 corners in Rotterdam. Mouth watering haddock/​chicken/​veal Francaise and the best house made marinara. Excellent bar and great waitresses. 5 star food, reasonable prices but loses a star for its dated décor. New owner has revitalized this Rotterdam classic. Worth a drive from anywhere in Capital District.

New owners took over on Nov.2,2015 and one of the first changes was to STOP their pizza delivery. To bad, the pizza is good. Well there are many good pizza places in Rotterdam that Do deliver.

The staff was really friendly, from the hostess to the bus girl to the waitress.
Portions are huge and prices are a steal for what you get.
The chicken wings were delicious and our entrees were amazing! My boyfriend got the steak and it was season and cooked perfectly. I got the penne ala vodka and it was great.
We got desserts to go and they were a perfect treat. The chocolate pie was not too sweet, one of the best I’ve had. The tiramisu was different, but still good.
Atmosphere was interesting. When we went it was an older crowd; I think one, maybe two other groups our age. There’s a lot of space and the bar section is separated nicely. The décor was nice.

Wife and I dined recently at Villa, a long drive for us but worth it! Great classic Italian dishes, ample portions, friendly wait staff and a new chef who sent out some new creations for us to try!
Wine selection needs some work, but these guys get it… Good food priced fairly, a good pour at the bar, and everyone friendly and attentive. We will be back!

Been here a dozen times, went tonight with my wife & it took us two hours to get out of there. The waiter apologized 378 times complaining that the kitchen couldn’t keep up. There was no management, just a lovely elderly lady who seats people & plays cashier. We ordered Chicken Parm & eggplant parm both Wednesday night specials and the kitchen couldn’t put the food out… It appears their focus is on the bar clientele and delivering steamers to all. There is no ambience in this place unless you consider wait staff & bus help flying by your table non stop for two hours, while the weight of their footsteps rattle your table as they flash by. Oh yeah, and when we were ready to pack up our leftovers there was a wait to get the styrofoam boxes to put the food in… And to add insult to injury the waiter brings over a card for 10% off our next meal… i gave it to the nice elderly lady & told her that we wouldn’t be back. OK so you realize you have a problem, what’s your solution… maybe a glass of wine… a desert… no come back & spend some more money & save 10%. WHERE IS THE MANAGEMENT /​OWNERSHIP??? Trust me there is no restaurateur residing at this address. Terrible experience, the food was lacking taste, spend your money elsewhere because all they care about here is turning a table, however they give great excuses and all the apologies you could ever ask for.
NEVER AGAIN!

I have been here twice for supper and this place goes right to the head of the class… The ribeye steak last time was on point — cooked perfectly seasoned well, the onions that I ordered on the side were like nothing I ever had before somehow grilled to perfection so that they were like crispy onion chips. Their fettuccine alfredo is wonderful as well (maybe as good as Ferarri’s). Last night I had a stuffed chicken breast special that was to die for. My strategic choice of appetizer was simply to try their meatballs and sauce and I have to say both are even better than Canali’s (yes, I said it) and the prices are very very reasonable. My husband was also very impressed with his breaded chicken dish as well as the sampling of sauce and meatballs. The pizzas looked very intriguing as well — I would have loved to try a slice.
On both visits the service was excellent. The staff was very attentive and efficient with bussers and runners it looked like a well oiled machine. I would say we will be coming here regularly. And I will be spreading the word often!

Our waitress seemed to keep forgetting our drink orders, and I ordered the chicken penne vodka the sauce was okay but the chicken was way over cooked and kinda of ruined the meal, the Calamari was very good though don’t think Ill be going back

I went to Villa Tuscan Grille with my boyfriend for date night to try out the 30 cent steamers on Wednesday night. They came in dozens, so just around $ 3.60 for a dozen. We ordered around 5 dozen and the calamari, as well as a chicken parm to share, and it was absolutely delicious. We typically don’t eat a whole lot, so after we had the steamers and calamari, we were stuffed.
The steamers had great flavor, but there was a bit of sand in some of them, which was disappointing. Luckily, it was only 2 out of the 2 dozen that I had that the sand. We asked for the chicken parm to go, but it took another 25 minutes to get it. We already had a long wait to get our initial service, including someone even taking our drink orders. The chicken parm, after being reheated the next day, was still delicious, so I’d imagine it was great the day of too. The
The service was disappointing, but that might’ve been because it was a busy night. The waitress did apologize for the slow service, which I appreciated. I’m in my early 20’s and I do have to say that the crowd was definitely older and more family friendly, but that wasn’t something that I would necessarily call a con. The service and the bit of sand in the steamers are what pushed the rating down to a 3, but I’d definitely go back.

Found this place by accident while searching for houses, and I must say I’m glad we did!
We ordered our food to pick up — they do not have delivery. The gentleman that took our order was very polite and courteous. When we arrived we thought it was strange the way it was set up on the outside, however, there was plenty of parking. The interior was warm and inviting, smelled terrific and appeared very clean. We did not wait long at all before someone came over to help us.
The food was very good. I ordered the Meatballs and Ricotta for an appetizer — VERY delicious, I enjoyed every part of it and I’m very picky about meatballs. The salads were standard and the italian dressing was very good.
My husband ordered spaghetti with 1 meatball and 1 sausage. He was please with the meatball, however, after one bite of the sausage he could eat no more. There was a large chunk of cartilage in it and totally turned him off. My entrée was the Chicken Tuscany. Overall a very good meal. We do not recommend the sausage!
I very much enjoyed this as well. We will certainly be coming back agin :)

Been going the the Villa since the late 80’s… they had a rough spell a couple years ago, but one of the previous owners Brothers took things over and it has really made a difference. The prices are fair, on the low to average end of the scale. The Pizzas, Sandwiches, Entrees and Apps are all really good, I havent found anything that I just don’t like. The portions are big, maybe too big, I always have leftovers. My favorites are the Veal Sorrento, anything with Meatballs, the Cavatellis with Broccoli (I have them add some sauage to it) and the Garlic Parm Wings. I’m pretty good with Wings and I can’t even come close. Oh, and the villa is the only place I bother to order wings, I’m just picky that way.
Would be a 5 star rating, but they need Guiness on tap and a couple New York wines…

So according to some of my coworkers this place used to be called The Villa and it was known for it’s pizza. As I was researching this restaurant I saw when the Villa closed the brother of the previous owner opened this place. I am always excited about openings of new restaurants, plus as a bonus I had a $ 25.00 groupon here to use, so it was a win/​win situation.
When I called for reservations, The gentlemen on the phone was pleasant. I made reservations for Saturday night at 6:30. I also asked him what was the easiest way to get there coming from Mechanicville. He gave me directions BUT the directions he gave me ended up taking me longer to get there than if I just listened to my GPS. Apparently he wasn’t aware of the construction work and the exit I was suppose to get off was closed. Lucky we left our house early, else we would have been late.
So when we arrived it looked like we really didn’t need to make reservations, there was people there but the place wasn’t packed. They sited us, and as we were waiting on our dinner companions we glacé that their menu. Standard Italian menu, offers all the chicken, veal, seafood and pasta dishes.(side note… they make their own home made pasta definately worth ordering) I ordered a glass of the red wine that the server suggested. It was ok, I originally asked if it was a California wine and so from what county. She said yes it was but towards the end of the night she told me it was a Argentina wine.
For dinner I order Eggplant Sorrento with a side of homemade fettuccine, wifey order Spaghetti and meatballs. Our dinner companions order homemade cavatelli with broccoli and a order of lasagna. All came with side salads, they make their own in house Italian dressing and blue cheese dressing. The Italian dressing was good. As for the entrees, my was good, I just wish my was more hot, temperature wise. I was starving so I over looked it and didn’t send it back. I loved the home mades, they were great! My wife loved her dish, nothing but yummm this is good came out of her mouth. Our dinner guest like their meal as well. The leftovers the next day were great, I thought even tasted better than the night we ordered them. For dessert I ordered their fried cheesecake and asked them if they could put raspberry sauce over the top of it, in which they didn’t have a problem with. Our guest, for dessert ordered a piece of their chocolate cake. My was the better of the 2 desserts, I loved it, the textures of a hot deep fried shell with warm cheesecake filling just works so well together.
If we were in the area I would come back again… especially for that dessert!