villa ravenna

mixed feelings.. this place is definitely good, don't get me wrong on that. the food is good and reminds me of my grandmother who made many italian dishes passed down through the family. the owner is more than attentive and takes care of any issue.
however, it is pretty expensive, especially since most of the dishes i can make at home and it tastes pretty similar. that is probably just a personal opinion being that i cook a lot of italian. the little things add up fast: appetizer, dessert, wine. specials are expensive, but looking at the ingredients they should be.
my advice: go here for special occasions and live it up. or, if you want to experience good italian food, but don't want to spend around 80-120, don't order the extras. if you go with a group, discuss how you will pay ahead oftimeor bring cash because it is difficult to split up things like wine that are shared and you don't want to end up paying more than your share.
great restaurant, but i will save my visits for very special occasions!!! too bad i'm poor! :)

firsttimeto villa ravenna and the consensus was overall good. one member of the party had an escargot starter, followed by veal marsala. the escargot was flavorful and the veal was tender. the waiter expressed many people thought the marsala sauce was tarte compared to others, but we thought quite the contrary. another member of the party had the salmon pasta. the salmon was cooked nicely but the dish was probably not something we would choose to order again. the third member of the party ordered the lamb chops. i have to say i've had the priveledge of eating lamb chops all over the world and these were right on par of some of the most perfectly cooked lamb...ever. the mash was also quite tasty. and finally to the last dish...my dish. the sea scallops. sigh, i have to say i was very disappointed. after having tasted the perfectly cooked lamb, i expected my scallops to melt in my mouth, instead i was met with overcooked scallops. the flavor was nice with the sea salt - but scallops are a fine art and i was not on the same page as the artist...i probably did a disservice by not sending them back, but i hate being that person...they were edible, so i endured. :) the mushroom risotto was nice. the waiter advised on his favorite wine which was fantastic. he was a little quirky, but we liked that. he checked on us just enough and we weren't asked how every little thing was, which is annoying to us. it was a nice dinner, some exceeding an some lacking but all in all i'd recommend this restaurant.

best italian dinner in town. i am not one to write reviews, however, am taking thetimeand opportunity to pay complements to this wonderful jewel of a restaurant. great food, great service, music is wonderful. going back to celebrate my wife's birthday this weekend.

thanks @luisberto for letting us know about this jewel. wonderfultimelast night @villaravenna. loved the food, ambiance and service. we will return sooner than anticipated since my mother-in-law will celebrate her birthday here next week! lucky me!

let me start off by saying ravioli alla panna must translate to "pillowy clouds of amazing". probably one of the most delish things i've eaten to date. wow!!!!!!! the meat and cheese and white sauce just went together perfectly and the pasta was melt in your mouth.  what drops the rating to 4 stars was just about everything else except the lemoncello martinis. again 5+ stars on those. now for the not so "5 star" parts. our server was great but as a former server i could tell he was oversat (in the weeds). (not his fault and i did not under tip him because of it). maybe someone called in, but they didn't seem to have a bartender. if this is normal for them they need to rethink this practice. it's busy enough to warrant a fulltimebartender. next, appetizers. bruschetta was good, rich and flavorful but the tomatoes seemed as though they were somewhat cooked/stewed which i was not a fan of. i wasn't disappointed but wouldn't order again. fried zucchini was yum!!! had to be, because i liked it and i hate zucchini :) this i would order again. we also ordered the gorgonzola pear app only to be told 10 minutes later they were out. eh, it happens. it's hard to gauge how many people will come on a tuesday night. another app at the table was the escargot. i don't eat it but the reviews, again, were mixed. good flavor,texture was a bit chewy. another got the onion soup and loved it, i got the caesar salad and was a tad disappointed. it was chop lettuce (lots of white stems) and the dressing was just ok (adding real parmesan to it would have helped tremendously, it seems my parm was the powder variety and that doesn't work for me on a caesar) again, wasn't disappointed but wouldn't order again. i tasted the veal piccata and the meat was super tender and flavorful and not overly lemony (which we were warned it might be, so they were told - don't know who told them that but those people were wrong, i thought it was a great balance of lemon flavor).  we got a piece of the lemoncello cake for dessert - it was wonderful, although i wish they wouldn't pour the lemoncello directly on the cake, it was too much and the parts that didnt get drowned in it were better than the ones that did (those were soggy mush).  all in all its a great place, atmosphere and environment were lovely. i will go here again and again and it does live up to its reputation (i'm just overly critical in my reviews). also, another thing i liked is that you can get an amazing meal for $20 (without cocktails) if you order something basic - which seems to me what they are best at anyways. like most places you just need to focus on the things they do that are amazing and that ravioli was one of them. everyone at the table said it was by far the best dish of the night.

best service ever!!!!. i dint visit tulsa often but, when i do i like to eat at ur restaurant. but never have i had the service that i had last week!! let me start with the server. her name is alisha. she was amazing! not only was she friendly,attentiv, and knowledgeable, she really took thetimeto go out of her way to help my elderly mother. wanted to thank her personally but, she was being just as wonderful to her other tables. wish there were more servers like that lady! i will be making more frequent trips to tulsa just to eat at ur restaurant. the food was great but the service was better! thanks alisha!!

after hearing great reviews about this resturant, we decided to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversay at villa ravenna. i mentioned this when making reservations. we enjoyed the atmosphere, very nice. unfortunatly we were seated in area where tables were very close and hard to have conversation with table of four next to you that never stopped discussing their most recent trips. the staff was very business like, no small
talk to make you feel like the intimate restaurant i was expecting. we explained to waiter our first visit, he almost seemed annoyed with us, soup nazi ish, all business. i will say the appetizer, salad, bread were all very good. my wife had eggplant, she says was very good, maybe best she has eaten. my grilled salmon on the other hand was dry, overcooked, and very thin for salmon. the pasta served as a side dish mixed with small amount of spinanch was rather bland. the cannoli was very goid, but creme brulee was served cold, prefer top to be warm for nice contrast of warm crusty top to custard below. overall, nice romantic atmosphere, stick with traditional italian pasta dishes, stay away from $23 grilled salmon that was dry, overcooked, with little flavor. perhaps a different waiter may have halped salvage this evening, but left with mixed feelings. this was not the family orientated, great service, great food restaurant i had heard about from friends and from reviews. i will probably give this place one more chance in the future, hopefully a waiter who can smile and be patient with firsttimevisitors to their restaurant.

wonderful italian. incredible chicken parmesan and ravioli, nice atmosphere and very freindly and attentive staff. don't forget to have the limoncello and it is really good drizzled on their chocolate cake. corey was our server and did a great job making dinner a fun experience and he also was very knowledgeable in explaining the numerous items that were not on the menu. our firsttimeat this restaurant and we will be back.

best italian in tulsa.... being born in brooklyn and raised on staten island you would think i have had some great italian food from my momma's kitchen to the finest restaurants in new york and the tri-state area. well. i have and i must say that tulsa's villa ravenna is right up there with the best of them.

for appetizers we had their fire roasted tomato bruscetta and a mozzarella, tomato and prosciutto plate drizzled with oil and balsamic vinegar, topped with fresh basil and olives. both appetizers could have been a lunch or light dinner option. it was fresh, satisfying and was a perfect beginning to a perfect meal. i saw a plate of fried calamari pass by us...nexttimethat will be my choice. looked like there was plenty enough for two.

to me, having lived in a land-locked state for almost 18 years i gauge a restaurant on it's ability to handle seafood. sergio and his attentive staff performed admirably. i had the linguine and clams in a garlic and oil sauce. the clams were fresh. properly opened and i had made a special request to make it a little spicy with some crushed red pepper, just like the way mamma used to make it for me...wonderful!

the ravioli in bolognese sauce was nice, the meaty sauce being the tasty accompaniment to the plate of tender pillows of pasta and cheese.

we finished off with cannoli and a bread pudding and ice cream dessert. nexttimei will be back for the lemoncello cake.

price?
fuggetabout...it's only money and a lot cheaper than a flight to italy.
bravo! sergio, see you soon. cioa.


-----23 feb, 2014-----

best italian food in tulsa!. being born in brooklyn and raised on staten island you would think i have had some great italian food from my momma's kitchen to the finest restaurants in new york and the tri-state area. well. i have and i must say that tulsa's villa ravenna is right up there with the best of them.

for appetizers we had their fire roasted tomato bruscetta and a mozzarella, tomato and prosciutto plate drizzled with oil and balsamic vinegar, topped with fresh basil and olives. both appetizers could have been a lunch or light dinner option. it was fresh, satisfying and was a perfect beginning to a perfect meal. i saw a plate of fried calamari pass by us...nexttimethat will be my choice. looked like there was plenty enough for two.

to me, having lived in a land-locked state for almost 18 years i gauge a restaurant on it's ability to handle seafood. sergio and his attentive staff performed admirably. i had the linguine and clams in a garlic and oil sauce. the clams were fresh. properly opened and i had made a special request to make it a little spicy with some crushed red pepper, just like the way mamma used to make it for me...wonderful!

the ravioli in bolognese sauce was nice, the meaty sauce being the tasty accompaniment to the plate of tender pillows of pasta and cheese.

we finished off with cannoli and a bread pudding and ice cream dessert. nexttimei will be back for the lemoncello cake.

price?
fuggetabout...it's only money and a lot cheaper than a flight to italy.
bravo! sergio, see you soon. cioa.

a culinary delight. found this restaurant yesterday while trying to find a decent place to eat in tulsa. four of us visited. none of us could have been more pleased with the food or service. the food prep, presentation, and overall excellence was superb. we could not have asked for better. this is possibly the best restaurant in tulsa. i will go here everytimei am in town from colorado. even though they don't publish their prices on the web, they are very much in line with what you would want.

best italian in tulsa by far. wife and i have been there four times. their fresh pasta is excellent. the service is top-notch. everytimewe've been there we've wanted to go back. expect to pay for the experience.

a very classy place, complete with an extensive wine selection and live piano music. you can enjoy authentic italian food with your date or party in an intimate setting, candlelight included! the atmosphere is best suited for a small group or couple. the service is spectacular and the staff is extremely friendly. (a waiter recognized my date and i from the lasttimewe dined there, which was over a year ago!) we will definitely be returning in the future.

wonderful restaurant. my wife and i have been to villa ravenna 4 times now and have never had a poor experience. we most recently dined there on december 24, 2012 and the entire experience was perfect. the cocktails, appetizer, wine suggestion, salads, and main courses were all delicious. the service was spot on. the owner was actively participating in the front of the house operations and took thetimeto individually thank his guests. we will definitely continue to support this fine establishment. thank you sergio. wonderful night! -jason

absolutely horrible. from beginning to end, this was the most miserable and expensive dining experience my husband and i ever had. there were two other couples in the entire restaurant with servers and waitstaff just standing around. it took 5 minutes for someone to even notice we walked in the door. once seated it took another 15 minutes for a waitress to come over and ask us if we wanted something to drink. all we wanted was water and it took her another 10 minutes to get that. we decided to stay because we'd read and heard so many great things about villa ravenna, but, sadly, we cannot say the same. once we were finally able to order our food it took another 45 minutes (!) to simply bring us some bread. without any butter. then she brought our salads and forgot all about our appetizers. we were starving another 30 minutes later when we finally got our appetizers at the sametimewe received our meals. however, the food was almost inedible. my husband's lasagne was cold and rubbery, my spaghetti and meatballs were also cold and very bland. the best thing about the whole meal? the darn bread. we will never go back.

yummy...elevates my spirit everytime. order the following items: mushroom risotto, chilean sea bass, mushroom cream sauce ravioli, mussels, calamari, pears, snapper soup, and penne arrabita, spaghetti with anything. drink wine. pretend it is your firsttimethere everytime. order tons of their free oiled bread and dip in oil. don't order any lobster.