Villaggio Restaurant 🇮🇹 — Restaurant in London

I recently visited this restaurant with a reservation, but we arrived a bit earlier than planned. We were warmly greeted and seated, and even allowed to move to a more comfortable spot when the initial sofa chair proved too low. The staff was polite, and our order was taken by a lovely lady who was actually filling in—she was friendly and easy to chat with. However, the other two waiters we encountered seemed a bit indifferent, not as engaging or warm. I ordered the chicken in mushroom sauce with potatoes, which was cooked well—moist and tender chicken. The mushroom sauce was a bit different from what I expected, less creamy, felt like it was a more buttery sauce . My friend had the spinach and ricotta ravioli, which was also cooked well but a bit too salty for my taste, probably due to the cheese they use. The reason for this review, though, is the experience that followed. I used to work in hospitality myself as manager, so I was really taken aback by the behavior of the front-of-house staff. As soon as we finished eating, the manager—who had been greeting and seating guests—approached us and asked if we were planning to order dessert. When we explained we just needed a moment to let our food settle, he said, "Well, I have two people waiting." 😳 This felt incredibly unprofessional and rushed. It was like we were being pushed out after just finishing our meal. We felt like we were being treated as if we were holding up the space. Reluctantly, my friend ordered dessert, but I personally out of principle wouldn’t have and stayed there until we were ready to go or I would have walked out. The dessert then took half an hour to arrive—so much for the “rush.” I didn’t see anyone new come in after the manager’s comment, so it seems we could have stayed and taken our time and ordered when we were ready. This was just poor etiquette , and I can’t see myself returning to a restaurant where you’re made to feel unwelcome as soon as you finish your meal. It’s especially frustrating because I had planned to come back and try the fish, but this experience made me reconsider. Additionally, one of the younger waiters kept bumping into my chair and was a bit clueless about how to navigate the space, you don’t cut through guests you walk around! Although he did apologise bless him, not his fault most probably poor training. When I was putting on my coat to leave, he attempted to hand dirty plates from another table over our table, as in reaching over me to give to another waiter, and wiggle our bottle of water to see if it was empty! During our stay😳 These seem like basic service issues that should be avoided with proper training or just common sense. On top of everything, there was a service charge of almost £8 added to the bill, which I didn’t feel was deserved at all given the poor service. Overall, it’s clear that the restaurant needs to improve both its customer service and staff training. Hospitality is about making guests feel welcome, not rushed out the door. Unfortunately, my experience here was a letdown in both regards, and I won’t...

Loved it! Will be going again!

brief summary then more details below

Food: excellent all around, group of 9 everyone loved their starter and main

Drinks: my 1 beer was great, house lagar. I do not drink wine however those among us were very pleased by the pairings given by the restaurant owner (very knowledgeable)

Service: exceptional, undoubtedly the best service I have had at a restaurant to date

Atmosphere: very pleasant, not silent, not noisy the perfect level. However this was a winter evening on a Tuesday. I cannot provide too much information on the atmosphere

Restaurant interior: the quality of the restaurant, the decor, the tables and other furniture is excellent.

More info:

After our meal I think we all reflected on what an incredible experience this evening was. The owner had the time for us tonight as the restaurant was not heaving ( to be expected on a Tuesday night).

It was clear he truly cared and would frequently check on us but not in a way that intruded. He brought out their specials board and ordered our starters for us, incredible platters of ham and cheese plus more extraordinary nibbles!

The owner was so passionate about his staff, food and service, it really showed tonight. Named the distributors off all his fresh ingredients off by heart in extreme detail especially regarding the cheese and wine! The cheese was spectacular. Wow did he impress us. I can't name many times we have gone for meals and just been completely captivated by the owners/staff passion and story behind their restaurant. Even the waitress at the end stated how proud she was of this restaurant and how much she loved her job!!

We chose this new family business for a birthday dinner because of its extraordinary quantity and quality of reviews in such a short period. It did not disappoint. The food is priced relative to the product you receive on your plate!

We did not have deserts as we brought a cake, lovely of them to bring it out with candles and music! Sadly I cannot recall or review the desserts for this reason.

My only complaint is something that is not really an issue! I like food and especially potatoes well seasoned with salt and pepper! Obviously if every kitchen seasoned it to my preference this may disappoint some, and it cant be unseasoned once served. I did not request any food well seasoned, Im sure they would have if I did! However there were multiple quality easy to salt and pepper grinders on the table not silly faf things or cheap granulated salt/pepper powder, proper rock salt and whole peppercorns in grinders. As I did not order potatoes for a main but a pizza, I was pinching them off another plate I couldn't season them the way I like but they were cooked very nicely with Italian herbs, they were delicious!

There is a car park not far up the road, that is free after 630pm FYI! Near the red lion!

Thanks for making my uncles birthday a...

We dined here yesterday ..a Saturday night without realising the restaurant operates on two sittings. On arrival, we were warmly greeted, though the manager did inform us straight away that our table would need to be vacated by 8pm. It was fair enough given their policy, but it did make the start of the evening and the constant reminders to vacate at 8pm feel a little rushed.

We were seated by the front window, which offered a view of the street, but being positioned between the counter (where takeaway boxes were placed and prevented us from seeing anything over the counter) and the window made it feel a bit in-between spaces. I mentioned this to the manager, who kindly offered to move us into the main dining area, though he advised it was quite noisy and busy. We appreciated the offer and decided to stay where we were.

At one point, the manager asked if we had left a previous review mentioning a similar issue, which I assured him we hadn’t. I think he was just trying to understand past feedback, though it did catch us a little off guard even before starting our dining.

As the evening went on, the restaurant became much busier, and it was clear the manager was juggling a lot that night. The food itself was absolutely delicious — beautifully cooked and full of flavour — and the waiting staff were warm, polite, and attentive throughout. They really did a wonderful job despite how busy it was.

Overall, while the food and service from the team were excellent which is why I award it overall 4 stars, the ambience and timing made it feel a little rushed for a social evening with friends. This is probably a great choice if you’re after a quick, high-quality meal, but for a relaxed, leisurely dinner, the short dining window might feel limiting. We ended up enjoying our desserts and drinks at another nearby spot, which rounded off our...