Villaggio's Ristorante Italiano — Restaurant in Florida

Update from last year's review below:

Thought we'd give it another try. Waited over 1.5 hours to get our food. My lasagna was burned and my wife's chicken in "brandy" cream sauce was horrible. Tasted like heavy cream mixed with cream of celery and nothing else. We can't say we didn't give 'em another go....

Last year's review:

Walking into the restaurant, my wife and I thought it was a very nice atmosphere. It was lit properly, not too dark, not too bright, and the ambience was very nice. The hostess was very professional and seated us immediately. There was a woman playing the harp, and doing so very well. We thought we found a really nice place.

The server came to our table, and was excellent. No complaints whatsoever about the wait staff. They were very friendly, and very professional. They brought our drink orders quickly and the drinks were very good. Gin Martini and a house Cab. So, why did I give Villagio Ristorante only 1 star you ask?

The food:

Appetizer: We ordered the meat and cheese platter for two with artichoke hearts, and also were served a tray of croissant-like rolls.

The meat and cheese platter: The meat and the cheese were low quality cuts and the artichokes were marinated in a low quality Italian dressing, and had a chemical-ish flavor to them. The croissants were obviously from a pop-open type can. They were warm-ish when they got to the table and were hard and stale within a couple minutes after they cooled down. (Reheated from being cooked earlier, I'm guessing, and hoping not re-used from the day before.)

Dinner: (Before I start, let me preface with this: I use salt in my own cooking and am not one of those "anti-salt" health nut diet people.

The salads that were brought to us (house salads) were literally just lettuce with two tomato wedges on either side of the salad plate. The lettuce was crisp enough, but the tomatoes were not good quality.

I ordered a filet mignon with spinach and a side of angel hair with marinara: The filet wasn't bad, but the sauce they put over it was horrible. It was supposed to be a wine reduction sauce. It tasted exactly like Heinz brown gravy was mixed with a cheap merlot and cooked together for about 30 seconds with waaaaay too much salt. It ruined the filet for me. The spinach: More salt does not equal more flavor. Waaaay too salty. The marinara: The sauce was definitely a canned sauce and tomato paste combination, not fresh ingredients. Again, waaaay too much salt. The entire meal left my mouth dry, as though I had been chewing salty cotton balls.

My wife had the eggplant parm, and had the same complaint. The salt content in the cooking was ridiculous. We didn't finish any of the food. Not even close.

We still tipped the wait staff generously because it wasn't their fault that the chef there is cutting corners. It is a prime example of trying to maximize profit by cutting corners i.e. low quality ingredients, over salting food to try to enhance watered down flavors, etc...

We won't return again unless the cooking staff starts using new methods/ingredients or is changed out completely. I welcome Villagio's to contact me to discuss further. (I don't like to give a negative review without being available to discuss with that...

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!! Let’s start at the beginning my mother and I were in town from Orlando and we’re looking to have some Italian. Upon arriving to the restaurant @ 5pm we were greeted by the hostess as well as a server on 12/18/21. The server asked if we had reservations (we did not), she told me the hostess would help us. Upon approaching the hostess she too asked if we had reservations I explained that we didn’t and that we were in town for the Ballet. She had explained to my mother and I that we had to have reservations, we understood (as we were not familiar with the area) and we left. We were quickly followed out by the server Theresa who asked what happened I told her and she told us to wait a minute. She returned to let us know that we would be seated. Reentering the restaurant we were greeted by Jennifer who explained that while normally this time of year being busy they do ask for reservations but she’d make an exception and seat us. Boy are we glad that she did. Our server was Sandro who quickly waited on us and explained specials and the menu items as well as offered recommended items. I had the Grouper and Crab with Lemon Wine sauce and my mother had the rack of Lamb. We also ordered the bruschetta as an appetizer and cannolis for dessert. EVERYTHING from the salad to the last bite of cannoli was simply amazing and delicious and perfectly seasoned. Nothing needed even the smallest of salt or pepper. Pure perfection. However, while the food was amazing Jennifer, Theresa, and Sandro made the night for us. They stopped by to check on us regularly and were very attentive and accommodating. Trebly I can not thank Jennifer enough for making the space for us she’s simply amazing. As are our two servers. And others that stopped by to fill drinks. I will make a point to visit again while in Tampa for shows and theater events. As well as I can not wait to bring my father who’s Italian and lived in Italy for 3 years while in the navy. To Jennifer and the staff of the Villagio Truly thank you for a beautiful evening dinner and you’ve rightfully earned our family as guests and we will be sure to tell friends and family of your establishment. (Next time we will call to be sure we don’t need reservations, respectfully.)...

Went to eat here several times and loved it. Food was great. This time not so much. Made a reservation for 5 and told them it was for a birthday. Once we arrived, the waiter brought us 5 glasses of water and never asked if we wanted something else to drink. We ordered our meal the the wait began. Salads and garlic knots came after maybe 20 minutes. Ordered the fried mozzarella appetizer. Came after half an hour, over cooked and missing most of the sauce. We have had this before and loved it. Not today. Food came another 30 minutes later (after the dishes were cleared) Barely lukewarm (was it sitting all this time in the kitchen?) Never saw the waiter again until we were long since done (another 35 minutes) and finally went to the host in front to ask about the birthday (we never even got to order any dessert or coffee) Waited another 20 minutes then asked another waiter to find our waiter for the check.Got the check and he vanished again. A vague unsettling dispute erupted at an adjacent table. Apparently the folks there had an issue with a food order they had picked up on a recent previous night and were told it would be taken care of the next time they came in. The restaurant employee (busgirl?) was telling them she checked with her boss and they wouldn't make good on it since they didn't return the dish (ordered late one night so too late to return) She then proceeded to tell them she didn't care who consumed it; the dog, the toilet or the trash. We thought we were hearing things or maybe it was the TV show "What would you do?" The disgruntled customers handled it a lot better than I would have. The owner (?) eventually came over to them and after a big lecture offered to make good.They probably didn't see the nasty looks thrown their way as they left. After I signed the check and was getting ready to leave, the host and waiter turned up with the birthday tiramisu. We thanked them but were not in any mood to eat it. Villagio what has happened to you? I immediately noticed many empty tables on a Saturday evening and that was never the case before. Now I don't wonder why. The service was horrible and the food left a lot to be desired. I'll bet your days are numbered unless you clean...