"I chose Villaggio del Vino because I wanted to treat my daughter to a fine dining experience, for her 18th birthday, and I was HIGHLY disappointed. From the beginning, I could feel the sense of being unwelcomed even though we were dressed very appropriately and had a reservation that was made online. They were out of…well a lot of things and it was 7 PM on a Saturday night. Just to name a few things…the bruschetta, ribeye, the Bordeaux blend wine on their menu, and a few other items. When I asked the waitress, who never announced herself or her trainee until I asked 30 mins into service, why they were out of so many things, she stated it was because they were “short staffed”…ummm…that was an odd answer to why they didn’t have things that were advertised on their menu, but ok. I also indicated that it was a birthday when I made the reservation thinking that they would do something special for it. I didn’t want anything over the top, but at least some kind of acknowledgment. There was none; even though there was a larger group that was presented a cake of some sort with a candle. That frustrated me because this was supposed to be a special occasion for a young lady entering adulthood. The food was decent and came out within a reasonable time, but certainly not fine dining. Ambiance was on par, but there seemed to be (what felt like to me) some preferential treatment to other patrons (I am African American, so let that stick in your mind). When I asked for the desert menu and reiterated to our server that it was a birthday, we were told that the crème brûlée and tiramisu were “on the house”. When the bill came, we were charged for it. I asked why it was on the bill, and she stated that they were “made in house, and not on the house”. Visibly irritated, I asked my daughter to wait for me in the car while I asked to speak to the manager. I expressed my frustrations to the manager who offered an apology, comped our meal, and gave us a gift certificate. Not a good look!"
