Arvada Villa

Non-​pretentious Italian food. Great home made pasta and I loved the veal parm. It’s a family owned throw back that feels comfortable and welcoming.

If it were possible to give zero stars, I would. Came with about 7 family members. Hostess was very rude from the moment we walked in. Apparently we rubbed the hostess the wrong way because she went out of her way not to seat us. One of my family members shared that the hostess had called someone in our party a bitch when we decided to walk out — after she repeatedly sat smaller groups/​couples who arrived after us at large tables. Went to Lil’ Nicks instead where we were treated like royalty! Won’t ever go back… not sure what the draw is with a first impression like that. Being a regular here seemed to be key. While waiting, we witnessed several regulars receive very warm welcomes. Unless you’re a regular, I say get your Italian elsewhere.

The number 1 thing with this restaurant is the service. It was really great! We had our two kiddos that are pretty young, but the people around us and the waitress were super nice. They treated us so well and even gave our son a cookie. The prices for the food seem really high for what you get, but perhaps I’m missing something? That is why there is only 3 stars in this review. We skipped drinks and dessert because one plate of Chicken Marsala costs $ 19! We’ll probably be back but we’ll be sticking to the cheaper items like we did this trip.

Hands down worst dining experience ever. Everything from the service to the food (the water even tasted like dirt) and as former waitress I’m fairly leniet.
Let’s start with the service. We sat down and it took several minutes to acknowlegde our existence… and even more time to get menus. While I must admit, our waitress was very nice, and we did get our food in a timely manner, the rest of the staff were shockingly rude and unprofessional. The only other waitress there, was drinking on the job, as was the ENTIRE kitchen staff. How do I know, the waitress went right to the wine cooler and poured herself a large glass of white wine, and two men came out of the kitchen and poured themselves a Guinnes, RIGHT IN FRONT OF US AND THE WHOLE BUSINESS. Now let’s move on to the food.
I ordered the fettuccini with meatballs and susage. The sauce tatsted like «chef boiardee», again ask me how I know i ate a lot of that in college. The meatballs had no taste and were mushy. The susage was nothing special, it tatsted like they just went to the local grocery store and bought some Johnsonville Italian susage. Honestly the food is so nasty, I have no idea how this place has been opened since 1960. Seriuosly how do you mess up the taste of water (it tasted like dirt)!!!
Please, do yourself a favor and get yourself a can of chef boyardee, it will be a lot ($ 19 a plate!!!) cheaper and it will taste the exact same; minus the drunken kitchen staff and shitty service.

Don’t know how to rate! Website shows open until 9:00 on Sunday. Walked in at 8:30 and were told they were closed! Update your website! Checked it before driving there! Ended well, went to Randi’s which showed the same hours, well received, GREAT pizza – Better than Arvada Villa!!!

Was attending a seminar at Red Rocks in Arvada and wanted to try somethihg local at lunch. Decided to try this place I’d spotted as the first couple of Unilocal reviews I glanced at were positive.
When I entered I was barely acknolwledged with what I took to be «seat yourself».
Just a few people there. Very dim and in major need of a paint-​job which I really can overlook if the food /​service are good.
In retrospect I probably should’ve tried the pizza but wasn’t that starved and wanted something I could store easily in the little fridge available to me if I had leftovers (and I usually do)
While waitiing to order couldn’t help but notice the warm welcome the regulars DID receive that came in after me. Three were greeted by name.
When it came time to order settled on the stuffed shells with a sausage. Comes with soup or salad. I don’t care for salad but love soup. They didn;t have any soup… at noon. I told the waitress to just hold the salad so as not to waste it. She offed me a meatball as a substitute which I accepted. This should get them an extra half-​star, Asked for a to-​go box up front but was just told let to let her know when I was ready.
A small basket of bread (very fresh and good) butter and some of those little cellophane-​wrapped breadsticks were brought out while I waited and read a paper. Nothing provided to set the bread on though.
The Pasta came out, two shells. half-​sauced and one oddly naked. Just OK sauce and pasta, the filling needed a binder and had to be chased around the plate. Meatball OK-​sausage quite good. Wildly uneven.
Clearly the reviewers who grew up on this place are tasting nosalgia.

Pizza is a little pricy but super good! I ordered the Arvada Villa Super Pizza, Large. $ 15 for takeout. The guy that took my order was very over the phone was short and rushed me off the phone. The lady that gave me my pizza was very nice and even put parmesan cheese in a little cup for me. The décor in the restaurant is dated but I liked and appreciated it. Will be going back!

Looking for a good Italian meal, my daughter and I thought we’d try Arvada Villa since we live near and we understood this place to be popular with the locals since the 1960’s. My daughter was looking to enjoy Fettuccine Alfredo and found this restaurant does not serve Fettuccine Alfredo. Really? Instead, we both ordered the Chicken Parmigiana with home made noodles. A salad was served with each entrée. I ordered Italian dressing, that was a mistake. It tasted like only corn oil was drizzled over my salad with just the tiniest hint of vinegar. The Chicken Parmigiana was okay. Honestly, for $ 19.00, I think I’ve had better Chicken Parmigiana TV dinners though. The chicken was not crispy and the pasta was chewy and tasted of flour. Yuck. Our waitress all but disappeared and we had to ask to have our drinks refilled. From the beginning, she had an attitude. The place was packed! Though for the life of me, we couldn’t understand why. As we watched, it was clear the «regulars» were treated well. Clearly Arvada Villa feels they do not need any new business. No problem, we definitely will NOT be returning.
Service — ²⁄₅ (forgotten about /​attitude)
Food — ²⁄₅ (tasteless)
Décor — ²⁄₅ (dark and dated)
Cleanliness — 2 – 5 (food and such under the coolers near the door /​chair back sticky)
Speed — ³⁄₅ (the best part of the meal)
Welcome feeling — ¹⁄₅

Been coming here sense I was a kid. Excellent food! Homemade pasta and a great family atmosphere. Great bar as well and they always have the games on. One of my favorite local places!!! :-)

The food was not bad but was extremely overpriced. $ 18 a plate for spaghetti is ridiculous.

We were pleasantly surprised with our visit to Arvada Villa. The service was beyond EXCELLENT! She was friendly, knowledgeable, and honest with recommendations. The food was delicious; the best Chicken Marsala I’ve ever had. My husband had the lasagna, and while tasty he said it was a bit heavy on the ricotta and needed more sauce. The do not have a kids menu, but our girls were able to share an entrée and it was plenty.
I’d happily give 5 stars but it needs a good clean and the tables are way too close together. If the restaurant was packed it would be uncomfortable. It is also a bit dated, but that’s not a reason not to go!

We had pizza here a while back. it was take out and needless to say we were not impressed. To be fair and give this place a fair shot, we went back to try it again. The food is expensive and for what you pay for it is average AT BEST. My ravioli was basically the ravioli with tomato sauce from a can dumped on it. Needless to say, I wasn’t happy with the place. The service was decent enough, so no complaints there.
The place was a bit dim as well. That’s fine I suppose if you are looking for a romantic setting. But I think this was more to hide the food so you couldn’t see what you were eating. The place looked like it had a thin veil of grease across everything. It really wasn’t appealing at all.
In the end, I don’t think I shall ever return. We gave this place two shots and neither time was impressive whatsoever. There are much better places within ten minutes of here. Save your money.

Dated. A little dark. But yummy food, a GREAT wine pour and really friendly service.
Met the family there before candle light Good Friday service and it worked out really nicely. I wasn’t starving, so I just went with two apps (Caesar salad and the meatballs). My cousin did the same thing but with a different salad and the spicy sausage. Both were really good and as I mentioned before, the wine pour was very generous.

Love the pizza! Loved it the first time I went and I think they just might outdo themselves every time I go! The staff are beyond friendly and helpful! Love this place!

Great place when you’re in the mood for traditional Italian! The pizza has a nice buttery thin crust. The homemade pasta noodles have a great texture. The sauce is the deep rich type that really clings to the noodles. The sausage sandwich is unique in that it’s patties versus link. The meat has a nice spice to it. My husband ordered the house chianti which was a prefect compliment to the food and he appreciated the generous pour. Oh and the double chocolate cake. It’s surprising very light. Save room!

ordered a pizza with green peppers and onions. What I received was something circular with sauteed onions and hot Italian peppers on it. The peppers were not minced or sliced but rather just cut in half and slopped around the pizza circle.
The whole sauteed onion slices were not spread around the pizza but just plonked there — an entire slice of sauteed onion at a time.
The crust might as well have not been there at all it was so thin (2 or 3 mm at best!) that it was completely sogged down by the sauce. and unable to be held by hand. The sauce itself was somewhat sweetish and the best thing that can be said about it was that it was — generic.
All around a poorly made pizza.

Yes the owner was a bit intoxicated. A broncos game was going on. No one in restaurant service was ok. Owner was yelling and carrying on about game at bar which is right next to tables. We had our 3 year old with us and she was wondering why that man kept yelling. Pizza was mediocre. We ordered shrimp on pizza came out with baby brine shrimps. Very disappointed. Garlic bread was burned on top and again we were the only people there. Took awhile for pizza which is understanding but it wasnt worth the wait. Owner bragged about how he makes everything gets there at 4 am. Meatballs were boring. Everything was boring and bland.

The restaurant claims to have been here since 1960. I felt like it was still 1960. Then, it would have been expected that a drunken owner would make a racist comment. I came in with an African American friend and this drunken jerk said something so despicable that we just got up and walked out in disgust. So, if you are reading this and deciding where to eat, you can go here. Just remember… you are who you eat with.

Super small and quaint with that mom n pop feel. Had the veal and home made spaghetti noodles. They were great! If you are used to store-​bought noodles I would not suggest getting home made. They are much different and many people aren’t used to the different texture/​taste. The sauce was a little boring but I like a ton of different spices in mine. I was rather disappointed about the wine list. For being an Italian joint you’d think they’d have more than 4 choices…

This restaurant is almost like a place out of time — a time when people knew what customer service was about, and how to take care of customers.
It’s no surprise that this is Arvada’s oldest, continually run restaurant, and, even with plenty of new competition, they still pack the house. Almost everything is made fresh daily on site by the owner who comes in at 5:00 a.m., six days a week. The restaurant is closed on Mondays.
We are vegetarian, so we can only eat the pizza since, even though the marinara is vegetarian, they soak their meatballs and sausage in it to warm them up — the way restaurants used to do. The pizza sauce, however, is kept separate and vegetarian.
When you eat an Arvada Villa pie, you’ll find it’s different, too. It’s not quite like any other you’ve had. The crust is made fresh daily, giving it the proper flavor and texture. The marinara is made fresh, too, and it is seasoned just right. And, at $ 16 for a decent sized pizza, it’s a decent value even in today’s market.
What really makes this place special is the service. The owner talks to every customer. He even goes around and tops of wine glasses, and it’s all sincere. He really is that way, and not just putting on a show because corporate told him he has to. If you look around the walls, you’ll see plaques that the owner had made with the names of many, many loyal customers — customers who have been dining there for years — and attached to the walls. It’s his way of honoring them.
I love this place for all of the homemade goodness, the different pizza, and, most of all, the hospitality that leaves me feeling like a kind every time I go. If you are sick of being treated like a sack of potatoes by some high school kid at a run-​of-​the-​mill restaurant, go here, and rediscover what hospitality and customer service mean.
(I have read the negative reviews, and I sincerely feel those people either missed the boat, or were paid to post negative reviews. I know of no place in the Denver area that honors its valued customers with plaques on the wall, tops of wine glasses free, and has the same good, consistent, fresh food every time. I’ll stake my reputation on it. If you don’t like what you get, ask for Jim Gibson, and I guarantee he’ll make it right)