Villaggio Italiano

This restaurant has shut and is now a South African Pizzaria. Shame!
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Rittie - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Friday, February 29, 2008

Yum yum yum!

I went to this restaurant after a day of stressfull unpacking (having moved to the village that day) and I really wanted a place to chill out relax and fill myself with satisfying Italian food. I got everything I wanted. The place was casual but buzzy, the service was friendly and chatty and the food was sooooooo good. The waiters were attentive but not in the in your face wont leave you alone sort of way. The only negative I can think of is that there was a group of women sitting at a table next to me and one of them had her shoes off and her bare feet up on a chair! In a restaurant - sick! unfortunately the waiters didn't seem to mind or stop them. Not what you want to see when tucking into your lasagne.

I was glad they also had loads of great suggestions for wine, after I had given him a vague and rubbish description of the sort of red I fancied - he was spot on with his suggestion!

For the mild price this is well made, tastey and has great sized portions as well as a decent sized choice.

I don't understand how it got any of the negative reviews - but hey, I guess everyone has an off day!
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Helen
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, October 03, 2007

I have been coming here for over a decade. For the first half of that this restaurant was perfection- bustling, great service and food.

In recent years despite great service from Italian waiters who have been around for over a decade, the restaurant would be half empty, and portions smaller and often luke warm and half cooked. I decided to give it another try and recently went back for a family meal. It was completely packed and bustling with the same great attentive and chatty service from the Italian waiters. Some dishes had changed but my favourites remained. Everyone at the table was more than happy with their meal. My crochette di Mozzarella- pan fried coated in breadcrumbs- which had been cold in the middle in past years was once again delicious and hot enough, my avocado salad which had been served with limp lettuce and bruised avocado was ripe and served with the great creamy house dressing. My tomato ravioli- in the past a thicker tomato- maybe out of jar sauce, with too hard pasta, was clearly a totally fresh, lightly creamy tomato sauce and the pasta cooked to perfection.

This place must have changed chefs or had a visit by Gordon Ramsay and I can only say, please give it a chance again, as we had a great night- for the standard of the food, the dish sizes and the ambience of this restaurant- also very very good value. I really hope they don’t let it slip again as this is a gem.
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Jenny B. - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Waste of a babysitter.

Husband and I had a night off from parenting and fancied Italian. We were placed by the windows tightly with everyonelse, although the rest of the restaurant was empty - obviously to tempt passersby to think it was popular and busy. The starter was prawns with lemon sauce, tasty but you can hardly go wrong with prawns anyway. The pasta, vongole in tomato sauce was bland, no flavours coming through of seafood or garlic. The waiter had no idea about wines, and offered us the expensive but naff whites.

Atmosphere - dull
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Nina
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 4
Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Unfortunately, I was also one of the ones that was mislead by the good reviews... We visited the restaurant with great expectations and the reality was that the food was below average; our prawn starters were uncooked with no 'italian flavour' and our main meals left much to be desired... and just to add to the miserable food, the bill just topped off a miserable nights dining. I would not recommend this restaurant to any of my friends, or to anyone for that matter.
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Ryan
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 1
Sunday, March 04, 2007

We took some friends to Villagio Italiano on a Friday night recently, they were craving a good italian meal. Unfortunately, it did not satisfy their craving nor ours. Let me just say everything was a little lacklustre and slapped together, the usual presentation and flavours you would expect from an italian meal were just not there. However the service was fast but perhaps a little too focused on upselling us on our drinks order. I certainly wouldn't visit this restaurant again and frankly can't understand why it was so busy when we were there, perhaps the other diners were mislead by the good reviews.
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Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 4
Sunday, October 08, 2006

My friends and I went to the Villagio for lunch yesterday, and the food and atmosphere was briliiant. I had a prawn starter followed by the fillet. Both courses were excellent, and the service was friendly and quite fast too. I would definately go back to this restaurant before even considering any other place in the village.
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Laura
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Monday, May 08, 2006

Amazing food - i nearly always have the Angello Wellington. It is fantastic. friendly staff, excellent food, nice location.
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Jonathan Barker
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, January 25, 2006

I've just been to Villagio tonight.I have visited dozens of times. Unfortunately my dining partner ordered a chicken dish which was covered in batter and she has to avoid wheat completely. We had to send it back and both her main course and mine were replaced completely, without a hint of complaint or hesitation. This difficult situation was handled by the Maitre D' in a very civilized way. The negatove comments below are not fair, the service here is friendly and attentive without being obsequious or interrupting intimacy. It's perfect. We never drink wine, only sparkling water and including the service charge is hardly an unusual practice. This is an upmarket locale where getting a good quality meal for two for under fifty quid is impossible anywhere else. I could find fault, the Spaghetti Vongole doesn't include fresh clams, but that's a common problem and the dish is very modestly priced.

The food is basic but very reliable and the service is impeccable, despite what others have said. I have no connection with the restaurant other than being a very frequent diner out who lives in Wimbledon. The furniture is a bit utilitarian, but Wimbledon is much better off for the presence of this place.
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Dave Boyle
Thursday, September 22, 2005