Trattoria Villagio

I’ve been in this restaurant many times, with friends, with family and by myself. Each time is better and better. Excellent food, outstanding service, beautiful location.

Great food, great ambiance, and overall good service. Only problem I have with this place is reservation and outside sitting. When they are busy, it can be extremely frustrating. The host seems clueless and absolutely has no control over seating. The manager seems to shout step by step marching order to the host. Then why bother having a host. They need to simply include outside seating as part of the reservation system to eliminate customer’s frustration. If you are going here as a couple try the bar area… seems to offer way better service and if possible sit in front of the prep area and watch Joe prepare your selected meat and cheese platter. Solid 4 stars for food and ambiance, 3.5 stars for service, and 2 stars for reservation and seating.

One of our favorites near our home. Wonderful outdoor courtyard where you can dine or just have drinks by the outdoor fire. Menu is solid with a good rotation of weekly chef specials. Serves are always knowledgeable, polite and courteous. They also have excellent pizza which we take to go about once a month. Reservations are recommended for dine-​in. Couple all of this with the fact that the restaurant is located in the neat little town of Clifton and it is worth the drive of you aren’t in the area. Walk across the street to Peterson’s for ice cream after dinner.

Went with friends on Saturday night. Place was packed. We sat closer to the front and it was loud. Made it difficult for conversation.
We split an appetizer of muscles in a garlic wine sauce. Thought is was very good and there were plenty of them. They provided a loaf of warm bread to begin. That was excellent. I had the calamatra pasta. I hoped it compared to spicy seafood pasta dish I had at other restaurants which I really enjoy. Plenty of seafood and good size plate but did not care for the sauce. Seemed too thin. I did ask them to spice it up and they did but I would not order it again
Service was excellent but just too loud and tables too close.
I would go back but I would look for another place to sit and order something else.

Trattoria Villagio is my favorite neighborhood Italian restaurant. It is very home-​ie and rustic. Everything feels like it is from your own kitchen but much better tasting. There are always seating available as it is a pretty big place. There are also patio seating available. Parking in the Town of Clifton is at a premium b
My favorite is the Pollo Parmigiana which is a very simple breaded chicken breast topped with tomato sauce. I substitute pasta for their amazing arugula salad. The dish overall is very hearty and comforting. My other favorite is the shrimp Badda Bing! It’s their signature appetizer but I’ve included it with a salad or as a side to dinner. I’ve also had their fresh seafood bar which included crabs, lobster, clams, mussels and snowcrabs. Could have been a full meal alone.
You can smell the fire from the pizzeria from outside the restaurant as you walk up to the building. If you go into the back patio, you’re brought back to the feel of Italy. Comfy couch lines the fire place and makes for a warm and welcome place to visit with friends. To our surprise, we were treated to firepits, smore kits and movies on one night in December. It was a cold night but they provided blankets and plenty of warm drinks for everyone.
I’ll definitely be coming back often for their cheese bar and the Badda Bing!

Tucked away in a quaint area of Clifton, this place is a little gem. I came with my friend for dinner Sunday night and was happy with the dining experience!
The food that we ordered was really quite excellent. We started with the Mozzarella Caprese ($ 10), which did not disappoint. The buffalo mozzarella cheese was warm, milky and simply delicious — talk about a great start! For mains my friend got the Calamarata Pasta ($ 18) and I had the Ravioli di Aragosta with creamy lobster bisque ($ 18). Both the noodles and ravioli were homemade and fresh! Tomato and basil on the pasta made for a simple yet flavorful dish while the ravioli was al dente, the sauce thick and creamy yet not too overbearing. We sat at the bar for this meal because it would have been a 30 – 40 minute wait for a table, so I highly suggest making reservations ahead of time! The food took over half an hour to arrive and I was starving, but I’d still say it was worth the wait. Service was friendly and not overly attentive.
Will be back to try more dishes (and their chocolate cake)

Fantastic little gem hidden in Clifton! Delicious authentic Italian food. I had the white sangria & rigatoni and they were both delicious. Service was very quick & excellent! We came for a belated birthday lunch & they even gave me special birthday chocolate to take home. Definitely will be back in the warmer months to check out that gorgeous patio.

We really enjoyed our lunch here a few weekends ago. So much, that we’re looking forward to returning. As usual, we over ordered for our family, but it’s just so hard to choose what to have when everything sounds so delicious!
We chose to start with the cheese platter. I think we chose 7 cheeses. Our server was pretty knowledgeable on the cheeses, although she had to go and ask a question on one or two of our choices for us. The menu had the names listed, but didn’t go into much detail on what they were. We love cheese, but we’re not complete experts on every one of them, haha. My only complaint on the cheese tray was that for the amount of cheese we ordered, they definitely did not give enough of accoutrements to support the cheeses. I wound up having to ask for a little extra fruit jam for my kids to use, but it would’ve been nice to have maybe more honey and maybe some nuts to add texture. We ordered a lot of cheese and it wasn’t inexpensive, so they could’ve played with it a little to make it more appealing. But it was very good.
Unfortunately, while we were enjoying our cheese, they were in the middle of switching to the dinner menu. Apparently part of the preparations involved employees placing tea light candles on the tables and lighting the flame. The boy who lit ours put it too close to our cheese platter and the parchment paper that it was lined with caught fire. My daughter saw it quickly and we got it out, but it was super scary for a minute. We told the server, who told the boy who did it to be careful and he apologized to us and we kind of made a joke of it, but if it had happened to anyone else or if we hadn’t noticed it as quick as we did, it could’ve been super serious.
My husband had chicken parmigiana from the dinner menu, and my daughters and I each ordered a pizza. Way too much food. My daughter’s breakfast pizza was delicious, I wish we had decided to share that instead of ordering our own. I would order that again in a heartbeat. My other daughter had the seafood pizza and because of this, fell in love with mussels. She adores them, thanks to that pizza. My pizza involved an italian ham, figs and arugula. It was good, but the figs were dried and I kind of expected them to be more of a jam, or at least softer. I don’t need that particular pizza again.
We will most definitely return to try a few more of their offerings. It’s in such a cute little area and truly a hidden gem.

This place is super cute, esp for a date :) It’s located in a small area of Clifton, a quiet area hidden away behind too many deer and trees… but it’s a good kind of quiet.
The original plan was to check out Clifton Café which is literally right across the street, but they had a ridiculous wait and such small space, so we decided to try another restaurant with (equally as) good reviews on Unilocal.Trattoria Villagio also had a wait, but my friend and I were able to wait outside and chat at the round tables and we figured since this restaurant has a second floor, they would be able to seat us more quick.
The restaurant has a great ambiance — it’s clean, classy, and gives off good vibesssss. Our server was very sweet and he made sure to keep us posted on when our food would be ready. I kept it simple and ordered the steak salad with strawberries. They started us off with bread and the salad was very fresh. I would definitely want to go back and try their wine, and something other than salad. Overall a great experience, street parking or parking in the lot near the tracks would be recommended!

I’ve been here a few times and enjoyed myself on every occasion. It is a great way to get away from the northern Virginia hustle and bustle! I recently showed up before Christmas and was surprised by the outdoor theater that showed classics like Home Alone, It’s a Wonderful Life, Elf, etc. by fire pit. Jeremy the general manager seems to be in perfect alignment with the owner who lives conveniently across the street. Michael our server was very helpful at making key drink recommendations. They even provide a complimentary S’more kit! If you want to feel like you are in an authentic Christmas atmosphere millions of miles away from capital hill then venture out to this amazing retreat!

This was my fourth visit to Trattoria Villagio and I have enjoyed it each time. Service has been consistently good. I’ve visited for Happy Hour, lunch (twice) and dinner. Each time warm bread is served with EVOO and balsamic. They always have a «special» homemade ravioli. The cheese selection takes a while to make it to the table because the chef slices everything to order. The Insalata Villagio with the strawberries and goat cheese is yummy. The chocolate cake is warm and moist — but really nothing special. It can get a bit loud in there — like it was on my lunch visit the other day. I could hardly hear the people in my group speak. They served a Spanish cheese that started with an «M» that was fantastic.

Went here for the first time last night. The food was of course pricey but definitely worth it. We started off with a shrimp appetizer (don’t know the name as my boyfriend ordered it while I used the bathroom), and it was delicious. I got a simple chicken Alfredo, my boyfriend got steak and garlic mashed potatoes– all delicious.
Kyle was our server and he was awesome. He went over all of the specials and was professional about everything. My boyfriend and I aren’t the fanciest people in the world, but he was super friendly and didn’t make us feel out of place at all. Thanks Kyle!

I came here with the family tonight. It was my first time here, and I was very impressed. The restaurant was nicely decorated and I got a great view of downtown Clifton. Our table was brought warm bread with a dipping sauce which contained olive oil with some vinegar poured on top. For my main course I ordered carbonara pasta. It was delicious. It had great flavor with a little bit of smokiness in each bite, and it wasn’t drenched in sauce which I liked. For dessert I ordered their special which was banana bread pudding with a scoop of white chocolate gelato on top. I’m not normally a big bread pudding fan but that dessert was superb. Service was also excellent. I would not hesitate to re command this restaurant to anybody.

Overall, I have to say the food was slightly above average.
Our party of 6 had a 7:30 reservation and we were seated promptly. The appetizers of Calamari and meatballs were the highlight of the meal. The steak got rave reviews but the Chicken Marsala was too heavy. Our server was curt but it was busy and we were preoccupied with catching up and his impatience with us was obvious.
I gave our visit a 4 but if there was a 3.5 star choice, that would have been a better fit for a relatively $$$ meal.

Have been stopping by about once a week since it opened. I have mostly positive views of this place, many strengths and high points, along with a few small issues. For instance, it took too long to get the antipasto bar right. Sloppily managed at the outset, but now separated from bar patrons with glass, thankfully.
The food is very good, period. Fresh baked bread, yes, quite good. Good wine selection also. But, the menu could use work. For an Italian restaurant, both pasta and sauces are a bit thick, heavy and rich… at least for my taste. While I’m not a seafood pasta fan, there is a fresh seafood bar and only one seafood pasta on the menu. Huh? And, no angel hair pasta to be had. Really? No capellini pomodoro?
Service and wait staff are impeccable, friendly and helpful, especially at the bar. Dinner specials are interesting and always tasty. The kitchen is a bit too inflexible when it comes to menu items. Wait staff does a good job of getting changes or substitutions but you have to ask.
It’s noisy, beyond noisy. A few acoustic, noise baffling adjustments would help, but at the end of the day, the self indulgent, loud, obnoxious, over paid Defense contractor locals that inhabit the place are to blame. Another reason the Pentagon needs to move to Peoria, but that’s a topic for another day.
Somewhat pricey I suppose but compared to what, DC? Overall, very good. Bring on the angel hair pasta and capellini pomodoro, and the fifth star is yours.

My entire experience from the moment I walked in was beyond superb. I was introduced to this restaurant from a friend who’s Italian and says this is his family’s favorite spot. It’s warm, friendly, and truly a gem.
Hostess greeted us with a warm friendly smile and right off the bat so welcoming. They weren’t at all stuffy, it was just like walking into someone’s home. Our server was professional but personable and attentive. The manager even stopped by our table to ask how we were doing. Unfortunately we came on a humid night so they seated us comfortably indoors. But the outdoor patio seating looked just lovely with a fireplace and garden. As romantic as it gets so we will definitely be back, often.
A warm loaf of bread (hard crispy crust with a soft airy center) and olive oil with balsamic was served along with water and of course, a glass of vino. We started with the signature appetizer, Shimp Badda-​Bing (which resembled bang bang shrimp from Bonefish Grill). Medium size shrimp that is flash fried and tossed in a creamy sauce. It’s noted that it’s spicy but I didn’t taste too much heat. A side of the Insalata Villagio perfectly paired fresh strawberries with honey goat cheese. Any salad with goat cheese is my absolute favorite and also had my second favorite salad ingredient, avocado. I’m pretty sure if they had to recreate a salad after me it would be the Insalata Villagio. Cue mouth watering: The Ravioli di Aragosta with a garlic white wine sauce (you can also order it with a creamy lobster bisque), so delicious. The portion did not look large but don’t let it fool you. I had a couple raviolis left over. I mean I totally could have stuffed my face but I didn’t want to be a glutton. Every bite was delicious and each ravioli actually had a decent chuck of lobster meat. Not some mush disguise as lobster, but the real deal. The sauce was light but had a kick of flavor. I also had a few bites of the Pollo Parmigiana. Chicken was tender and side of pasta had an exceptional sauce. Basically it was just a light red sauce but had a hint of sweetness that perfectly complimented some of the salt from the chicken. I didn’t have room for dessert (omg I know right and dessert is usually my favorite) but they do have the classic tiramisu which is my all time favorite dessert so I’m coming back for it as well as homemade gelato where the flavors change frequently.
Trattoria Villagio holds a special place in my heart because of the all around service, food and ambiance. You just made a diner for life.

We’ve been to Trattoria Villagio many times, and it is always a good experience.
From the homemade pasta to the well chosen wine selection you won’t have a bad meal here. The have a great seafood selection too… yum!
The Wait staff is friendly and knowledgeable, and you’ll never be rushed. Lazy Sunday with a bottle of wine in the courtyard? Yes Please!

I absolutely love this place!!! Me and four of my friends went here for a birthday dinner. Everything was perfect. The décor was very lovely and mood setting. The waiters were very friendly and attentive, they even took a picture of us. lol
They have a freshly squeeze lemonade that is to die for! They even put sugar on the rim rim rim ! The food was on the expensive side but it was worth it, very tasty and filling. If you decide to give this place a go try, the black rice!

We’ve been several times over the past year, always for lunch. We visited as a group of 5 recently for dinner and experienced yet another amazing meal!
From appetizers to dessert and the wine we enjoyed all along, the meal was great and the service was fitting. They offer incredible seafood, as well as meat dishes and their pasta dishes are outstanding. Everything is freshly prepared from fresh ingredients.
The location is beautiful as well. Very clean and in the beautiful, quaint «downtown» Clifton, VA.

You need to stop by to try the new summer salads. They are refreshing!!!
Also the Piazza is open with great Happy Hour.