Villa Positano

This was our second time here. The first time we had two pasta dishes, both very oily that the pasta was drowning. Second time we ordered salads. The Caesar salad had like 4 slivers of Parmesan cheese and no anchovies, just lettuce and dressing. The dressing tasted more like ranch than Caesar. The caprese salad was good but the green stem part of the middle of the tomato was still attached, gross. Service was good. I have never had the pizza so I cannot say how good it is but the menu items are overpriced for just decent food.

Consistently Good. On each occasion quality of service and food are above average. Of particular note is that the management had the consideration of offering gluten free items on the menu (that pasta was outstanding no matter the sauce). Most times a delay in serving occurs, possibly understaffed, but they acknowledge it and try to be more attentive thereafter. (Hence the four instead of five star rating.) it is certainly worth the sit. Fish is always done to the right degree. Salads fresh and entrees in good portion size make going here a fulfilling evening out.

Villa Positano is definitely my choice in the area for Italian American food. We have a few great places in Monroe, but I always find myself back at Positano’s! Everything they make is absolutely delicious. I am never disappointed! I have read some of this bad comments and really don’t agree with any of them. People really expecting five star service from a pizza joint are very confused!

I’m not sure how anyone can write a bad review about this restaurant. Their food is absolutely amazing and he staff is so unbelievably sweet. We waited last night about ten minutes before getting our drink order taken, but we were served fresh hot bread and the waitress apologized profusely about the short wait which we didn’t even care about. Everything there is impeccable and the restaurant/​bar area/​pizza area/​bathrooms are SPOTLESSLY CLEAN. You have to go here if you love real Italian food.

I have had many grilled vegetable salads in several restaurants in Orange County but none compare to the one Villa Positano serves. The vegetables are served warm (grilled chicken can be added and is NOT overdone and dry) and the balsamic dressing that it is served with is amazing. I have had the opportunity to dine here twice this week and on both occasions ordered the salad –it was superb both times. Would recommend it very highly, in case you couldn’t tell.

The food at this place is decent but their management is horrible and barely professional. They do not try to please the customer at all when confronted with an issue. Absolutely ridiculous… you would think they would want to give excellent customer service to keep customers coming back and telling others. This is an Italian restaurant, Monroe is full of them. If management doesn’t take better care of their customers this company will be closed soon enough like many other places in this town.
So what happened this last time that upset me is as follows:
I called a little while after 9pm to place an order for delivery, I was told that their delivery man was backed up on orders and can’t make it; understandable. I left the comfort of my home around 9:25pm. Once I got there they were completely closed at 9:45pm; claim they close at 10pm. They could have at least told me they were closing soon. I call the next day and spoke to the manager directly and he told me well «sorry but we can’t wait for you all night so what do you want us to do?» –I would expect a place closing at 10 to close at 10 esp knowing a customer is on the way. He didn’t even apologize or show any empathy.
Mark my words, this place will be closed soon enough.

Villa Positano is still my favorite Italian restaurant in this area. I’ve been back several times and have not been disappointed.
The salads are cold and crispy and I love their balsamic and Italian dressings. Their rolls are warm and doughy (I love them!) but if you prefer the Italian loaf it’s warm and crusty.
We usually get the veal or chicken parm, which are satisfying portions of delicious traditional food. Their sauce is so tasty, it’s made for dipping the bread into.
The waitstaff are top notch — helpful, friendly, and efficient. Prices are fair. Who could ask for anything more?

Came here one early afternoon. First time eating in the dining area, as we usually order pizza to go and it’s quite delicious, imo. Hubby isn’t a big fan of the pizza because he likes a thinner crust.
Back to the dining experience. We were seated in the back dining space. It was quite obvious by the disgusting food gracing the carpeting that they DO NOT clean the restaurant nightly. Management: how dare you accept customers into a filthy dining room that’s been uncleaned from the previous day??? Also, why have a nasty carpet at all? It is a magnet for germs and dust mites!
They messed up my kid’s order when she explicitly asked for a margherita slice. She had to wait until we were almost done before her order came out. Hubby’s food was so obviously refrigerated then reheated. The veggies were wilted and old. They didn’t even try to hide the fact it wasn’t fresh. The moulding near our booth was caked in dust. No music, so it was a cafeteria feel. Waitress was flat and didn’t check on us once. In this homogenously-​minded town, there’s about a half dozen pizzerias in the vicinity. Positano doesn’t stand out.

Great food, delish pizza. Would have given 5 stars but I was there with 2 young kids, asked the waitstaff to bring my kids food when it was ready and it took way too long … One was just a slice of pizza. They forgot and brought it out with my food. The quality of the food was quite good. Looks like a decent bar area, too. On a Saturday night you may want to call to make a reservation.

While I have heard the food is decent, I can say based on a friends recent trip I will NEVER visit and will surely let others know about the experience. A friend who went in for a quick bite spent their time being ridiculed and talked about by patrons and even staff. Clearly the management needs to get their staff in order so they treat all cash paying customers with the high level of respect that is deserved. As for the customers, they’re just another reason I will take my money elsewhere than support such a poorly run business.
Good day.

This used to be a Blockbuster Video. You would never know it from the way it looks now. It doesn’t look like much from the outside but I had an excellent time. We brought a party of 7 and the service was good. Very accomodating and polite.
The seafood antipasto had way to many muscles and not enough other varieties but it was still really good.
The parm clams we’re delicious.
I ordered the Angus steak medium rare and it was perfect! I would go again and definitely order that. Vegetables on the side and fried potatoe chunks…
This place was great.

I used to eat at this place all the time when they were in the Commons and was happy to learn that they relocated to Monroe. Great specialty pizza — try the fresca.

What a fun place! Let’s just begin there. The atmosphere is super cool (I don’t use that word often) but it’s the only way to describe it. It’s kinda like a trendy little joint in Italy. The bar is huge and amazing. You get to see the pizza makers in action too. I like the ‘openness’ of it.
The place is very clean. I’m very particular with the cleanliness of a restaurant, especially if I can see their pizza makers and of course, their restrooms are pristine.
The staff is great. Very attentive. I usually sit at the bar to eat dinner, so I can just give you reference from there. Their house wines are great too.
WARNING: Their menu is larger than the bible itself. I think I sat there reading it for over 20 minutes before I decided — NOT exaggerating. They have EVERRRYYYYYTHING. Everything. From pizza with the works, sandwiches, chicken parm, chicken anything, seafood, veal, pork, antipastos (hot or cold), shrimp scampi, calamari, any kind of pasta — ok ok ok — you get it.
I had a lot of these meals. Not one was a disappointment.
The price is very reasonable for this area and totally worth it. My partner and I come here for drinks and appetizers — sometimes dinner — but we love to just have fun and enjoy ourselves. My entire family loves this spot and especially since new owners took a hold of it.
I honestly can’t say one bad thing or ‘concern’ — I’m hoping this will be a lifelong Monroe oasis for us.
Good luck Villa Positano!
(We’ll be back!)

Really good food ! Great service ! Nice ambiance ! I totally recommend this place ! We had the shrimp scampi and eggplant parm. Addicting. Add the cheesecake and we were very happy!

Went check it out. My family of 4 were seated in the dining area (which is 5′ from the pizza area). after being served bread & sodas, All ordered full dinner meals I just wanted a Chicken Parm hero. The server a teenage boy wouldn’t serve me a sandwich in the Dining area, expected me to go to the pizza section to eat it, leaving my family to eat alone ! Asked to speak to the manager, she claimed the policy was no sandwiches in the dining room ! Rather than argue, we all left. I. Figured they just lost a 80.00 /​90.00 sale. Better off going to Sonny’s no problems, no hassles, Great food & Service.

the space is very nice since it use to be the old Blockbuster… the staff was great until I asked for warm water to make a baby bottle and their words to me were they only have hot or cold??? im extremely confused on why they couldn’t take a glass and fill it half hot and cold to make warm water. I mean this is not rocket science. After about 15 – 20 minutes they gave me a bottle of water that was room temperature. so im like was that the case you wanted me to by a bottle of water??? and it was my birthday 1^st time going to this place… NOT FAMILY FRIENDLY OR BABY FRIENDLY…

The food here is good but I’m annoyed at the fact that I’m sitting in the dining area with my children and my disabled 8 year old son did not want to order the kids personal pizza and just wanted a slice and I was told it wasn’t allowed. I think that’s ridiculous and annoyed that you can’t order what you want. Shouldn’t a restaurant be pleasing their customer instead of pissing them off. I will not be eating here again! !

Customer service was horrible and clearly not a priority. The food was medicore at best. I have to say that the problem was not the wait staff, but definitely poor management. The food took forever to come out and they were barely crowded at all. I ordered the ziti with eggplant, and there was hardly any eggplant at all.
Why the one star — b/​c the bread and the wine were good.
All there is to eat in this area is Italian!!! Go somewhere thats worth it.

We just absolutely love this restaurant. As far as local places go, it’s really hard to beat Positano’s. I used to like going to the Woodbury Common location but parking was a bit tough sometimes and during evenings there wasn’t much atmosphere (not a lot of people). With this new location, it’s real easy to come in and out — and the atmosphere is so much «warmer». I always see lots of people there which means good turnaround of food (i.e. fresher items) and obviously they must be doing something right.
I used to love the small bread rolls they had in the Commons but this bread is just as good — hot crusty and chewy. The soups are always so good. We order a lot of things on the menu but my son is just hooked on their Spaghetti and meatballs. To have an 8 y.o. finish a large adult meal with no scolding him to eat faster really says a lot (for those that have smaller children — they will understand this). For our family, this is the comfort food place to go locally. This is not just a standard pizza joint — it has wonderful entrees
I can’t imagine some of the bad reviews coming in. For example, one says they come here multiple times and all were terrible. Personally, if a place turns me off or rubs me the wrong way, they will rarely get even one chance for a return visit. But to have multiple times being unsatisfied ESPECIALLY if this restaurant hasn’t even been here that long (it’s a relatively new location), — it doesn’t sound right. There’s lots of choices in lower Orange County and if something isn’t good, I just won’t return.
Our family and friends though make Positanos as a regular visit and NEVER had a bad meal here or the old location.

For a Pizzaria/​Restuarant like this I judge a place by the meatballs. His meatbals are not filled with breadcrumb you can taste the meat and they are the size of a tennis balls. I find this restaurant clean, the bartenders pleasant and the waitstaff is warm and friendly.
I am glad he moved out of the commons. He is easily accessible now with ample parking.
On the Pizzareia side: When it comes to pizza — there isn’t any bad pizza, is there? There isnt bad wine either unless its vinegar.
On the Restuaruant side: The restuaruant has tasty standard entrees and the portions are ample.
Try it — you will like, I frequent often.