Innovations in modern restaurant dining collide with old world charm at Ormond Beach’s own Rose Villa. Located in the middle of Ormond’s historic main street (Granada Blvd.), Rose Villa comes to us from the same minds as Caffeine.
On a beautiful
springtime weekday, D and I were invited to Rose Villa one early evening to
experience a most scrumptious dinner. I say experience; because Rose Villa is
not just a place you have a meal at. The whole process is about a three-hour
event. For this reason, reservations are highly recommended!
Rose Villa
occupies a historic manor house originally built in the late 1800’s by Frank
and Mary Mason as the first exclusive hotel in the area. The home exchanged
hands numerous times, even becoming an office building at one point. The
current tenants strive to keep as much of Rose Villa’s lush history intact as
possible. And that was clearly seen, as we pulled up to the beautiful purple
and green building surrounded by roses.
Shortly
after taking a few steps into the historic home, we were greeted by the
ever-pleasant Dolly who sat us in the Rockefeller Room East Wing, one of their
more popular dining rooms. We were treated with excellent service for the
evening from both Kim and Steve.
After
presenting us both with water, we were offered a chance to peruse their wine
list. Which I must say, was quite surprising, because it was on an iPad. Their
wine list app, featured hundreds of wines separated by a variety of categories.
With the app, you are able to select a wine and then read all about the taste,
origin and date of production. We chose a wine we’ve seldom seen at most
restaurants: Inniskillin Ice Wine VGA Niagara Peninsula Vidal 2007 Canada. The
sweet and fruity wine would definitely be considered a dessert wine, but not
nearly as sweet as your typical moscato. It was very smooth and both of us
enjoyed our glass immensely. We were already planning on buying a bottle before
our glasses were empty.
After checking
out the wine menu, it was time to see the dinner menu. As the menu changes with
the seasons, some of the food we partook in won’t be available for someone
going in the present, but the experience will remain.
I, on the other hand, went in a
completely opposite direction and chose their whole main lobster over pasta
with a cheesy red pepper infused sauce and asparagus. It was so refreshing to
enjoy the sweet taste of lobster without having to crack or dig out any of the
meat. I loved the contrast between the slightly heated sauce and the sweetness
from the Lobster.
Once D and I
nearly stuffed out stomachs to capacity, we decided to look over the dessert
menu. Like the previous menu, the dessert menu was backlit, reminding us that
the year is 2012 instead of 1912. The sweets menu also displayed a photo from
Rose Villa’s late past and a recent shot showing just how similar the present
restaurant looks to the original structure.
At the
request of our server Steve, we chose a dessert that would allow him to play
with fire … Strawberry Romanoff. A little fire combined with some strawberries,
butter, sugar, orange zest, Grand Marnier and Bacardi 151 creates not only a
spectacular show, but also a wonderful concoction of strawberry goodness that tastes
perfect over ice cream. Having had Bananas Foster in the past, I somewhat knew
what to expect taste wise, but was extremely pleased nonetheless!
D and I
fully intend on returning to Rose Villa in the future. It’s the perfect place
to celebrate promotions, birthdays or anything else with your near and dear. Or
if you’re simply interested in having a classic and elegant dining experience,
than it’s the place for you!
43 W.
Granada Blvd.
Ormond
Beach, FL 32174
(386)
615-ROSE (7673)
Tuesday –
Saturday: 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.