Mezza Luna

[Vicki baker]

Ate dinner there last night with my out of town company, on a scale of 1-10, I would rate the food about 5.5-6. My company agreed. Service and server very good. Veal was tough. Their red sauce bland, not impressed.

[graciegirl]

Ate dinner there last night with my out of town company, on a scale of 1-10, I would rate the food about 5.5-6. My company agreed. Service and server very good. Veal was tough. Their red sauce bland, not impressed.


How much is a typical entrée?

[Bill32]

I think about $14 after 3pm

[Helene2008]

Ate dinner there last night with my out of town company, on a scale of 1-10, I would rate the food about 5.5-6. My company agreed. Service and server very good. Veal was tough. Their red sauce bland, not impressed.

Wow...sorry to hear that...we have eaten there many times and LOVE it. Best sauce in town. Maybe they had a bad night.

[billjay23]

We had dinner at Mezza Luna tonight...great service, great food, a terrific experience. Before you make up your mind, try it yourself. This is a fine addition to our restaurant list.

[Bonny]

I agree. I love it there !! Very quaint and I love the bar. The food is very good. We get the stromboli, calzone and pizza a lot !

[Golfingnut]

Wow...sorry to hear that...we have eaten there many times and LOVE it. Best sauce in town. Maybe they had a bad night.

I also like their sauce, but it is Italion and not Rago that so many Americans are used too. My mother prepared our food in the traditional Italion style so that is my preference.

Luigi

[Bill32]

We find it very good also, will keep going back

[Bonny]

We were there tonight. Got the stromboli. That is so good. And of course a few libations to wash it down. ;)

[wendyquat]

Here we go again! :shrug:

[Bonny]

Here we go again! :shrug:

???

[FlamingoFlo]

We went last night with friends. We were seated quickly and given drinks and bread and were told our waiter would be with us soon. We watched while he catered to the table next to us. They got their salad, then their meal, drinks, more drinks and he never made it to our table. We finally asked and he said he was taking care of one table at a time. Perhaps he was very new and really couldn't handle the job. However, we all enjoyed our food and thought it was a great meal for the price. He did screw up the bill but we thought having him change it would just make things worse and we worked it out with the other couple. We will go back. We always give restaurants 3 chances.

[Skip]

he said he was taking care of one table at a time.

OMG!

What was his name?

Skip

[karostay]

We went last night with friends. We were seated quickly and given drinks and bread and were told our waiter would be with us soon. We watched while he catered to the table next to us. They got their salad, then their meal, drinks, more drinks and he never made it to our table. We finally asked and he said he was taking care of one table at a time. Perhaps he was very new and really couldn't handle the job. However, we all enjoyed our food and thought it was a great meal for the price. He did screw up the bill but we thought having him change it would just make things worse and we worked it out with the other couple. We will go back. We always give restaurants 3 chances.:icon_hungry: Good food Good drinks time spent with good friends Problem was?

[Bonanza]

We have been to Mezza Luna a few times. No, we would not classify it as a 'fine' restaurant, but it is certainly fine enough as a neighborhood place to go. The food is more than acceptable. We did have an issue one time and the manager graciously handled the situation. I'm happy to have them close by.

[PJUCTH]

Went about a week ago with my husband & father during the first cold snap. Thought it would be nice to get my 90 yr. old dad out. Us too. going a little house happy with the cold weather. No wait to get seated although it was pretty busy. We were Seated 5-6 ft. in front of the door which was opening constantly. Asked my Dad if he was cold. Never a complainer said he would be fine with his jacket on. After 10-15 minutes of only getting ice water my Dad said he was pretty chilly so I asked the 3 people standing at the hostess station about the open booth towards the back as my elderly (even by Village standards ) father was very cold by the door. Of courtse the answer was NO. They were saving it for a bigger party. Needless to say we left. went around the corner to the japanese steak house and had a hot fresh meal in a warm cozy atmosphere with awesome service. I like to give places a few chances. With this one it may be a long time.

[CFrance]

We went to Mezza Luna this afternoon for an early dinner. Thanks to people's advice on this forum, we arrived a 4:30 and were seated right off. There were many open tables. 20 minutes later there was a line inside and out. So getting there by 4:30 (on Saturday, anyway) seems to be the trick.

Our service was great. Our friends ordered items of Southern Italian style--lasagna for one and eggplant rolatini for the other, both with tomato sauce/gravy (however you call it). My husband and I both ordered veal Marsala.

Our veal was very tough and rubbery--overcooked--and the sauce was very bland; it had none of the nuance of the Marsala in it. It tasted like a bland gravy. Our friends liked their lasagna and eggplant rolatini. I was gazing longingly at their plates. I don't normally go out to dinner and order something I can make at home, such as things with tomato-based gravies, but our veal was so not good, if we go back there again, I would stick with the tomato-based southern Italian dishes.

The Caesar salads were also bland, without enough good-quality parmesan, and although I was happy they had real anchovies, the dressing (served on the side although we didn't ask for that) did not taste homemade. If I'm going to splurge on the calories for a Caesar, I want the real deal.

We would go back if friends wanted to go there, but we would probably not choose to go there on our own... I suggest trying the southern Italian dishes if you go. Again, service was top rate.

That's just our opinion, of course.

[gomoho]

Cfrance - we were there at 4:30 yesterday as well. Have to agree with your comments. Service was good. I had linguini with clams and my husband a pizza. We were both very pleased. Our friends had chicken parm and marsala and they both thought the chicken was tough. Saw the line as we were leaving and were grateful we had arrived early. I would go back but more anxious to give Riccardis a try.

[KathieI]

No self-respecting New Jersey restaurant would ever serve food like like this place.

Had take out the other night. Spaghetti and meatballs and spaghetti and sausage. Take out service very nice. Food not so nice. Not enough sauce, and it tasted like it came from a jar, meatballs were hard and bland, and the bread was awful. I can get better bread at Publix and Sweetbay.

No need to go back based on all these comments.

Went to Bravo's last night, much better food. Have been going there for 6 years, and its consistently been good.

[gatherer47]

Hey KathiI-some friends of mine went there and raved about the bread-that was the only thing they raved about!

[CFrance]

I thought the bread was meh. And there was no butter or dipping oil.

[aln]

Not from NJ but totally agree that this place is on the low side of average. Also agree with the original poster that the Veal Parm is pretty bad. Fail to understand how so many posts about this place rate it highly.

I've stopped to check it out to form my own opinion as always. I had a pepperoni & sausage Stromboli and mom had chicken parm. Both excellent. I went back with the wife 2 weeks later just for the Stromboli.

As for Bravos'... we had a place called Rocky Rococo's up north. It was a chain. I think the food at Bravos' is no better than Rocky's - pizza was like white bread with ketchup, cheese and pepperoni toasted. I've lived here for 8 years and haven't been back to Bravos' in 5 or 6.

As for "fine" dining. The only places that come close would be Lopez and Palmer. All the rest are casual in my opinion.

[Bonny]

I love the stromboli there. It's delish !!

[Shirleevee]

Both Helene & I happen to like the food at MezzaLuna, and we are both Italian and as you know we cook. Perhaps a bad day.......I have been there a few times and loved it. Now for their charging extra for substitutes. Went to Ricciardi's today and substituted pasta with broccoli rabe (Rapini) at no extra charge. Loved my dish! Then again I would never order spaghetti & meatballs out.......next time come here! lol

[Bill32]

Ricciardi's up charged us for Rigatoni and meat sauce instead of the pasta that comes with the chicken parm, I didn't see any problem with that. I don't think Bravos compares with Meza Luna, just my opinion.....As far as the bread at Meza I agree, it's tasteless, better off not serving it...

[bluedog103]

We ordered pizza from Mezza Luna tonight and it was excellent, probably the best we've had in The Villages. One small nit, when I ordered the pizza I asked the sizes and was told their large pizza was a 16 inch pie when it was actually 14 inches.

[Helene2008]

Went to Mezza Luna tonight with two other couples and all of us loved our dinners. Bill and I have eaten there several times and it has always been excellent!

[karostay]

Went to Mezza Luna tonight with two other couples and all of us loved our dinners. Bill and I have eaten there several times and it has always been excellent!
My wife and I agree:bigbow: We love Mezza Luna

[rockyisle]

We went to Mezza Luna tonight with 2 other couples. While they didn't take reservations, he was able to call ahead an hour before arrival. They got there at 6:45 and were seated before the rest of us arrived.

After reading all the reviews, I stayed away from the veal. Everyone at our table had a variety of items - from Veal Marsala (definitely tough - she struggled to cut it), chicken parmesan - his reaction --eh, steak marsala - thumbs up, roasted salmon - cooked perfectly, but no flavor - and served with veggies and no potato or rice.. just fish and veggies. 2 of us had the shrimp and chicken Primavera. Flavor was fine, shrimp was not hot - room temp to cold.

I think our bill was somewhere in the range of $60+ tip with drinks. Definitely on the higher end of dining for a pasta meal. And there were no appetizers or dessert ordered.

Sadly, something in my dish didn't agree with me at all - I'm up with severe stomach cramps - no idea why...

For me, I wouldn't say no to going back, but I'd much rather dine at Red Sauce... I can always order a half plate which is more than enough for me. Thankfully, there are many great places to choose to dine in TV. Mezza may be great for you, but not so much for me.

[Helene2008]

I also like their sauce, but it is Italion and not Rago that so many Americans are used too. My mother prepared our food in the traditional Italion style so that is my preference.

Luigi

I think you are right Luigi...my parents were both born in Italy so I am used to the real thing also. In fact the owner is from Naples and my father was from Caserta (outside Naples) and my mother from Rome.