While I enjoyed the appetizers, the main entree was weak. That is, too much cream sauce that killed what was a nice linguine al dente :-( . The service was very good and our hostess attentive. I'll go back one more time in order to make sure this experience was a one night off ... read more

Was able to get prime time reservations here last minute on a Saturday night which I was surprised about. Happy we checked out this restaurant as the food ended up decent, space is nice and service was attentive. My friend and and I split an order of Seafood pasta and the special of the night - grilled Bison Tenderloin with bacon wrapped aspargus and gnocchi. Seafood pasta was lovely and came with 2 small triangles of bread. There was an adequate amount of shrimp, mussels and fish that came with the order and the pasta, which I believe is made in-house, was cooked perfectly. The bison was prepared to our liking - medium rare - but was missing more seasoning, for which I added some table salt to same. The gnocchi were fluffy, crisp and light. Bacon wrapped asparagus was standard and cooked well. I also ordered a moscow mule mocktail which was delicious. For dessert, we shared the Sous-Vide Chai Creme Brulee. It was rich, creamy and yummy and a great way to finish our meal. Our server was friendly and attentive. My friend and I stayed and chatted until 9pm only to realize we were the only ones left in the entire restaurant, which had cleared out much earlier despite being open until 10pm. To get inside the restaurant you have to enter through the main building doors and walking down a corridor. There was a homeless person who was taking shelter in between the outside doors you walk through so just be mindful when you enter the building. read more

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Absolutely delicious!!! This restaurant has been recently renovated and looks so fresh! It's the perfect place for some delicious bites and great wine to go with it. Friendly, attentive service, very clean and tables are socially distanced already. They have a great patio for those warmer lunch times. I had the lamb popsicles, they were so good! Must be eaten hot so eat these first! Then I had the calamari and, WOW! These calamari are one of my favourites so far. They have a Portuguese flair with olives and tomatoes, delicious. And to finish I tried the fries which were light and fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside! Definitely recommend this place if you're downtown and want some Portuguese inspired cuisine. read more

Villa Bistro - Lamb popsicles, calamari, truffle fries. - Modern European Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

Attended a staff retirement party with a fixed menu with which we were given a choice of beef or chicken so I had no idea what to expect for a meal! We started with a small mixed greens salad with goat cheese, artichoke, and marinated tomatoes that almost tasted fizzy (which kind of alarmed me tbh). It was lightly dressed and perfectly fine - nothing amazing. This was followed by a braised short rib with mashed potatoes and perfectly cooked asparagus. Delicious. Dessert was a fantastic little bite of a brownie with poached pear and caramel - the hint of salt was what made this amazing for me. The other dessert was a little jar of creamy stuff (I don't think cheesecake? It was pretty fluffy and light) with a tart fruit sauce (raspberry?) garnished with a crumble of what I believe was meringue. It was delightful. I'd love to go back and try some of the other menu items, the ambiance was lovely and cozy. read more

Villa Bistro - Dessert - Modern European Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

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Most of my recent restaurant experiences at various restaurants have been fine but yesterday villa bistro was exceptional. The food and service were both excellent. We had lobster fettuccini short ribs and chicken Marsala All three entrees were fresh and delicious. I would definitely recommend this restaurant read more

I went to check out Villa Bistro a couple weeks back with a couple coworkers! It is tucked away on the end of 104st that I rarely venture, but definitely is worth a visit. They do have a patio for those nice summer or spring days, as well as ample seating. I believe this previously was the location of a sandwich/soup joint a few years back, as I recall catching up with a friend here once! The cafe is modern and quite quiet so it makes for the perfect ambience to catch up with a friend or have lunch (or dinner) meeting or even a small getogether! They do also have different specials throughout the week! We happened to stop in on a Thursday when they have $15 pasta specials! My co-workers both ordered the seafood linguine filled with salmon, scallops, and prawns and came with a slice of garlic bread on the side and looked delicious. The portion size was decent. I opted for the 2 piece fish and chips because I was in that kind of mood that day. It was served with fries and coleslaw that kind of was more saladesque but still delicious nonetheless. The leafy greens were fresh and crunchy and the dressing was just right! The fish was super flaky and served with some tartar sauce on the side. Service was quite speedy and attentive despite there only being one waitress that day! Perfect, when you only have an hour long lunch break! The next time you need a quiet place to catch up with a friend Villa Bistro definitely is worth being a contender! read more

Villa Bistro - 2 piece fish and chips. - Modern European Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

Had a bad feeling about this call. Ordéred pick up for 8:45 at 6:30. Then tried to order the short rib with risotto. No short rib, tried to order the filet of beef, told the only had a filet of fish, they could order me a tenderloin of beef...whatever. I ordered risotto instead of potato.. Beef came cooked right, but with potatoes not risotto and served as if made at 6:30 for 8:45 pickup. Dessert a Dixie cup of icecream, a slab of brownie with 2 tiny slices of poached pear. Underwhelming. read more

Quaint corner bistro on 104 street located around the corner from the Holiday Express Inn in the heart of downtown Edmonton. Today was a bitterly cold day with extreme wind chills so the desire to wander far for lunch was non existant. I turned down 104 street and literally stumbled on this corner bistro. I was in the hot pursuit for comfort food. A toasty sandwich and a hot bowl of soup. I must have timed it right before the lunch rush as it was just me. I am writing this as the rich aroma from the cream of mushroom soup tickles my nose. A new spin on a classic Grilled Cheese Sandwich and my taste buds have found happiness. Like a warm blanket on a cold Saturday morning. Make sure to check out this quaint bistro where staff are welcoming with bug smiles. And the hockey game in the background perked up my Canuck winter blues. read more

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I hate that I have to dole out a 1 on a place but this is what it is. Joint was exceptionally bad from the get go... On the ruins of what was Nello's/Il Pasticchio/Nello's lays the newest Italian reincarnation of the iconic spot on the corner of 116st and 100ave...this place has a special spot in my heart, my grandmother used to love this spot back in the day and we celebrated a few bday dinners years ago..unfortunately it's fallen on hard times. We walk into an empty room basically, and after having a laugh at getting propositioned for oral pleasure by a homeless person in the bathroom (albeit a public bathroom) I was certainly hoping for a good meal...my bad. We started with some lamb lollipops with a chimichurri which looked absolutely incredible but fell majorly flat. Just under seasoned and bland. Well cooked temperature wise but just blah. The Chimi was super oily and didn't have much flavour at all...not a good start ,Fingers crossed for the mains I ordered the braised short rib, which I'm gonna order pretty much every time I see one on a menu...unfortunately they didn't have any ready, we were told it would be ready in an hour or so...this was at 630..on a Friday night...cause why would you have that ready? Not sure who is running the kitchen but you'd better be able to produce items from the menu at 630 on a Friday night especially when there's 2 table in your restaurant...so I settled for a lobster gnocchi while my GF decided on the half chicken with fried brussel sprouts and mash. I've never had more dense gummy gnocchi in my life. Instead of light and fluffy it was a little like eating chunks of dry wall paste. The lobster was ok, pretty over cooked but not terrible. The GF had thee most over cooked dry chicken one could possibly imagine, to the point where she couldn't even come close to finishing it. The mash was just blah and the gravy was congealed and disgusting. Huge props on the brussel sprouts tho, they were delicious! So a couple pointers...after we finished our lamb lollipops we had used our utensils...they were placed neatly on our side plates. Instead of taking them and bringing new ones we were instructed to just keep them and put them on the table while she got us some new napkins...just pony up the 2 new roll ups ok. Like seriously there's 6 people in the whole place I think it could be done. The napkins are another thing. They were literally the cheapest things ever, like the ones you pull outta the tin dispenser on your table at a Burger Baron. If you're gonna try to put on the facade of fine Italian dining (even in these extraordinary times) pony up for a real napkin please. Not even cloth, just more than one ply please. If you're gonna serve chicken (dry or not) and lamb maybe a steak knife of some kind? Dull bread knives aren't gonna (literally) cut it. We ducked out before having to endure dessert... Our server was lovely, and was trying her best but clearly was under trained and not very knowledgeable. I really wanted to like this place but it needs some serious work or this will be another restaurant on the garbage pile of CoVid 19. I hope this stuff can be fixed and would actually like to give it a try when they get back in shape Cheers Andy read more

Checked out this place because it was part of the Downtown Harvest Dining event taken place in Edmonton. I wanted to check it out because it is a fairly newish restaurant, with not too much fanfare attached to it. It was pleasant enough in the inside. It had rather warm interior. One thing I didn't like was that there are not any interior bathrooms rather you need to remember a code and take it to hallway. This is not convenient but not completely a deal breaker. Our server was pleasant enough and left us with menus even though we were ordering off of a special menu. Glancing at the menu it had nothing standoutish but a good selection of burgers, sandwiches, appetizers, and main entrees. We ordered a squash soup as well as a cream of mushroom. I had the Cajun salmon while my husband chose the braised short rib. I have to say, the food was amazing. Possibly one of the best cream of mushroom soups I have tried, my own butternut squash soup was rich and warming. My trout was perfectly cooked, the generous portion was plated on top of fried mushroom quinoa and perfectly cooked asparagus. I loved how they prepared the quinoa, the frying gave an additional crunch. My husband's short ribs were flake off the fork tender. Definitively worth trying out. read more

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I popped into Villa Bistro because I was waiting for the Red Arrow bus and it was hot out and there were people on the patio and they had a Happy Hour and I was thiiiiiirs-tay. Man am I ever glad I did. This place is GREAT and I haven't even eaten there yet! I sat at the bar and chit chatted with owner and drank my $4 Happy Hour pint and it was an absolute treat. I'm 5 starring this place based on the décor, the location and the lovely people that run it. Just by watching how much care went into the cocktails that were being made and the care going into polishing glasses while serving and having a sincere convo with me, I can tell this place is a total lucky find on my part. I HAVEN'T EVEN TRIED THE FOOD YET YOU GUYS. But boy-oh-boy I watched the dishes coming out of the kitchen and everything looked spectacular. There's not a doubt in my mind that everything isn't as delicious as it looks. I've been away at work for 3 weeks and legit my first stop when I get home is to hit Villa Bistro. They advertise a $30 3-course date night on Saturday nights: appy, main and dessert plus $2 off cocktails and I'll be hitting that up ASAP. read more

Villa Bistro is the new restaurant where the Free Press Bistro used to be, and I loved it!!! The service was great - friendly and fast. We grabbed a seat on the patio for lunch on Saturday. The prices are a little expensive, but I found the value to be totally worth the money. We ordered the Salmon salad and a pulled pork sandwich with fries and shared both. The salmon salad I was especially leery of because it was 20$ (yikes!), but it looked delicious, and we were splitting, so I gave it a try. And boy am I glad I did! They split it for us and it was a large portion, absolutely worth 10$. With roasted yams and brussel sprouts and a champagne vinagrette...I can't wait to eat it again!! Like I said, we also split the pulled pork sandwich with fries, which was 17$. The pulled pork was a little bit spicy, with a nice creamy slaw on top. It was great. Although a little expensive, I feel like the prices are in line with delicious, downtown food. Overall, I loved it and will be going back often. read more

Villa Bistro - The pulled pork sandwich with fries - Modern European Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

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Highly recommend checking out the new location! All new menu items are really a step above. To top it off, the ambiance of the new location was amazing. Great big airy patio with an awesome view. Quality COVID measures put in place with socially distanced tables and staff wearing their masks properly. Can't recommend enough! read more

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Good Swiss burger and fabulous fries. Local apricot beer was a good choice with it. Surprised by how good it was. Friendly staff, vEry quiet place on a Monday night. read more

Had an amazing dinner at Villa Bistro last night with friends. The baked brie with blueberry compote, lamp pops and salmon avocado toast were absolutely incredible!! I will most definitely be back. Thank you Keltie and Rui for your wonderful hospitality! read more

Villa Bistro - Modern European Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

Was headed back to Calgary on the Red Arrow so decided to try Villa Bistro before heading to the bus. Ordered the Caesar Salad. You could immediately tell if was freshly made, the chicken was warm and tender, seasoned perfectly. Service was excellent and welcoming. The salad took a bit longer than expected to arrive (that is on me) so had to gobble it down in a hurry. Would have much rather taken time to enjoy. Perhaps next trip. Enjoyed the first experience here and look forward to a return visit. read more

Hidden gem. Tucked away south of Jasper Ave on 104s St, this place deserves more evening traffic than it gets. We booked a table for 2 on a cold Friday night in January, and when we arrived there was only 1 other group of customers in the place. Menu has the usual Bistro things like burgers, sandwiches, salads and a good selection of dinner type things like pasta, short rib, and salmon. I chose the Loaded Villa Burger and it was absolutely delicious. Thick handmade patty that was juicy and flavourful, fresh toppings and lovely flavourful sauces like aioli and a couple slices of glazed bacon. It was, possibly, one of the best burgers I've had in Edmonton. I chose the truffle fries as my side and they were also full of flavour and delicious. Service was also excellent, really friendly, knew the menu and went above and beyond to make sure our experience was a good one. Beer menu was ok, but only had 1 local beer option. Edmonton's beer scene is getting to be very good, it would nice to see more restaurants support them instead of the big brand stuff. Food 5/5 Service 5/5 Beer 2.5/5 read more

Excellent food and great customer service at Villa. Had a great time with friends and felt the Decore and atmosphere was very appropriate. Definitely will be back and recommend to others. I've never heard of this place until I found out about it through a friend. read more

Pulled Pork sandwich is to die for. This is a great little place to eat. We came across it by accident and decided to step in. We were not disappointed. Great staff. Really cheerful. The service was very prompt. We both liked the atmosphere. Overall, I have nothing but great things to say about this place. read more

We want to a wedding downtown. The sky was pouring rain so we sheltered in Villa Bistro and had the most amazing lunch! The Caesar house salad and the mixed green house salad were fabulous. We also had pecan pie and a berry cheese cake that were both so delicious. The service was excellent - fast and efficient. If you want a special treat, have a meal at Villa Bistro. read more

I contacted Villa Bistro to organize a small covid friendly 90th Birthday dinner for our mother. I spoke with Keltie who is one of the co-owners and she was extremely helpful. I asked if they could set up a section with socially distanced tables for our guests and she was very accommodating. We organized a set menu with Keltie and chef Rui who is the other co-owner. The food was absolutely delicious and our server Emma was very attentive and helped to make the evening perfect. Our guests all enjoyed the food, service, and ambience and are looking forward to returning in the future. Thanks to Keltie, Rui, and Emma for making our mother's birthday dinner so special! read more

Great little find, right by the hotel we stayed in. The service was prompt and very friendly. The salad was delicious. Very clean, nice atmosphere. I was not disappointed. read more

Villa Bistro - Modern European Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

Great locale and delicious items. We shared appy, salad, and mains. Excellent! We will be back!

Great Italian food! The Seafood Linguini is definitely one of the best I've ever tasted. Flavourful sauce.

Not great. Pretty pricey menu items for lunch... $18 brie appetizer, $ 18 steak sandwich, $19 beef deep with some kind of greasy 'ketchup' flavoured dipping sauce. (It actually reminded me of the pkgs of Swiss Chalet gravy you can buy at Safeway.) Kitchen service was terrible. We ended up being comped the brie as it took almost 45 minutes to arrive. Lunch entree also didn't arrive until 12:45. That's too slow when most folks are on their lunch hour. Clearly a kitchen issue as there were only five tables with guests. Our server was great though. Quite attentive. In the end I would say I don't need to go back here. Lots of better choices in the neighbourhood for better lunch value. read more

If you plan to dine al fresco, be aware that a Red Arrow bus depot is next door and is busy with at least one idling bus at the supper hour. I had the Sea Food Linguini, which was no big deal. The shrimp were over cooked. They no longer had the Chocolate Mousse and were out of Pecan Pie, so I settled for the strawberry cheesecake which is also not memorable. There might be great items on the menu, but I don't think I'll be back to try find out. The service, however, was fine. read more