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@mrsbozz and I haven't been eating out at many new places lately, so I haven't been able to do a proper Tasteem review in a while. That all changed this past weekend when we found ourselves back in Columbus, OH and our relatives suggested we visit Villa Nova Ristorante.

The restaurant itself is pretty unassuming from the outside. Personally, I don't think it looks very impressive from the inside either. The decor and layout seem very dated but the line of people out the door waiting for a table tells you that looks aren't everything.

I think any of us that has done these reviews know how hard it is to get good shots inside of a place. Especially when it is busy. I tried to be a little respectful and I blocked out the guys face there.

They had a significant collection of copper pots and kettles covering the walls. I think it was supposed to lend to the "old world" feel of the place. To me it just seemed like more stuff to collect dust!

While my in-laws have been here many times, they tried to take @mrsbozz's parents on another occasion and the wait was entirely too long so they ended up going somewhere else. This time they had the foresight to make a reservation since there was going to be eight of us.

I feel bad that I have been kind of down about the building itself. Hopefully that doesn't serve to turn you off about this place because I have to say the main attraction (the food) was absolutely fantastic.

In addition to the inside of a busy place being hard to photograph, I think we can agree that menus can be a pain as well. Especially when they are as lengthy as this one.

Here is a photo of the menu cover, but if you really want to see the good stuff, I encourage you to visit their website.

Bill was our waiter and he did a great job of taking care of us. He even accommodated us graciously when we wanted to split the checks up in a non traditional way.

@mrsbozz and I are trying to be a little more cautious of what we put in our bodies, so we decided to share an entree.

The item we ordered came with a basket of bread sticks and a side salad which we shared. Many of the other people at the table also ordered salads so we all had something to keep us occupied before the main dishes arrived. @mrsbozz and I shared the salad and were very impressed with the ranch dressing. You can always tell how good a place is based on their ranch dressing....

We then shared the chicken tortellini. It may not look like much based on the picture, but I have to say it was fantastic. It is always a little disappointing when you go to a place only to find that their alfredo sauce tastes like it came out of a jar. That was definitely not the case with this place. In fact, the sauce is so good that my brother in law usually gets a side of it to dip his bread sticks in when they come here.

Over the years, I have found the places with the most plain looking pasta tend to be the places with the most fantastic tasting pasta.

My father in law got the seafood alfredo and he was very happy with it. I'd like to note that the pepper was added by him before he even tried the pasta. We like a lot of spice and flavor in our food, so it isn't that surprising. As good as the pasta was, I will admit to adding some pepper to my dish as well.

My brother in law, sister in law, and oldest niece shared the pizza that you see in the intro picture. I am a huge fan of pizza with a thinner style crust. I am happy they were willing to let me try a piece (or two) of their pizza. It was fantastic. All of the toppings mixed together in a perfect bite and the crust was just enough to accompany it and not overpower the taste.

My youngest niece got her own personal pizza with just sausage on it. She wanted to give me an action shot of her sprinkling some "parm" on top of it.

My mother in law got the perch dinner, but she was at the other end of the table and I wasn't able to get a picture of it. She said it was very good though.

As we were sitting and eating the line slowly started to build out the door and by the time we left, we had to squeeze our way out because there were so many people standing and waiting for a table.

I know this is a pasta vs. pizza contest, but Villa Nova gives you the best of both worlds and is truly a hidden gem for either of those items. Word on the street (my niece) has it that their meatballs are epic!

My father in law was the only one that got a beverage but at $47.20 USD before tip for three meals and a beer, I don't think that is too bad. Especially for the quality of food that we got.

Bill W. got a better than average tip for the awesome service he provided us. This is definitely a place that I would love to come back to when I visit Columbus in the future. Give it a try if you are ever in the area and you are looking for some amazing Italian food.