Birkdale

We decided to eat there for the first time today. I had thought the menu was pretty varied, too varied to get everything just right. How wrong I was. 4 of us all chose totally different meals, each one delicious! Lovely attentive staff and really well priced. My lamb and mash was PERFECT! The first visit but definitely not the last!

Villaggio Cucina is a classic spot in the heart of birkdale village, serving beautiful Italian cuisine. The food here is exceptional, and remains true to traditional Italian options despite being pretty huge. Everything we had was of incredible quality, and I was sorry to not have room to finish it! The only slight issue was that the pizza I chose wasn't marked as spicy but most definitely was! But thankfully it was also delicious. There is a good selection of drinks, and especially wines, all at a reasonable price. The service is pretty hit and miss. We were served by at least 4 different people, a lack of continuity which produced predictable problems. At the end of the night, after waiting for a long time to pay our bill, we eventually went up to the counter and paid so we could leave. This may seem minor, but this has happened multiple times here and leads to you feeling forgotten about, which isn't a great way to end the night. The venue itself is well decorated, and on quieter nights is a great place to be. However, on a Saturday night when the place is full, the acoustics are awful. It is INCREDIBLY loud, to the point where you can barely hear people across the table from you. Unfortunately this means I'd advise not going here on a weekend if you want to have a good conversation, at least until they put some noise dampening or something in place. In the end, the food makes up for everything. I'd happily go back in a heart beat, but only on quieter days of the week.

Me, my wife and our extended family, have been going to Villaggio Cucina consistently for many years. Me and my wife have watched it grow into the best independent Italian in the area. Once again last nights meal did not disappoint. Greeted with a large smile, we had cocktails and starters (King Prawns) outside in the sun. We then moved inside to enjoy our main courses due to the oncoming thunderstorm. My wife had the Chicken Caesar salad, she swears by it everytime (believe me, she’s eaten a lot of salads). Myself I had the stuffed chicken breast and swapped the mash out for chunky chips, it was all delicious. When considering the stress and strain of running a small business in the current climate, it never spills into the service. No issue is too much and a quick chat always solves everything. If you’re looking for an example of what hard work gets you, then look no further than Villaggio Cucina.

The food was tasty and flavourful and the only thing that lets this restaurant down is the really slow service. The waiters are like snails and it seems that they ignore you and you have to wait at least 10 minutes for someone to come and offer drinks and most of the other time you need to ask a waiter to order anything which was quite disappointing.