IL Villaggio Authentic — Restaurant in Town of Carmel

An absolute gem! This is absolutely the best Italian food available in Westchester and Putnam, and I say that having worked or eaten at most of them. The chef and owner of this restaurant has worked in some of the most acclaimed restaurants in Boston's North End and some of Philadelphia's favorite Italian restaurants, and his experience clearly shows. The handmade pastas, fresh ingredients, and authentic flavors that compose the dishes offered on the thoughtfully designed menu remind me of dining experiences I have only ever had in Tuscany.

My yardstick for evaluating a new Italian restaurant in the U.S. is the fried calamari and chicken parmesan because both dishes are simple and every menu has them, but they are easy to mess up and very difficult to elevate to something impressive. I can say without a doubt that the chef here elevates both dishes without changing the basic familiar formula; it is evident that the combination of skillful culinary excellence and fresh ingredients are what drives the kitchen here. Perfectly battered, fried at a temperature that produces light and crispy texture without allowing the greasiness to make it into the food, and a beautiful tomato sauce that showcases how the natural acidity in the tomatoes can brighten up a fried dish in a way that less experienced chefs depend on lemon to do.

Not to mention the amazingly attentive front of the house staff, high quality and reasonably priced wine by the glass options, and spacious dining room with table layouts arranged to maximize customer comfort over seating volume.

IL Villaggio Authentic is an Italian vacation right in my family's backyard. If you have read my review this far, you are wasting your time and should be eating...

I just left the restaurant. It was one of the worst meals in a restaurant that I’ve ever had. Plain horrible. I had the “special” told it was ziti with calamari and mussels. There were seven (7) small rings of calamari and six (6) mussels. The rest was ziti with red sauce. Ridiculous for $32.00. I’m not complaining about cost BUT the cost for what they gave me was criminal. I went with my daughter and my wife. They were appalled as well. They bought bread to the table only when the dinner was served. Some Italian restaurant the bread they bought was toast!!!! Toasted slice bread. Not anything close to Italian bread. Do not waste your time or money here. There are many other restaurants in the area that I have gone to, and been more satisfied than this place. This absolutely positively was the worst experience and food that I have had in a restaurant in many many many years. I am being truthful. My daughter and my wife felt the same. This was our first time at this restaurant and it will definitely be our last. Just absolutely horrible. I let the way to know how I felt and he agreed with me. He said I understand when you order a seafood dish. You expect there to be seafood in it and I saw there was very little seafood and all ziti he said he was going to tell the cook. All I can say is stay away. Otherwise you’ll face the same appointment as I and...

Last week, my wife and I had the pleasure of dining at Il Villagio. The restaurant was highly recomended to us by my wife's coworker. We were greeted warmly and sat promptly. We had a 6:30 reservation. The service from start to finish was warm, friendly and professional. We started with a crisp tender fried calamari and the roasted beet salad. So many times calamari is a hit or miss. This was an excellent version. The beet salad was tender, earthy and sweet. The crunchy pistacios and orange vinaigrette were a nice touch. My wife ordered Chicken Millanese and I ordered Gnocchi Bolognese. Both were excellent. The chicken was crisp and tender. The arrugula was peppery with a drizzle of lemon and virgin olive oil. Great balance. The Gnocchi was a great choice as there was a chill in the air. My definition of comfort food. Recently I have notice some resturants are going with a cheaper grated cheese, not Il Villagio. The Peccorino was perfectly salty and sharp. During our meal several people came over to check on us including the owner. I told he should be very proud of his staff. This restaurant is doing a great job. The provide quality service, excellent food and a warm friendly staff. It was a 25-30 drive for us. A drive I will be doing again real soon....