Il Villaggio — Restaurant in Carlstadt

Had a wedding here 12 days ago and I can't thank Richard and Patrick enough for the most amazing wedding imaginable. I am going to preface this review by saying that both my husband and I are vegan, which of course makes planning a wedding more complicated. Needless to say, searching for a venue was difficult. We went to multiple venues in the North Jersey area only to be met with a bunch of nos or individuals who did not sound like they would be willing to work with us or help accommodate us. One of our last locations to check was Il Villaggio, where we met with Richard for the first time. He was the first one to tell us "that shouldn't be a problem at all." And it was magic after that. We were both relieved to hear that they could meet our requests, but became even more excited to hear everything else that would be included for our big day.

This venue pretty much does it all. They handle food and lighting, provided suggested vendors that they knew would make the day perfect, offered fantastic attendants to make the evening stress free, and were available to answer questions all throughout the process. It was absolutely a pleasure being able to plan the day with them. They were able to work around my crazy schedule with no problem to accommodate food tastings, item drop offs, menu review, or random drop ins to look at the venue space. And even with last minute details we had brought to the venue, someone was always there to make sure that everything was perfect and where it needed to be.

Everyone keeps raving about how this was the best wedding they had ever been to! Food was plentiful and perfect, not to mention people were thrilled to hear about all the available top shelf liquor available. It was nuts that literally anything I could ask for they brought to me.

We were able to work with Richard to make sure that certain items on the standard menu could be adjusted to our dietary needs, so that we could have options for ourselves throughout the night. He worked with the chefs and went through different recipes with us to craft the perfect vegan options that we and a few other guests could enjoy. And the selections were magnificent! All guests were able to get what they wanted. There were so many options at cocktail hour that some guests thought it was the main meal, which made it a big surprise when they got to the reception room to be met with delicious appetizers and entrees. We even paid for a dessert hour, and they managed to be able to pull off some additional vegan desserts outside of the cake we had purchased. I got to enjoy waffles and ice cream, cake...no one went home hungry that night. Not even me or my husband.

It was so nice having the team at Il Villaggio handle the evening for us. There was not a single moment where I felt uncomfortable or worried. They handled the schedule. Made sure everyone was lined up for the reception entrance and they organized all of our vendors. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS VENUE! If you are looking for perfection, you can't get better than this place. These owners care about you and they want you to enjoy your special day. I will never forget this night or how professional and fun it was to plan this night with Richard.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for making this the best day of my life. Thank you for handling all the big and small details. Thank you for making this easy because I never thought I could get anything even remotely close to what I got that night. I am so glad I...

Where do i begin.....

My now wife and I booked at Il Villaggio a year ago with Richard (we felt comfortable with him which is why we booked venue). When it was time to email Richard for a follow-up and tasting we were introduced to Patrick. Richard was apparently fired in the time in between our wedding without anyone from Il Villaggio ever reaching out to us. Patrick Lopez assured my wife and I that he was the best and degraded his former co-worker (Richard). We had a problem with Patrick from the beginning! When we met ( after everything was settled with Richard) Patrick said we had nothing to worry about. We were now scheduling our tasting which Richard said we could have up to 6 people but patrick made seem like he was doing a favor. Patrick also promised he would be at the tasting but never showed up and we honestly had no idea what we were supposed to do nor did anyone help with tasting. I sent an e-mail to patrick after the tasting stating how i felt and concern for our wedding especially because this new person never showed! We were not feeling very confident in this guy (rightfully so). Let's fast forward....

Morning of wedding when my wife was at Il Villaggio with hair and make-up.... The bridal suite was still dirty from nights before and it was hot hot hot in the bridal suit while the bridesmaids were getting hair and make-up.

Patrick took 4 meetings in lobby while we were taking wedding pictures. And he honestly looked aggravated at us!

I arrived at Il Villaggio at 3pm from my hotel suite with family and bridesmen.

My first look outside with my wife was with dirty glasses on the ledge.

I spoke with daughter of owner because Patrick was busy taking meetings while we were taking pics ( he was actually downstairs out of his office in the lobby at a cocktail table and did not say one word to any of us!)

When i looked into the ballroom nothing had been done yet and i asked the owners daughter if i should be worried. She ASSURED me that everything would be taken care of by the time i walked into room.

There is honestly so much more!!!!

The main part was that the room was not opened until almost an hour after the time it was supposed to. I had to have multiple conversations with Patrick throughout the night (Im also the bride). He f*cked everything up and did not care! The main memory i have from my wedding is that i had to deal with that guy! We had POSH DJ's and they are the one's that actually came out and asked what was taking so long. Patrick asked me what our chair covers were even though this was discussed and then blamed him being late on the linen company!

When the venue runs late(which should NEVER happen for a wedding!!) then everything else gets pushed back. EX. White castle cheeseburgers that should have been out at 11! Most people never even saw them because they weren't out. And let's not even talk about the bathroom baskets that i dropped off that never went out until i asked at 9pm!

This is all routine for this guy! So how are you an hour late opening doors to ballroom for...

We come to Il Villaggio for late lunch early dinner and drinks every couple of weeks and we love the place. Dennis the Chef is just the best there is and the bartender Jimmy is always very welcoming to everyone. Friday August 11, 2023 we had our wedding reception here so I am writing a review to cover that. We eloped in April and decided to have a family celebration so we met with Chris who handles all of the weddings. Chris and his staff made themselves available whenever we needed anything. To answer questions, aid and assisting hiring vendors, panning menus, decor etc. This is a very well oiled machine that the Owner Ralph has put together. Our guests commented over and over again how elegant the setting is here. Ours was a more intimate crowd of 57 guests, however, they absolutely accommodate large full scale weddings in their grand ballroom which is also very warm and well appointed. Very inviting and elegant. The staff was on target all evening long from the servers, to my bridal attendant Angie, the bartender Steven, the Maitre D Leoand of coarse Chris and Dennis all doing their special part to make us feel like family. Our entire family raved about the food too. We had a five hour continuous cocktail party with vast food choices from around the globe. Aside from what we would love which is a lot of Italian delicacies, we had a Southern Comfort Station and a Havana Station that the guests went crazy for. They added a unique twist with different food choices. Every table we visited the plates were full of different foods everyone was trying. Guests said this was the most unqique selection and they could not decide so they ate as mush as they could have everything. First hour featured a raw bar of oysters, clams and shrimp that were fantastic. Lots of chafing dishes eggplant rollotini, sausage and broccoli rabe, meats, chicken IlVillaggio, pastas, salads, antipasto's, mozzarella, lamb chops, spanakopita, egg rolls, shrimp tempura, coconut shrimp etc. etc. The list seemed endless. The nest four hours were caring stations, homemade pastas, sides, the specialty stations, veal, chicken beef, prime rib you name it. All along keeping the bar flowing. The entire evening of music by Phil and Mary from NY Sound Machine was awesome, the photographer David Miller made sure to capture the festivities, the cake from Callandra's in Fairfield was fresh strawberries and whip cream just delicious! This was a night we and our family and friends will never forget, thank. you for making our dream wedding so perfect from the beginning of the planning process to the end! And we did this in a very short window thanks to Il Villaggio. Photos...