Guido's Pasta Villa

Location

1313 East Ridge Road, Rochester, NY 14621

Hours (as of February 2011 per website)

Monday - Thursday: 11:00AM to 10:00PM

Friday: 11:00AM to 11:00PM

Saturday: 4:00PM to 11:00PM

Sunday: Closed

Phone

585 266 2676

Email

<info AT thepastavilla DOT com>

Website

http://www.thepastavilla.com

Guido's Pasta Villa is an Italian restaurant in the city. It consistently gets great reviews from the D&C and people are routinely ready to wait 1-2 hours for a table during the weekend. Excellent greens and beans, homemade gnocchi, orange roughy florentine, and diavolo sauce. Like Mr. Dominic's, it's a charming old-Rochester establishment littered with local characters and friendly servers. Highly recommended.

Please note, reservations needed for groups of 5 and larger.

Comments:

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2008-03-21 10:31:44   I had lunch here the other day and it was delicious! I can't wait to try dinner here, when I have more time to savor and enjoy the food. The bread was hot and soft, served with garlic butter, and I could have eaten 4 loaves of it. It might be a bit small, and the tables close together, but the waitress was really friendly and the food worth it. —SaraChristine

2008-03-22 09:19:38   too small and too expensive for what you get! food was average service was slow! and Frank is a real pompous jerk! very shady place —JohnLance

2008-07-02 15:09:41   Used to eat here all the time with my parents. It was amazing. Since I became a vegetarian 5 years ago, I'm not sure if it would be as enjoyable now. —ChelseaAllinger

2008-07-02 16:25:27   Im not a fan of Pasta Villa. Perhaps because I dont like traditional Italian sauce? My fav Italian restaurants in ROC are Papa Joes, Agatina's, Valicias, Portofino/Portobello, Baccos, Antonettas, Rizzis, Pane Vino, Domenicos, Bellinis, and Legends/Pinnochio. They are better choices.

It also needs a remodel inside, which can be overlooked for good food, but Guidos just doesnt suit me. —MrRochester

2008-08-17 19:06:24   Went to Guido's last night, very busy & we waited only about 25 minutes which was ok because the bar was fun & the other customers were friendlier than most places in Rochester for some reason. The host was very nice (short heavy guy, think he was an owner) & made conversation with us on the way in and out. Food was wonderful especially my husband's pork chops, didn't expect the best Pork chops I've ever had in a little Italian place.

I look on RocWiki all the time for ideas on new places to eat but this is my first post, my motivation was this guy..... MrRochester. He must have reviewed half the restaurants in town & after going to quite a few of them since moving here I have another opinion, his taste is awful. He contradicts himself, loves the generic version of italian food & values big portions over quality food. Now when I read rocwiki I know to only go to the places that he gives a poor review.

—RSuzanneT

2008-09-10 13:32:28   Amazing food, great people. Definitely one of Rochester's best Italian restaurants. —kfrankie

2008-11-26 22:44:33   This place along with Mr. Dominic's tops the Rochester list for Italian dining. There is usually a long wait, but its well worth it once you taste your meal. My favorite is the Chicken Tiffany... but everything is delicious. —AmandaPiccarreto

2008-12-11 16:33:23   I went there last week. Had great service, but had some short, heavy italian man I believe was the owner. Bad host. Would never go back again! —Ern

2009-01-08 15:49:58   Although not the same as when Jesse was there to greet you and make you feel at home, the food is still as great as its ever been. Everything from the bread to dessert is top quality. The calamari scampi appetizer is fantastic! We've eaten just about everything on the menu, and have enjoyed everything. The linguni with the white clam sauce could be the best I've ever eaten outside of my grandmother's kitchen. They always have interesting and tasty specials, too. Their servers and bartenders are prompt and friendly. There can often be a wait during peak weekend nights, but worth waiting for. Highly recommended! —Petey

2009-01-24 23:58:44   Every single waitress is AWSOME and we felt and always FEEL like family. The food is fantastic always going home with leftovers. AND THEY ALWAYS HAVE NEW THINGS.I would say go at 7 it is best then, put your name in, relax and have a few cocktails. Make this a Friday or Saturday event ,YOU WONT BE SORRY!! The bartenders also make it interesting and fun. When you go Once, you will be hooked forever! I know we are !!!!! By the way the Owner slash Host Frank is Super accomadating, and is the real deal. All homeade food!!! Ps Mike Ur AMAZING :) —tomesjonesrochester

2009-03-07 10:19:36   Been to Pasta Villa twice and was blown away both times. Last night we were warmly greeted as we entered and told there would be a 20 minute wait. We Were checked on and told we were next up and our wait did not exceed 20 minutes. We ordered crab stuff mushrooms that were huge and tasty and Chicken Parm and pasta and meat balls. Both were just awesome. The sauce was fantastic and not sweet, I hate sauce that is sweet. I almost forgot the wonderful warm fresh bread and garlic butter, So good! This is the only Italian restaurant for us now! Thanks Pasta Villa we will be back :-) A+++ —NewtonNola

2009-12-13 18:25:29   Went there last night food was absoulutly amazing. Went in and the wonderful host seated us immediatly we had christine as our host and she was amazing service was perfect not to fast not to slow. i know the Chef randy he was abosoulutly amazing i ordered the fillet and it was a perfect medium rare. My wife got the gnoccies and they were awsome. they are great with kids and they catter too. if you stop in make sure you talk to geno or jamie the bartenders they work opposite night but they are alot of fun. ohh yeah and the portions are hudge again a speacial thank to pasta villa outstanding meal. if you havent gotten there yet got tonight. p.s go early wait gets long after 7p.m and thier open at lunch. time ive been going for 14 years and wouldnt stop for the world sincirely foodmaste :) —foodmaster

2009-12-13 18:53:24   went again on saturday amazin this time cindy was my waitress and i saw the waitress christine again and she remebered me they r all good people !

—foodmaster

2009-12-30 11:29:32   The service was reasonable and the food was very good, although the portions are a little small but other than that it was good. I may return soon! —jenniferh

2010-03-06 15:16:25   Number one in Rochester in my opinion. Th food is fantastic. try the Broccoli French appetizer, so good. —tabascograz

2010-03-31 21:04:09   UNWELCOME & STARED-AT — that's how we, a party of 6 visitors from the D.C. area — felt when we accidentally walked through the FRONT door of your establishment and the hostess BARKED at us to use the rear entrance. When we used the rear entrance to walk into your bar's cave-like atmosphere, another server impatiently told us that parties of 5 or more needed a reservation (again, there were 6 in ours). Here's an idea - how about making that little recommendation a bit clearer at your entranceways or in your copious local advertisements? The food might be great at Pasta Villa, but we WON'T be back to find out after the rude, crude treatment we received at the hands of your staff. I'll be sure to recommend anyone else coming to the Rochester area to STAY AWAY from Pasta Villa, and walk across the street to Rubino's, who welcomed us with open arms. Food was AWESOME at Rubino's, too. —VAStateOfMind

2010-04-19 00:37:32   Me and my parents were looking for some good Italian food, so I looked up this site and headed over for dinner last night. I realize it was a Saturday, but that wait was a little much. The host (big short guy) told my dad it would be an hour wait. About 1 1/2 hours (YES, 1.5 hours!) into our wait, the host told us it would be no more than 5 minutes. 25 minutes later, we were seated. I had eaten soon before coming, so it truly didn't bother me, but if I had been hungry, I would have been furious. The bread and butter was pretty standard, nothing special. We all got salads with creamy bleu. I liked the dressing, but it was a tad overdressed — refreshing overall. I ordered the Chicken French and it was a very solid dish. My mom got the chicken picatta. I had never seen a version like theirs — they used shrimp and melted cheese. My dad got the Fra Diovolo, which was certainly the best dish of the night. I had a side of pasta with red sauce, but to be honest it was no better than your run of the mill pasta. The sauce was good, but I could tell the pasta wasn't fresh that night. Overall, it was a pleasant meal with solid Italian flavors that yielded good leftovers. I can't justify waiting for over an hour for food like that, though. Good food, just wish they had more tables. —ThadStevens

2010-08-12 12:03:58   The food is out of this world! The Calamari was a little greasy but, their Penne Vodka is the best I've ever had! I have never had an issue with service or food. Sometimes they are busy and you wait, it is always worth it. —NightlifeCher

2010-10-17 08:26:21   Ate there last night for first time. Was about an hour and a half wait but we hung out at the bar and did not mind. They made us feel very welcome and even bought us a drink for waiting. Service was efficient and friendly and attentive. Food is tops in my opinion. Artichokes French were excellent, up there with Red Fedeles and Papa Joes, I had the gnocchi and a meatball and they were excellent as good or —CJM8232

2010-10-17 08:34:21   Oops accidentally submitted my last comment before I finished...the gnocchi and meatball were as good as Antonettas if not better. My girlfriend had chicken Tiffany which is like creamy chicken French with artichoke hearts and I tasted some and it was great. In addition to artichokes French we had the greens and beans and they were the best I have ever had at a restaurant(Still not as good as my mothers) but the best at a restaurant. Red sauce with the gnocchi was amazing. It was our first visit and worth the wait. Will def. Go back again. If you go plan to wait and you will not be disappointed. —CJM8232

2011-03-20 13:13:59   I have to update my last review because we are done with this place. The food is good but not worth being disrespected for. Last straw was the host telling us just five minutes more and waiting about an hour and half to be seated. Do not lie to your customers, it is rude. Our server was an idiot and ignored us through most of our meal. She brought out cold food. So cold we told her it was not acceptable so she had it microwaved. Give me a break. Try Roncone's if you want a wonderful experience. —NewtonNola

2011-04-13 19:57:22   Frank is the owner he's overly generous and very nice to be around. Randy the chef makes delicious entres. I personally think he's the best cook i have ever seen and my waitress name was cindy. cindy was the happiest waitress ever. she checked on us, she made sure everything was PERFECT, and she made sure i had the time of my life. I highly suggest pasta villa. you get treated like absolute royalty. —TheRochesterGenius