April L.
Yelp
We moved to this area 4 years ago, from Chicago, and people kept recommending the Village Pub. We gave it a try... 3 times and were always so disappointed. After being spoiled with Chicago dining for 7 years, we so badly wanted to find a local restaurant with great quality. You could have called us "food snobs".
Well we haven't been there since March 2020, as it was our last dining experience, pre-pandemic. We recently saw they are under new ownership and decided to give it a go. We went yesterday and I would love to share my review:
Upon sitting down and opening the menu, we did consider leaving. It's not cheap and there was no kids menu, though the pastas were offered to us in 1/2 portions. If my son had not agreed to the pasta, we would have been stuck. The ambiance had not changed and still felt like a pub. I didn't want to pay $30 for "bar food". We were skeptical from the start, given our previous experiences.
I ordered the basic spaghetti and meat sauce to save $ and to share with my son. My husband ordered the cavatelli. Each came with a choice of soup or salad. Salad seemed the safe choice and was... salad, however the blue cheese dressing was surprisingly delicious, possibly house-made? I didn't think much of it, at first, but was grateful for the olives since my son loves them.
Bread had also been initially supplied to the table and as per usual, bread is almost always welcomed. I did appreciate the oil/Parmesan option for dipping.
When our entrees came, we braced for the first bites. Shock flooded our faces. I never order spaghetti... especially not for $20. It's much too basic and it's "kids food". I can make it easily at home so why bother at a restaurant? But oh my... the spaghetti with meat sauce was quite a surprise. The flavor was on point. The meat to sauce ratio was right up my ally. The noodles were done to my liking. Such a simple food, yet so perfectly done. My 5 year old was likewise impressed and gobbled it happily.
My husband was quite equally enamored with his Cavatelli and we were both taken-aback when we realized that his pasta was... "gasp"... fresh?!?! Could it be? Real, fresh pasta, at the Village Pub? My husband is much more picky about food than I. He's the real chef in our family and claims to know about such things. He not only enjoyed his food, he raved about it. Sooo much cheese, perfect flavor of sauce, fresh noodles cooked to al dente perfection.
Who knew we had such amazing Italian food just 3 blocks from our home?
As for the $20 pasta... was it worth it? I'd appreciate a fancier atmosphere for that price but the food was definitely that of fine dining.
We will most definitely be returning and look forward to trying the other fare... but perhaps as a date night until they consider a kids menu.
I give this restaurant 4 stars due to amazing food but an unclear message- are you fancy, family friendly, or a bar?
Sincerely,
-Happily Fed