Considering this is within walking distance from home, i quite like La Villa.

Went last night (saturday night) and since i used to study there when i was in primary school it really brought back some old old old memories. What used to be the drink stall is now the kitchen. Where the bar is just used to be a wall. If u walk passs the wine fridges on your way to the toliet, it used to be the entrance into the teachers office.

So yea, some old memories, but for the food i thought it the place did a good job with what we had.

Bread basket wasnt too bad. They had a rasin bread which was tasty, a red-colored hue tomatoe bread which wasnt too bad either and some crackers kinda thing which was really delicous and buttery. the bread roll itself... not that fantastic. The olive oil used also not so good, but nvm i guess.

So, ordered the octopus salad, mushroom boullion and sword fish carpaccio to start.

I personally quite enjoyed the octopus, some people may say its tough and what not, but i like the very refreshing citrus tang from the dressing, plus it was served in some kind of crsip pastry square, kinad like when u deep fry a tortilla bread thing, very tasty. The mushroom boullion was very subtle, clear and very precise in flavour. Full of funghi-y goodnees, i thought it was good. Some tasty dumplings thrown in there also for good effect. The swordfish i felt had one big flaw, just waaay too much lemon juice, and a dish that was marinated for too long. After though "sucking" the juice out of the fish, i thought it was actaully pretty tasty. Dense, and deep in texture and flavour, i liked it at the end.

Main course time, we had a fish dish, cant remember which one.. i think it was the dauprade or something like that, cooked en pappilote, as in wrapped in foil with vegetables. Another very clean tasting well done fish dish. vegetables werent over cooked, fish was fresh, and the mopping up sauce was all very tasty. Ordered also the artichoke soup as a maincourse (mum didnt want to eat too much), not really my kind of thing though, felt it was too sour and i like artichoke really with just a touch of lemon. Then, oh ho then, the suckling pig came. Personally this is one of the best dishes i have had in a very long time. The pork itself, incredibly soft and meltingly gooey with all that fat and what i guess was tendon. the crackling also was excellent, very crisp. But oh god, the polenta that came with it, possibly full of cream, but incredibly good. Very, very creamy, with some black truffle puree mixed into it, just tasted fabulous, kinda like when i first ate foie gras. Just incredible, would go back there just to order the damn polenta (odera-ble as a side dish)

Desserts were good also, had the valanchia or something, a merigune based dish really with some ice cream in the middle and more meringue on the outside. very colorful, light, simple. lemon meringue pie was also ordered, another very solid dish.

ordered a bottle of spanish wine, really cant remember what it was. went well with everything i thought though.

Overall i like this place, good location, decent food, and the service i thought was perfectly accpetable. Especially during the day went to Chocz at the esplanade and had terrible service there, so it was nice. Sommierler very friendly, so was the chef and all the other waiters in fact. Didnt have to wait long, and although we were dressed in shorts (whilst everyone had atleast jeans) they werent snobby or anything. Decor is nothing fancy, but its clean and pleasent enough although i think its just me, but standing in the lobby made me feel as if i wasnt in Singapore, not sure why.

So yea check it out, if not for just the damn polenta. Tasty as hell.

we just discovered the place that fulfills all the dining/entertainment needs you may have in 1 location: business lunch, aperitivo with sunset, family dinner on sunday, birthday party with friends, whisky and cigar night on the bar deck, ... endless!

great ambience, great service, and mostly great food (they have a french chef called felicien)!

One of those places where you are not sure whether it is money well spent.

Firstly, they really should do something about signage. Especially for cars crossing the other side .

As for service, we arrived only a day after they opened so of course more hands on deck. I am not sure about now judging from the previous reviews.

Their recommendation for fois gras soup as appetizer was plainly awful . The first batch was double salted ! And frankly fois gras in soup is a bloody sin. I had to try it cos it was "different".

I went for pizza which wasn't that mindblowing considering they had their own open oven. More like a bad VivoCity Spizza (now Pizza Hut).

My folks ordered the Lamb and i must say it came in beautifully. 6 Large ribs ! Salads were good too.

Their selection of wine was ample and the overall look of the place was neat.

However, i am encouraging them to lower their prices just a little bit to make any sense...

Set in the old River Valley Primary School, La Villa is a hideout just below Leonie Hill serving Mediterranean food. Look for the lit signboard on River Valley Road pointing out ERC, go in, pass the carpark and a big, pleasant outdoor dining courtyard to the main building.

The inside of the restaurant is separated from the courtyard by glass doors, giving you a view of outside. It also means that cars coming down Leonie Hill Road will shine their headlights at you. It is decently decorated, furnished and lit, with mirrors on the perimeter walls, spot lights and concrete screed flooring.

By coincidence, I came here on the day that Business Times featured it. Not knowing the article came out that morning, I ran straight into an almost full house.

There's a reasonable selection of wines by the glass with more than 5 choices each, unlike places that give you a choice of one or two only. I picked a glass of Cape Mentelle Sauvignon Blanc ($16++), and they poured me a fairly big glass.

There's a good selection of simple food - various starters, pizzas, pastas and mains. I spied a suckling pig confit on the menu and will be returning for that.

You get a nice basket of several breads to start. The orders for the day were:
Seared tuna loin with capsicum ($18++)
Cheese ravioli ($20++)
Emiliana pizza ($20++)

The seared tuna loin - 3 small pieces - was seared on the outsides only. The portions of the yellow and red capsicum were small.

The waiter serving brought me some soup - but wait I didn't order any - oops no er it's ravioli in broth. BT says the cheese ravioli is imported frozen from France. This was a pleasant dish, with the mild cheese not overwhelming the taste.

Emiliana pizza was also good, a large sized portion with decent and generous ingredients. This was one of the better pizzas I've had. Good value.

Service was pleasant, and my server Shah was helpful throughout. Prices are reasonable for the pasta and pizza, so if you plan your orders to budget you can do quite well here. I feel the Senso group has done a good job on their new casual joint, La Villa.

Just adjourned from a dinner there, simply poor are the 2 words i have to say.

I suggested this place for a dinner with a friend who was back in town. We arrived and waited at the door for almost 10 minutes and no one came. My wife volunteered to go in and get someone's attention. Finally we got seated and the menu looked nice. But it stopped there. took them another 10-15 minutes to come back for our orders. I'll tell you what we ordered:
1 beer 12
1 coke
1 fresh tomato soup - starter 12
1 sword fish Carpaccio - starter 22
1 side of fries 8
1 La villa pizza 20
1 baked salmon 28
1 Iberian ham pasta 22
Total damage =approx 160

We were served bread and our starters were decent, but we had to help ourselves and find our own black pepper...On to our main course, salmon and pasta came together and the pizza came 15 mins later and the fries arrived when we finished everything, I asked the waiter if he knew the reason for the delay, he said, it could be the other waiter’s fault. I’m not sure what that meant. Also our drinks arrived half way through the meal.
About the food, The salmon plain and disappointing, I’m sure some of you have tried salmon at IKEA food court.....that beats this place hands down.....just as a benchmark for your reference.
The pasta was a far worse experience, it probably had 5g of ham in it, and I’m not exaggerating I know the world going through a recession, surely when you pay 22 bucks, you expect to see some resemblance of the ingredients that you saw in the menu.
As for the pizza, let’s just say we all took a slice and that was it, my friend boxed it for his dog.
And yes we did not want to leave dessert to chance........