Villa Lulu — Restaurant in New Haven

I had an afternoon to myself after The Rents absconded to Florida and decided I wanted GOOD Italian. Mostly I do not eat Italian food out (unless I’m in NYC and some, specific spots in the New Haven area…). I am second generation Italian. Mainly I can cook anything myself better at home. But if there IS a good Italian restaurant?? I. Want. Excellent. Pasta.

I spent some time checking out Italian restaurants in downtown New Haven. My first concern was the menu, the food pics I could see online, their overall ratings. But I also need the kind of vibe where a single, grown woman can go dine alone at the bar. That’s a specific kind of “niche” dining when it comes to certain types of restaurants: Italian being one. I need to see a good sized, comfortable bar in the restaurant before I’ll even consider dining there. Then I needed a place that was open for lunch. Preferably a place that doesn’t close between lunch and dinner because my real dining preference is a late lunch.

Villa Lulu ticked all the boxes. So! Mom and Dad left at 11am and, once I was sure their plane had actually taken off I headed out to New Haven.

What a great spot! So good, in fact, that I went back the next day for another late lunch and went for my third time yesterday.

I have only been on the first floor, because that’s where the bar seating is and it’s a big, long, comfortable bar. Every person who has waited on me has been EXCEPTIONAL. Really great vibe, good service, fun conversation, warm, inviting, diverse team working here. Impressive.

I dine alone the vast majority of the time, so vibe is extra important to me. If you are always dining with someone(s) else then you can perhaps tune out or overcome a less than delightful vibe. I don’t want to have to try to do that. I want to be interacting with people and connecting. That happens every time I’m at Villa Lulu. The waitstaff is attentive, knowledgeable about the menu (there are different lunch and dinner menus) and the very respectable wine list.

So what I was really after on my first visit to Villa Lulu was pasta. I’m not looking for “modern/fancy” Italian food, I’m looking for perfectly executed pasta. Which is rare. Trust me. The pasta needs to be al dente (if your pasta is even a moment overcooked I am OUT - don’t come at me with that stuff) and then your sauces must be delicious. I am OFTEN disappointed.

My fist two visits to Villa Lulu I ordered from the lunch menu (dinner menu is MUCH larger). The one thing I was definitely going to have was Eggplant Meatballs (!!). I LOVE eggplant and I don’t eat meat. So perfect for me. They are DELICIOUS and the marinara is excellent.

Marinara is The Test of any Italian restaurant. Your marinara needs to be delicious enough to eat alone, with a spoon, like soup. Villa Lulu’s is that good.

I had the fried artichokes. I see what they’re trying. They’re going for Roman Jewish fried artichokes. But they’re using jarred artichoke hearts and a deep fryer. Skip these.

I had a Caesar Salad. If you follow me at all you KNOW I’m ALWAYS going to try the Caesar. Villa Lulu’s Caesar Salad is EXCELLENT!! There are not many excellent Caesars out there. Trust me…I’ve had this salad 3x.

I knew Rigatoni alla Vodka was on the menu. I. Love. Vodka Sauce. I also happen to love Rigatoni. These are Mezzi Rigatoni. Even better! Fabulous. I’ve now eaten it THREE Times. The pasta was cooked perfectly every time. Yesterday I asked for it a little extra spicy and it was. DELICIOUS.

However! They also have Cacio e Pepe on their menu. I love Cacio e Pepe. I have never had good Cacio e Pepe in a restaurant. Until Villa Lulu. On the menu the Cacio e Pepe is with linguine. I am EXTREMELY picky about my pasta shapes and I do not like linguine. But, there is also Bucatini on the menu. I. LOVE LOVE LOVE Bucatini. I asked if they could do Bucatini Cacio e Pepe for me. They did and it was AMAZING. This Cacio e Pepe is so FULL of flavor and umami. The silky, creamy mouthfeel is heaven.

I am SO IMPRESSED by Villa Lulu’s ability to turn out SPECTACULAR...

Some of my classmates and I were planning a dinner for a group of 27 people to celebrate our graduation. We were looking around and attempting to check out other restaurants that the classes before us had used but they were overpriced by a landslide. So, they did not work out for us. Everything happens for a reason! I have been to Villa Lulus for dinner twice before my event. I reached out to Villa Lulu’s and spoke with Karol, and it ended up being the best thing to happen to us! She was a delight! We communicated over email and even text which was easier for both of us! She answered my questions and allowed me to make updates to my contract. Due to the closure of our doctoral nursing program at Quinnipiac University, two deans of the school donated money to our dinner. Since the students had to still pay a portion of the bill, the math and receipts became a little complex. Karol was able to provide me with the necessary receipts for the school which made my life way easier! We rented a projector and screen from the restaurant to showcase a slideshow. I was not sure if it would work with my iPad, but Karol offered to come in that week to try it out before the event. I really, really appreciated that. On the day of the event, Karol wanted to make sure the staff would not be interrupting the slideshow and wanted to know when it was best that the staff enter the party space. I found that to be incredibly considerate. The room was set beautifully! We requested a champagne toast which the restaurant helped us execute seamlessly. Now to the important stuff!... Regarding the menu and the food, upon booking the party at Villa’s, we were provided with a sample menu. Karol informed us if we liked something on the restaurant dinner menu, they would work with us to have it on our party menu. Karol offered and she meant it. The menu blew all the guests away but not as much as the actual food. I had the eggplant meatballs (meatless) which were packed with flavor! I don’t eat meat, but everyone raved about the short ribs, the branzino was incredible, and the lobster ravioli speaks for itself! It was in a lobster bisque. Can I also say... DO NOT SLEEP ON THE PANNA COTTA! It was incredible! The restaurant also makes a lovely espresso martini, and the immoral peach cocktail is one for the books! The staff was so kind and attentive Steve was my server for the table and always checked in to see how everything was! We had a cash bar which they made super easy for our group! The day of my graduation my family had made a reservation elsewhere, but we had some time, so we stopped in at Villa’s for a drink at the bar. I felt like I was seeing friends, I was greeted and congratulated by the staff at Villa’s! Can’t...

I will start off by saying the food was very good! Broccoli rabe could use some salt but the spicy rigatoni was great. This is where my good will ends. I had one of the worst service experiences of my life. I went out to dinner with a friend who likes to drink so we decided to stop in for the Happy Hour. She arrived before I did and within 5 minutes was telling me we might want to pick a different spot, but would let me decide once I got there. First, the Happy Hour Menu online is NOT the actual menu, which was told to my friend very rudely by the star of our show, Paul V, the bartender. (At least that was the name on my receipt). There were 3 drinks on the HH menu, one of which included gin that my friend wanted to try. Paul commented that he didn't know how to make it because "no one ever orders that anyway" and urged my friend to try something else. She wanted that drink and he attempted to make it with no avail. She settled for an aperol spritz which I also ordered once I arrived. These were also not good, which is an accomplishment since the drink includes 3 ingredients. Aside from being a bartender who can't make drinks, Paul also can't pick up on social cues. Every 5 minutes he was either standing awkwardly right in front of us (we were the only ones at the bar) or interrupting our conversation. I do understand that some people do sometimes come to a bar and enjoy chatting with the bartender. We very clearly were not there to do that and very much wanted to enjoy EACH OTHERS company, not Paul's. He would pick up his phone and moan loudly at something, interrupting us and obviously trying to prompt us to engage with him. I mentioned how we were the only patrons at the bar, and yet my friend ordered another drink halfway through our meal and he didn't remember to make it until we finished our entree, ready for the bill. Despite the fact that, remember, we were sitting right in front of him. After we paid, we were still working on her drink and inquired if they validated parking as most New Haven restaurants do if they are located near a garage, and Crown Street garage is right across the street. Paul tells us "yeah I think so but the manager has to do it and he's at the other restaurant (next door). Parking should only be like $2 it's not that big of a deal." Which I could not believe. Fed up at this point, we just left. We ended up paying $7 each for parking, which oddly enough is the same amount as the tip Paul did not at all deserve. I wish I saved it to pay for the parking. Unless we hear that Paul is no longer working here, we will...