Villa Les Reves - CHIERI

Italian friends brought us to this beautiful locale on our last night in Torino. After driving a half hour in the dark, in what seemed like wilderness, we arrived at the place. Like I said, it was dark but apparently the setting is beautifully kept. Walking inside, we entered a beautiful dining room, warmed by a fireplace, and set with table linens and many sparkling wine glasses. To me, the mark of a good restaurant in Italy, is that it is 1) full, and that it is 2)full of Italians. Of course, it's a buffet so there are endless wonderful choices to satisfy any palate, and it would be difficult to rate each and every dish. All I know is that all of my

First, I am a former Executive Chef and have cooked for groups up to 3000 with few complaints. Last evening, our neighbors took us to Villa Les Reves for dinner with Groupon coupons. We were very impressed by the location in the hills of Chieri, surrounded by fruit trees and a very well-kept facility. Entering the restaurant, we were again impressed by the decor and were expecting great things. However, I told my wife while we were still outside that sometimes restaurants make a big deal out of the decor and scrimp on the quality of the food. Regretfully, I was right. Again, the facilities are spectacular, the service was very, very good. Even on a Tuesday evening, it was crowded but the tables were not so close together that we could not hear each other speak. I will not dwell on what I considered sub-standard food but just one example...a boiled chicken and celery salad was tasteless, probably because it had been kept in the refrigerator, again probably uncovered, which took all the taste out of even the celery. Dinner with the Groupon coupon was euro 39.90 a couple, an extra liter of water and two coffees added euro 4.50 to the bill. I wonder what it costs without the coupon? No matter, IMHO it is overpriced for the quality of what you get. They use Groupon for some reason. I think I know why.