La Villa Shutters
Charming French bistro with Mediterranean flair closes its doors in Montrose
Montrose has lost an appealing option for French bistro fare. La Villa closed after service on Saturday night, general manager Cristina Lagman tells CultureMap.
The latest in a series of French restaurants to occupy 4315 Montrose, La Villa featured the culinary talents of chef Kevin d’Andréa, whose resume included a runner-up finish on Top Chef France and a stint at a three-star Michelin restaurant. It replaced La Villa Saint Tropez, which opened in 2018 and evolved into La Villa at the beginning of 2019. Other occupants of the space include Cafe Azur, Brasserie Max & Julie, and Aries.
La Villa earned some praise for d’Andréa's lighter, fresher approach to traditional French cuisine. His housemade charcuterie, risotto, and extensive use of truffles helped set La Villa apart from other establishments, but it never developed a sufficient following to remain viable.
Lagman says that La Villa chose to close now rather than waiting until the end of the year in order to ensure the restaurant's staff could find placements at other establishments. Still, she's confident that Houston has not heard the last of d’Andréa.
"He is loving Houston. He believes the scene here is amazing," Lagman says. "The amount of products and food that you can acquire here. He’s definitely going to stay. It’s the matter of finding the right investors and the right location."
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Thanks to foodie influencer Danielle Dubois for the tip that La Villa's Instagram account had suddenly disappeared.