Via Emilia Italian Restaurant

We have been to this restaurant 3 times now.. and each time has been consistently delicious and perfect. Try the Lasagna!!! The owner is friendly, and right there checking all the time. most of the waiters are great and knowledgeable! And the wine selections are plentiful. Two of the time we were there a fun duo was performing, and the second of those times, they had the whole restaurant up and dancing and having a great time. Highly recommended !! Pros: fresh, handmade, excellent flavors Cons: one water not friendly, but everyone else was! more

I keep returning to Via Emilia because the food is fantastic. What a great place. Now i don't need to go so far (downtown) to eat at good italian restaurants. Pros: great food, nice ambiance, romantic, great service more

The food has always been great!\r The first time my wife and I ate here the service was good but a little slow. We asked for a second serving of bread that never came. \r Because of the food we have been back many times and the service has been much improved. It is a small cozy family owned restaurant and it is worth trying. The entertainment has been a little weak sometimes on the weekends but ,better than nothing.\r Pros: Great food Cons: Service is getting better but do not be in a hurry. more

Our experience at Via Emilia was the complete opposite to one of the reviews on here. We had a truly amazing dinner. The service was friendly and VERY attentive. Their food is delicious!! \r \r We try to eat here as often as we can. \r \r \r \r Pros: cozy ambience, delicious food, great service, live entertainment on weekends more

A group of us tried this out a couple of weeks ago since we like exploring and experiencing different restaurants throughout Houston. The atmosphere was nice. The entertainment was great, probably the best part of our experience. We always try the calamary at Italian restaurants and we were not impressed with the order. Other chain italian restaurants have better calamary. The entrees appeared to all have the same sides, linguine with spinach and cheese. Entrees seemed to all prepared the same way, with olive oil, even the T-bone steak I tried. I've had better steaks at other italian places. Is this considered authentic Italian? Our worst experience was trying the so called lobster and pasta dish. Avoid at all cost because what they call lobster is actually crawfish. Anyone who eats crawfish knows there's a distinct flavor of crawfish. What some people call 'baby lobster', we call it crawfish. When we asked if there was crawfish mixed in with the lobster, the staff was adament in defending their baby lobster! Pros: Ambience, service, entertainment Cons: Value, overpriced more

We took guests to this restaurant and were totally embarassed by the very poor level of service that we received. It took an hour for them to take our order after bringing our bottle of wine (which of course was finished before we got any food). When the food did arrive, they brought out 2 of the peoples food 30 minutes before the other 2, and one of the items was the wrong order. They tood that away and when they finally brought the correct dish, the other 3 people were finished eating. The server stood at one corner of the table and passed the dishes across the table, sticking his arm in the face of the other guests. We had to repeatedly ask to get a glass of water, which showed up about the time we were leaving (3 1/2 hours after getting there). I had to ask three times to get an espresso after dinner. What food we did receive was good, although a bit cold. The portions were not large, so definitely dessert is in order. I had the cheese cake which tasted like a no-bake mix topped with no-name strawberry jelly. At the end of the meal, when I finally got my bill it was over $400 for 4 people. For that price, I would have expected better. Pros: Food was OK, but not ample Cons: Service was terrible more

I think eating should be an enjoyable experience. I think quality food, good customer service and a tranquil environment should not be too much to ask for. If you feel the same way and you like authentic Italian food then this is the restaurant for you. Pros: Good customer service and authentic food. Cons: You are not really in Italy. more

This family owned restaurant is truly one of the best. The meal was superb, the price was great, and the desserts were amazing! They make amazing Italian and Venezuelan desserts. I have been telling people about it for the last couple of years because I was so impressed. more

This is truly the best Italian restaurant in Houston, probably due to the many years of service in Venezuela, where one finds the best Italian restaurants. It is a true shame it does not have the fame of supposedly good Italian restaurants here in Houston. Pros: Excellent Food, No gross portions, Excellent Ambiance more

We went here right after returning from our trip to Italy and were impressed by how similar the pasta was. We have not come across more authentic italian in the states since. Pasta is excellent, and the ambience, while not upscale, was very similar to many small italian restaurants. It is an italian family run restaurant with incredible homeade pastas. The cannoli is excellent as well. Pros: Delicious, Authentic, Cannoli Cons: , Can get expensive more