Out on the Town-
Villa Barolo Restaurant & Wine Bar
--An Excellent Restaurant in a Class of its Own
By Jean and John Oliano
In Your Prime Magazine, December 2006
This classy Italian Bistro with an Oriental Fair is owned and operated by “Chef Lo,” a native of Hong Kong that would make any master Italian chef envious of his Italian cooking skills and creativity. Villa Barolo’s luncheon and dinner menus are filled with many traditional Italian specialties favoring the north of Italy infused with many delightful creations with a European touch. In addition, the menu features innovative Chef Lo additions of exotic and wild fare of organic meats and fowl such as antelope, caribou, venison, pheasant, ostrich, wild boar, quail, kangaroo, and buffalo. On the surf side, there are whole fish that are professionally filet tableside such as Dover sole, Black sea bass, branzio, langostino, grouper, wild rock fish, and skate.
Chef Lo received his training at Hong Kong’s premier cooking school and fine-tuned his skills under European style chefs in Philadelphia. He has held executive cooking positions at Double Tree (formerly Hershey Hotel), and honed his Italian cooking skills at Portofino and La Veranda in Penn’s Landing. About ten years ago, he ventured out on his own and opened the successful Marco Polo Restaurant in Elkins Park. As an entrepreneur, he opted to expand his horizons by purchasing his own real estate and opened Villa Barolo bringing his entire culinary team of 15 years with him to his new enterprise that has just completed its first full year of operation.
After meeting the exuberant and charming Chef Lo, we were then introduced to our server, Jason, who reviewed the evening specials from memory, explaining each tantalizing preparation to perfection. We started with a California Merlot that we selected from a large and impressive wine list. A broad choice of wine by the glass ($6.00 - $10.00) is available as is a large selection of draft and bottled beer. Jean began dinner with an appetizer of Homemade Potato Gnocchi Tossed with Broccoli Rabe, with diced tomatoes, mushrooms and asparagus, virgin olive oil, and fresh garlic topped with venison sausage ($9.95). For my appetizer, I had the Villa Barolo Dumpling, puff pastry stuffed with chicken, mushrooms, onions, and roasted peppers baked golden and served with a touch of demi-glaze ($7.95).
For our entrees, Jean had a “Chef Lo Classic” Jumbo Sea Scallops Pan Roasted served over homemade black linguine tossed with broccoli rabe, diced tomatoes, mushrooms, and asparagus in olive oil and garlic, and I had “Whole Fish” Branzino; a mild tasting Mediterranean sea bass with velvety texture and white meat that was filet tableside by Chef Lo as he delicately deboned the fish like a surgeon without a trace of bone. He then gave the fish a drizzle of virgin olive oil and squeeze of fresh lemon ($29.95). Each entrée was served with a nicely prepared, well-chilled green salad.
Lastly, we shared a chocolate layer cake from the dessert tray, with cappuccino for Jean and espresso for me. The entire dinner was very good; service was fast and well presented. It is interesting to note that throughout the evening, Chef Lo was attentive to every table in the dining room, buzzing about as he fired commands back to the kitchen from the microphone headset he wears.
Villa Barolo’s ambience is modern with a large entry lounge with seating and complimentary hors d’oeuvres that are served to patrons waiting for a table. There is also an open display of iced fresh fish and shellfish. Adjacent to the lounge is a large comfortable bar with tables where guests can also eat. The bar features piano music on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings. The main dining room is spacious with booths, tables and white linens and comfortable seating, screens are used throughout the room making the space cozy and comfortable. There are also several separate rooms for special events and private parties.
This moderately pricey restaurant is open for lunch and dinner Mon.- Thurs., 11:30am to 10:30pm. Fri. and Sat., 11:30am to 11:30pm and 2:00 to 10:00pm on Sun. Reservations are required for parties of six or more. All major credit cards are accepted. There are facilities for the handicapped, and there is one smoking room. Private parties may be booked for groups as small as 20 or as large as 220. Villa Barolo Ristorante & Wine Bar, 1373 Easton Road, Warrington, 215-491-9370, www.villa-barolo.com.