Petruccelli’s Italian Eatery

I love Italian and have been dying to find a great traditional Italian eatery in the Bham area. I bought two Groupons for Café Lazio and Petruccelli’s. If you haven’t been to Café Lazio, go! I’ll send out my review on it sometime soon.

As for Petruccelli’s Italian Eatery, our first visit didn’t turn out so well. They are currently closed on Sundays for remodeling. No big deal, we made it about a week and a half later. They have a great Happy Hour that lasts until 7 every day. It’s $2 off glasses of wine and martinis. Monday through Wednesday they have half off bottles of wine. You really can’t beat that deal!

Again, we ordered water and a bottle of Greg Norman Shiraz, one of my husband’s personal favorites. The prices looked fantastic, but I ordered soup and my husband got salad instead of an appetizer.

The bread came first and left much to be desired. They were giant rolls that seemed more like flavorless, stale cinnamon rolls. I was not a big fan, but bread is my weakness, so obviously I ate the whole thing.

My Tomato Gouda soup was wonderful. The tomato flavor was not too strong and the little pieces of Gouda made it even better. They only offer two salad dressings, but my husband’s vinaigrette was very good.  

For my entrée I order the Chicken Florentine and my husband got the Chicken Parmigiana. I had already chosen the Florentine, but it was recommended by our server as well. It was one of those dishes that starts out sort of “ok,” but then turns into something great. I am a huge fan of Chicken Florentine, so my standards were set high. By the time I had finished, I was completely satisfied.  

When our server brought our check, it seemed a little high for the great prices we had seen earlier on the menu. We both remembered our entrees being around $9, not $15, so we asked our server about it. It turns out we were given the lunch menu. She spoke to the manager and we were charged the lunch price for our dinner portions, no questions asked.

Gettin’ Grubby: Weird bread, but awesome Happy Hour to make up for it. Our server was good, but a little spacey. She also wouldn’t let up cork our bottle to take our leftover wine home, so we just finished it there.

Service: 7

Food: 7

Atmosphere: 7

Village Tavern

Sadly enough my husband and I had never been to Village Tavern before this trip. Our server even chastised us a little for this, but I blame it on the fact that I am a Bham newbie. Speaking of our server, we had top notch service from the moment we were seated. Billy, had the best personality, gave us a tour of the menu and met every need we had during the meal. The manager even came by our table several times to fill up our water glasses. It was perfect service!

We began by ordering two of my three favorite “W’s;” wine and water (the other being a White Russian). I prefer white and red, but my husband is more of a red wine drinker, so we chose a bottle of Interesting Red.  

If something is recommended, I usually try to lean that way. Our server mentioned the Hot Crab Dip and it was to die for! Creamy, cheesy and the crab was fantastic. The only bad part was having to hold myself back when it was set on the table so I didn’t immediately burn my mouth on the steaming dish of deliciousness. I am sure my husband appreciated the drool, but I just couldn’t help myself.

For my main course, I went with another recommendation and got the Grouper Hemingway. I will say I have had better grouper, but the light, buttery noodles and the burst of flavor from the capers made this an amazing meal. I also added a side salad, which I would recommend doing if your meal does not include one. All of their dressings are homemade, except the fat free ranch, and the vinaigrettes will not disappoint.

Grouper Hemingway

My husband got a steak with their famous blue cheese dressing. The steak was smothered in the dressing, so if you don’t like blue cheese, don’t make the same mistake my husband did.

We went all out for this meal and ended it with crème brulee. The top layer was a little chewy and not quite as crisp as I am used to, but it was still very good. I would definitely order it again.


Gettin’ Grubby: This restaurant offers fine dining and a less expensive, more casual experience as well. They have options for a $100 meal or a $40 meal. With that being said, expect to see a motley group of customers. We also left our debit card that night. We called once we arrived home, and the hostess said we could pick it up whenever we liked and that they had placed it in their restaurant safe.

Service: 9
Food: 8
Atmosphere: 7 (It’s a little loud and slightly crowded for my liking)