La Vigna Restaurant

We had a good dinner here, with good food and wine, appetizer of baked claims, good entrees, fish and chicken, soup, etc. Service is a little slow. Had to get waiter’s attention to get menus and drink orders. Later, watched another waiter drop and break glass of wine (not ours).
Quiet, local place that attracts a steady following. Tweak service a little and will be even better.
Came back for Birthday dinner and were lmpressed. Service was faster, better. Enjoyed drinks, cocktails, veal scallopini, red snapper. Good Italian wine, sorbetto. Good place for excellent Italian cuisine in good venue, much cheaper than in Manhattan. Good place if you have to be near JFK…

My partner and I are always debating which is the best Italian place in the area — this or Alberto — and this is my personal favorite. Love everything here, especially the tomato sauce, and the waiters are so nice! My favorite is the eggplant rollatini, but also love the gnocchi. Lunch special especially good!

This is a surprisingly good restaurant mostly favoring Italian Food staples. While not as technically adept in food preparation as Albertos down the street, the flavors are generally more pronounced. They offer a prix fixe option which is an excellent value, and have a convenient parking area adjacent. Only wish they had more comfortable seat backs to their chairs.

Always good but last few times the portions seem to be getting smaller. Hopefully, this trend will not continue.

Italian restaurant with a quaint atmosphere. we had a large group and party here for a Sunday Brunch. The calamari was good and mussels were good. Portion sizes were food– service is really REALLY slow. Also– staff didnt go around filling water up when table. Bathrooms are also on th small side as well. Told them sergice was running slow and if we could get food faster and was staff was rude about it and not open to my comments. Came here once and wouldnt recommend it again.

Okay. I’ll be honest, the food is excellent. We went once and loved it. We went back for the lunch special. My mom is a vegetarian and she ordered the ravioli. They were out so we asked to sub it with another veggie item and they wouldn’t. We walked out and they lost a good repeat customer.

If you were to create the ideal mom and pop, red sauce, local Italian restaurant you would borrow very heavily from La Vigna. We had the lunch special on Sunday and thoroughly enjoyed it. Five stars for all of La Vigna’s fundamentals: Ambiance – table cloths, spacious tables, stylish art and comfortable surroundings; Service – attentive, caring, warm and funny; Food – fresh, flavorful, impeccably prepared and presented (the bread was terrific); Price – $ 15.95 for excellent appetizers, entrees, coffee and chocolate mousse (they were out of biscotti). A genuine «come again» restaurant.

I totally loved the environment! Laura was my waitress and she was super awesome! the wait staff gave wonderful service and i found this place through other recommedations and they were right! I came here on a date and it was a super perfect cute date! the pinot noir was great and the food was super fresh and delicious! i cant wait to come again and i was seated immediately even though i got 10 minutes late there they were gracious and still sat us. i totally recommend bon appetit! foods great!!!

I have been here twice now. I came with my husband during lunch one day. We do not often go out for Italian food, it’s a fare we do pretty well at home but decided to try it. The salad was yummy as was my stuffed sole, I enjoyed it. My lunch also included tea which I always enjoy.
I went again with some friends from my book club. We were a party of 6 without a reservation and they were very accommodating. We had a table within minutes. The wines/​cocktails were tasty and priced fairly. I ordered the special, pumpkin ravioli and shared it with a friend. As a previous poster mentioned it was a bit salty and mine could have been cooked slightly longer. My friend had the stuffed chicken (I cannot recall what the actual name was) and shared that with me, that was excellent.
Overall I’ve had two pretty good experiences here and would come back if a friend had a hankering for Italian. A nice place with good food, which is a big compliment as Forest Hills tends to lack quality restaurants.

All was well… v accommodating to our late-​arriving, no reservation party of six (after a disastrous earlier experience a few doors down), attentive with quick drinks, menus, etc. Pleasant atmosphere, nice crowd, food pretty good (my ravioli special was salty, but others at the table enjoyed their stuffed sole and chicken) and the cheap Chardonnay was surprisingly delicious. Then we asked for the bill — or, rather, separate bills, if it wasn’t too much of a bother. Apparently it was a big bother. Waitress turned into an angry schoolmarm and we cowered a bit while being scolded, then had to wait about 15mins while she recalculated and drew up six new bills by hand… ack. Kinda ruined the experience, to say the least.
Would consider giving it a second chance, for date night w hubby or something, but if you’re part of a big party, be warned: let them know how you intend before you even place your order :)

I had a wonderful meal here on 11÷14÷15. The restaurant was packed, which was a very good sign. I had the filet of sole stuffed with crabmeat. It was sooo good! The fish was cooked perfectly. My friends ordered a pasta or chicken entrée and loved their entrees too. Despite being very busy, the service was excellent. Our server was very nice. I deducted a star since they ran out of bread, but overall a great time.

Nice little date night restaurant. The food is the best, well the food I had. Lol. The pork chop, with mozzarella (I think) and spinach melted inside. Breaded and smothered in some addictive sauce. I believe this was a special. Everyone is very attentive, so much you don’t really know who’s your waiter (it’s a good thing).
Didn’t give 5 starts because the sangria was just okay, not my top. Also, the cheese cake for dessert was a little dry.
I would definitely recommend and come back to this restaurant. In case your wondering about prices, about $ 85 for 2 entrees, dessert and 3 glasses of sangria. Not bad at all.

Great neighborhood restaurant. We went there on a Tuesday night and were quickly seated. We had the pappardelle ai funghi and the stuffed veal chop special. Both were fantastic. We will be back here again very soon.
We have been back here about 3 more times since my initial review and it did not disappoint. The fresh made cavatelli is amazing, we have tried it with 3 separate sauces, and all were very good, though my favorite is the one on the menu with the sausage. The fried calamari is tasty and super tender. The veal scaloppine in brown wine sauce is absolutely delicious. There’s always a new dish to try as they have specials every night.

We came on a Sunday, with a group of 8, for lunch. I suggested we ordered our appetizers first but the waiter reassured that once he puts the orders in, everything comes out fairly fast. Okay. We got our appetizers probably about 20 mins after we ordered; not too bad. We were so hungry that the apps were gone within 15 mins. Our entrees didn’t come out for another 45 – 50 mins!
After receiving our entrees: my gnocchi was in a plate of grease, the ravioli was overly salty, and the linguini with clams was extra bland.
Service was friendly enough but had to work to get their attention as there were like 2 guys running the whole restaurant.
All in all, IF the food was spectacular, I wouldn’t mind the wait as much. But the food was mediocre at best.

I must say this is one of the hidden gems in Queens. Took my family there for my brother’s 30^th birthday.
The service is Amazing. They are” on it”.
The food was fresh. Eggplant, red snapper, ravioli, list goes on what we had to eat. Excellent job by the staff!

I brought my family here for a very low key celebration. Since most of their cooking at home is Italian American, I’m always thrilled to find a great Italian restaurant that will please them.
La Vigna definitely fit the bill! We all decided to go with the pris fixe menu, which is a great way to try their range of cuisine on a first visit. Extra points for the awesome bread basket and bottle of oil on the table.
Here’s what I tried:
— The Eggplant Rollatini was my favorite of the appetizers. It was a larger portion than one might expect and served in a killer red sauce.
— The Stuffed Mushrooms were on the small side but I loved the seasoning in the stuffing.
— The salmon was a huge piece, cooked to perfection with a zesty mustard sauce.
— The Tiramisu wasn’t bad. It was a little on the small side and wasn’t as tall as some others I’ve had. The ratio in my piece was more mascarpone than ladyfingers but it was tasty enough.
The wines by the glass are reasonably priced ($ 7 – 8) and large bar pours. Take advantage of your Unilocal check in for a free glass of wine! I tried the Chianti and the Pinot Grigio and enjoyed both.
The restaurant is cozy, so I recommend making a reservation. Our table was waiting for us the minute we walked in, and staff was very attentive for a bumping Sunday evening. We definitely enjoyed our low key family meal and I will be back to try more of the menu.

The ambiance had a romantic, cozy feel. The complimentary cheese, olives, bread, and excellent olive oil captivated me. The service was out of this world incredible. The wine selection was not limited, the glass of Malbec complimented everything perfectly. My boyfriend ordered a stuffed chicken that was tender, full of flavor, rich and decadent. I am not a huge fan of poultry, but this entrée was one of the best pieces of chicken I have ever eaten.
My orecchiette pasta entrée was watery and salty. I did not have the heart to send it back during my meal because everything else was exceptional. The last thing I would have wanted was the chef to come out of the kitchen to apologize, and remake my entrée (I would have felt completely embarrassed).
Overall, i can see myself visiting again in the future. I am saddened that my entrée was not what I thought it would be (perhaps less pachetta would make this better). I am glad that I was able to have the experience that I did. I guess it shows how important customer service can be. I still remember the family and entire restaurant singing happy birthday to a customer. It felt like home, and a place filled with sincere people.

Came for lunch and had their pre fix which came w/​appetizer, entrée and coffee & biscotti. All were tasty. Tried mussels, eggplant rollatini, veal and chicken francese.
Worthwhile for a meal. They have a broad range of items in the menu that should work for any pallet.

Last evening started out with 2 stars and ended up with 3. Made a reservation on open table and when we arrived had to wait anyway even though there was a table for 4 open. After waiting at the bar we were then given that same open table. (Drinks were comped though).
They do not rush you and that’s very good. Water glasses are refilled promptly. Wait staff is pleasant. Crazily enough I really couldn’t find anything on the menu I was in the mood for so I asked if the asparagus ravioli could be made with a pink sauce instead of the garlic and oil as stated on the menu. Waiter said No immediately. Said chef won’t do that. Whatever. I asked for an easy pasta dish not on the menu and eventually that was ok’d.
Salad was lacking, dinners were fine, dessert of tiramisu was good.
The walls were crumbling from the damp all around our table. Yuck! Not really sure I’d return so fast.

This is truly a find. Located in Forest Hills on a quiet corner of Metropolitan Avenue, this charming, cozy, romantic Italian restaurant serves amazingly delicious food. The appetizers of fresh fish including clams and mussels in garlic and calamari over arugula were our choices. For the entrée we shared veal with wine sauce, special risotto of the day, and red snapper dinner with fresh vegetables and potato. All were perfectly prepared with complimentary sauces.
Desserts were served beautifully and tasted amazing. The chocolate mousse cake and tartufo were our choices. They looked so pretty on the plate that it was almost a shame to ruin it by eating them.
The service was attentive, wine list extensive and ambiance was just what we were looking for. It’s a very small place, so make reservations.
The management (chef) takes pride in his work and all the details come together. They also offer a price fixed lunch and dinner.