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Serving: Monday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday, 4-9 p.m. Cuisine: Italian Prices: Dinner entrees $15-$22. Scoring: Our Gourmet and The Dining Companion each grade a restaurant on a scale of 1 to 10 in five categories, for a combined total score of up to 100 points. Visit the Dining section of NewHampshire.com to read previous Our Gourmet reviews listed by town. |
Atmosphere: 18 of 20 points
Our Gourmet: I loved Villa Banca’s atmosphere. The restaurant is clean and modern while still retaining the old-fashioned charm of the original bank building. In fact, we were seated near the old vault, which is a nice touch. A strolling accordionist and violinist added to the atmosphere. Score: 9
The Dining Companion: The atmosphere when we walked in was very inviting. Live music was in the air and a pleasant hostess sat us at our table in the middle of the room with a view of the inner workings of an old room-size bank vault door. The accordionist and violinist were wandering the rooms taking requests, mostly Italian, but all of a sudden came the theme song from the movie “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” Very unexpected at the time. Score: 9
Appetizer: 17/20
OB: Lots of yummy-looking items on the menu here. Seeing several things that looked interesting, we finally decided to try the Villa Banca sampler ($20.99), which consists of a lobster cake, Gorgonzola artichokes, fried calamari, baby Portabellas and white bean bruschetta. It was a nice sampling of several of the appetizer offerings and it was a good size for two people to share. I especially liked the lobster cake, nicely fried and served with a smooth and tangy horseradish-cucumber-dill sour cream, and the fried calamari, tender squid in a light batter with a tiny bite of spice. Score: 8.5
TDC: We love to try different offerings of a restaurant. When we are offered a sampler, we usually take advantage of that. The lobster cake was also a favorite of mine. The Gorgonzola artichokes were tender and delicious, and I too loved the lightly breaded calamari. Score: 8.5
Entrée: 17.5/20
OB: This was a tough one. Villa Banca has several entrees that sound wonderful on the menu. Which one to pick? My choice was the pistachio salmon ($18.99). The salmon was nicely cooked – tender and not dried out. It was topped with a pistachio crumb mixture and served with shrimp, tomatoes and scallions. The shrimp tasted very fresh. This was all served on top of a killer creamy garlic risotto with a wonderful flavor. Put together, it was a very satisfying meal. Score: 8.5
TDC: I decided to have a risotto and I chose the risotto alla Boscaiola, which was Parmesan risotto with a medley of mushrooms in a pancetta and basil cognac cream sauce with chicken added ($16.99). The risotto was creamy as expected, the chicken was very tender and the collection of mushrooms ranged from the subtle of the button mushroom to the woody of the shiitake. Score: 9
Dessert: 19/20
OB: I love lemon desserts, so the lemon lust pie ($5.99) was a no-brainer. The lemon filling is made from fresh lemons, served in a shortbread crust with a cream cheese and crumb topping. I have one word: Delectable. Also a fine end to a fine dinner. Score: 9.5
TDC: I decided to try the cinnamon crème brulee. What caught my eye when looking at the menu was that this brulee was to be served with warm sweet apple compote. The brulee itself was good, but when you take a little compote with the brulee, it’s a wonderful taste sensation. Score: 9.5
Service 16.5/20
OB: As far as we can tell, our waiter was given five tables all at the same time we were seated, so he was hoofing it, leaving little time for him to give us very personable service. But the dishes were well paced and he didn’t forget a thing. Score: 8.5
TDC: Our waiter definitely had to jump from one table to another. When we were first seated, it took him awhile to get to us to take our drink orders, but once he did so, the pacing wasn’t so bad. Score: 8
Total score: 88 of 100 points
