Villa Cornelia Restaurant

Absolutely fantastic! Perfect place to celebrate an anniversary or any romantic occasion. My husband, who is very picky about the food he eats, delighted in an entree of chicken cabarnara, made with fresh hand made pasta. I had the duck confit, which was very tender and delicious. We’ll be back for sure! Such an amazing, decadent experience (not to mention the beautiful, warm decor)!

The website advertised a 5 course menu for $60 including taxes and tip for New Years Eve dinner. To begin, I ordered the beef tenderloin with lobster tail but they were already sold out of the lobster by 7:45. The rest of the meal was excellent. When the bill arrived, taxes were being added on. I pointed this out along with the webpage showing that they should not. The response was that it was changed last minute. This reeks of bait and switch. Terrible customer service. I will never go again.

A special evening - spoilt! My order was scallops to start followed by duck. The scallops were almost perfect but not quite opaque. Small amount not cooked detracted from the whole. Another 15 seconds of cooking, maybe, would have made all the difference. The duck was plentiful ( too much food on the plate generally ) but the aroma was not of roasted duck but of overheated, burnt fat, like overcooked bacon. The duck itself was dry. No sauce with the duck which might have counteracted the dryness, but there was some oversweet marmalade of little flavour - difficult to detect any orange flavour. My husbands order of mushroom soup was 'unremarkable' but the seafood Normandy was good. We had little inclination to take dessert but were encouraged to at least have some fresh fruit. Some strawberries, thin strips of apple (I think that's what it was - not sure) was served, this having been soaked in a hot, oversweet syrup. The fresh fruit was ruined by this and although it looked good it was quite inedible. Selection of beer and wine was poor. My husband would have enjoyed a glass of decent beer but nothing of interest available and I'd have liked a glass of good white wine followed by a glass of red, preferrably Canadian. Not available. We shared a bottle of OK Chillean Merlot instead. I understand from other diners that the 'set menu for theatre goers' that evening was quite good!!

Enjoyable

Went here for a dinner for two and was met with an old victorian house. Inside the decor is very conservative. Looks like somethng circa 1940's in east Europe. I guess therein lies the intrigue. There are a few smaller rooms, so if it isn't busy, you can get a room to yourself for some privacy. On the night we went, there were only a few other patrons, so it was quiet and private. Our waitress was a Hungarian lady who also spoke German, so I got to practice my German with her during the course of the evening. She provided friendly and efficient service throughout. I had a ceasar salad, a steak with a mushroom sauce, and we also ordered wine. The salad was an average ceasar, but I really liked the steak with that sauce they used. I also loaded up my veggies and potato with it and it made everything scrumptious. I was stuffed after dinner, so I did not get dessert, but I continued to drink the wine we ordered. Overall, we had a good time and I would go back based on this.

Nice Place, Good Value, Poor Food

My Wife and I had previously visited this restaurant for Valentines Day before we were married and enjoyed it. We decided to go back and try their Anniversary Special (good value). We were the only ones in the restaurant the entire evening. Decor is dated and needs to be updated, however the privacy was nice. Service was average but nothing over the top as would be expected in a "Fine Dining" restaurant. Appetizers were good (best part of the meal), Baked Brie with Raspberry and pear was nice, however the pears were ice cold and did not go well with the warm cheese. Caesar salad was good. Bread was warm and fresh. Main Courses were average. Both the Lamb and Beef were well prepared. The sauce on the lamb was nice and not to heavy with mint as many are. The sides were sad. The lamb was served with plain white rice (zero flavour) and the beef with potatoes which were good. The vegetable side was frozen beans fried with red onion, red pepper and zucchini. You would expect fresh not frozen food at a "Fine Dining" establishment, especially in the summer. I am glad I did not order seafood as I am sure it would have been frozen, not fresh. Desert choice was good, however when served the selections were COVERED with powered sugar, to the extent you could not see the actual pie/tort. The Lemon Torte again was not a torte but a moose type wet blob. Tea coffee and wine were all fine. Overall the atmosphere was nice and what we were looking for but this is not fine dining by any means. I Should have known there was something up when we were the only people in the restaurant on a Thursday evening. I don't think there was a chef present at Villa Cornelia, I should have known to ask when making reservations if they had a chef or a cook. This restaurant has huge potential, it needs to be updated, both on the menu side and decor to be competitive in the London market. Visit at your own risk!