Il Villagio

We Love this restaurant.   Always greeted by staff in a friendly , neighborly manner .  Wait staff is great .  Excellent  attentive service.  Wonderful food that is imaginative ,  changes frequently .  We  visit with friends , family and business associates often and we have never been disappointed .

We had dinner here the other evening. First we were kept waiting 20 minutes for our reservation without any concern of the owner. It was obvious that we were not regulars by the way others were treated in the restaurant. He then sat down for his own dinner with a group of people without ever checking in on how the dinning experience was. At the end of the meal, all tables around us were offered an after dinner drink, except us. Sorry, too many excellent restaurants in the area!

It's tricky thing, running an Italian restaurant on Long Island. So much competition. So many places to get halfway-decent upscale Italian food. Il VIllagio is one of those places. If it were located in the middle of Kansas, it would probably be a standout destination, serving the best and most authentic Italian food in the area. In Malverne, New York, however, it stands simply as a competent one among many, with nothing particularly special to single it out.

My entree was indicative of the whole experience: Chilean Sea Bass, Marechaira-style, with shrimp, clams, and light tomato broth. Clams were over, Sea Bass was just a tad under, but generally decent. Not great, but competent. If you frequent restaurants such as these, you can probably taste it in your mouth right now, and it's pretty much exactly what you would expect.

I will say the service was quite pleasant and efficient throughout, and that's a plus, but the reality is that there is tons of competition located within a few miles of this place. If you're seeing a movie at the Cinema 4, and you need a nice place to eat close by, this is certainly a good pick. Otherwise, I can't find a reason to recommend it as a destination for foodies.