A fabulous tradition of authentic Italian food that originated over fifty years ago and is still alive and well today, The Little Village stands alone as a true Baton Rouge icon. Unequaled in its day and even now, you will find delicious authentic Italian food that has survived the test of time.

Today’s Little Village Restaurant is the successor of what was one of Baton Rouge’s premiere fine dining experiences.

The original Village unofficially opened in 1947 when a young Italian entrepreneur named Vince Distefano was running a card game called Georgia Skin out of a building on Florida Boulevard. The men played for horses while Vince’s wife Stephanie cooked for the players who would tip her very generously for the wonderful Italian food she would prepare. The real story of The Village Restaurant started one morning with a surprise visit from the local Sheriff who hauled everybody off to jail including the Distefano’s, on the advice of the Sheriff who was also a friend told Vince “get out of town”, so taking his friends advice moved the entire family out of the city limits and bought a wooded seven acre fishing camp on airline highway out of reach of the local authorities.

The card games continued and grew even larger and as the cars parked outside many attracted travelers, mistook the place for a restaurant. Vince being the smart business man that he was immediately recognized this marvelous opportunity so he told his wife Stephanie why not feed all these hungry travelers, she agreed and The Village was born. Little did they know this was the start of something great that would continue on for over fifty years.

The Little Village is certainly in a class by itself, the staff is a team that plays to win and they play together all the time, they do things The Little Village way, without copying anything anyone else does because the are the trend setters and the creative force that are doing the things no one else can do.

"Our Restaurant is what I like to call an upscale superior Restaurant which serves only the very best of everything, only prime steaks and the very highest quality seafood nothing less will do , we specialize in our 2.5lb. live Main lobster which is prepared the way you like it, it costs $55.00 and believe it or not you can get it for only $35.00 on Sunday, we make absolutely no apologies for our menu prices because we serve the very highest quality food and it is worth every penny I guarantee it. Many of our customers travel from New Orleans and Mississippi just to enjoy our 9 oz. sea Bass topped with jumbo crab meat; it’s one of Chef Sammy’s favorites and none can prepare it like him.

Our Village bread is a true classic with roasted garlic you can spread like “butta”, it is available only at our restaurant like so many other of our specialties items. What compliments our food is the remarkable service you will always receive, you are the most important person in the world when you visit with us and we are going to treat you that way", says Laila. Chef Sammy Chenevert is an an expert and master at preparing the Destafano’s family recipes, he has been cooking for over twenty years and has worked and cooked under Chef Joey Destafano himself he knows the family secrets and would never compromise even the slightest variation from the original recipes from fifty years ago.

As more and more people learned about The Village Restaurant the news spread like wild fire, the place just blew up with people coming from all around to enjoy the delicious Italian food; they just kept improving and making everything better. Before The Village was opened, New Orleans was the regions only option for sophisticated dining, Vince Destafano wanted to change that and he did, he wanted The Village to be the very best so he traveled and visited the top restaurants in the big cities to get ideas. In 1964 he was able to convince an Italian Chef from Genovese to come and work with him at The Village, it was a new era for the Destafano’s who now created a fine dining restaurant that would be the envy of any big city restaurant, Chef Goffredo Fraccaro brought with him new pasta dishes, veal dishes, fish dishes and his special dessert a ten layer rum cake that really started Baton Rouge talking. The Village was all the rave and anybody who was anybody was eating there including Politicians and even movie stars. Crystal and sterling silver service were standard and the gentlemen always wore jackets in the evening. The Village pioneered fine dining in those days.

Mr. Vince past away in 1965 leaving his wife Stephanie alone to run the restaurant and that she did for the next twenty seven years with the help of her son Joey Sr. Miss Fanny as she was called had earned tremendous respect and a huge following among her loyal friends and customers over the years, everybody loved her, she was a local celebrity and personality and everyone knew her or knew about this legendary owner of the famous Village Restaurant, Miss Fanny retired in 1992 and closed the restaurant her and Vince built and ran for so many years. She passed away in 2001 leaving her and Vince’s legacy in their grandson Joey, who was a brilliant local Chef that everyone in the restaurant business knew and respected. Joey has since passed away but not the food and the spirit of the Destafano family because it lives on in every dish that’s served at The Little Village restaurant. The traditional food and Destafano family recipes are still being prepared as they were over fifty years ago, honoring this wonderful and unique Italian family who has inspired and contributed so much in the way of Restaurants and Italian food to our terrific little big city of Baton Rouge.

Chef Sammy is deeply passionate about everything he does in his kitchen, as he prepares all the old favorites to the highest standards like the Meatballs, lasagna, manicotti and the famous red sauce, only the very best of everything go into his meals, his Osso Bucco is to die for, do you want to try something so unbelievably delicious that it will make you cry, this is it and you can only find it here at the Little village, a true Italian delicacy that Chef loves to prepare. What are you waiting for? Come and get it.

Chef Sammy is always creating spectacular specials fit for a king, his creativity and flair for food is his God given talent and passion which you can see in every presentation.

Stuart Woodman is the very talented assistant to Chef Sammy and is also the Executive Sous Chef at The Little Village, he has been there for over eight years, working extensively with Chef Sammy for the last seven years, some say they can read each other’s mind, but I’m not sure if that’s true. Chef Stuart is an avid fisherman, fishing for his entire life at least once a week and becoming an expert on Louisiana fish. He knows every variety and species there is and how to determine if the fish is the very freshest it can be. Chef Stuart personally inspects every piece of fish that comes into restaurant and only the best gets served, that’s his guarantee and promise to you. Chef Stuart has attended formal culinary school and he says he learned a lot but nothing next to working with one of the very best in the business and that is without question Chef Sammy Chenevert who has been his teacher, mentor and guide.

“With my experience as a fisherman I know what to look for in freshness and quality of the product when we receive it. With my knowledge of the many different species of fish we have perfected our cooking styles for each different type of fish. I will assure you, you will not find a better quality product. Cooking and creating never stops because it’s not a destination but a continual journey filled with new experiences, opportunities to learn and create and believe me I have the very best guide and teacher there is in my friend and Chef Sammy”, says Stuart.

The Little Village today has plenty of her own new talent, character and personality which naturally compliment the legacy of the Destafano’s food, starting with their General Manager Laila Britos, who is an icon in her own right, with over twenty years of restaurant/hospitality. She hails from the heart of Brooklyn, New York where the Italian food is the best in the world, some would say even better than Italy, Fugettaboutit. Miss Laila Britos knows the restaurant business inside and out, better than most restaurant owners. I was raised in the business, my parents had three restaurants in the Garment district while I was growing up and honestly I was raised on the finest Italian cuisine this side of Sicily and Venice, I know good food, my family and I would often go to Sheep’s Head Bay to enjoy the freshest seafood right off the boats, the Lobsters were incredible they remind me of the two and a half pounders we serve here at Little Village. We would also visit the city a lot to dine at Patsy’s where Frank Sinatra hung out, it is still there today serving the best Italian food in Manhattan.

"I graduated from N.Y.U. language was my major but I knew when I grew up I would be in this business and I learned very quickly that as a women in the hospitality business you always had to act like a lady, think like a man and work like a dog, you have to have a burning passion for this business or you will either die or kill somebody” she says laughingly. “I have been very fortunate and blessed to be in this business because it has allowed me to travel around the world a number of times and I have experienced the very best cuisine from many parts of the world, so I always have the best to compare anything I eat with. I am a foodie and really enjoy the shopping and preparation and presentation of great food."

I asked Miss Laila what is the one thing that makes your restaurant so special and sets it apart from the rest, she laughs, Johnny she says, "My friend everything we do here is so very special, we treat all our guests as “our royalty”, they are the reason we exist. We truly strive to exceed every guest’s expectations. Our owners (Wayne Stabilier/Charles Miranda and Andree Gautreaux) demand the best steaks, seafood and organic vegetables to be served at both Little Villages at all times. They do not compromise the product regardless of what the prices are doing out there. Everything we make is made ala minute; we never pre-cook items like Veal Parmesian or Steaks everything is made to order.

The Little Village is the only local restaurant in Baton Rouge which offers a Family Style Menu Option on Sunday. Everything on the menu serves four people and is served on large platters. It is very family and kid friendly and allows everyone to try so many different things; it is really like having lunch at grandmom’s house on a Sunday. We also have Live Main Lobsters for $35 on Sunday’s only..where can you get a deal like that??

Miss Laila says, “We can seat all types of parties and groups, we make your celebration even more special, we do it in house where we can serve up to fifty people in our private dining rooms or we can cater your party off premises for almost any number of guests, we have done hundreds of parties, wedding rehearsals, office parties, retirement, Christmas, graduation, and any other type of party you can think of, our rooms are gratis for our guests. We will even do custom menus for your party. You want what we've got!

The Bar is a very special place where you can order almost anything, relax and meet “Hugh Freeze”, who is our very talented bar manager he knows the liquor business and what his clients like; He personally selects all the wines and liquors that come into the restaurant. Hugh takes great pleasure in introducing you to the finest wines, every Thursday from 6:00-8:00 he offers wine tasting so people can sample and learn about new wines enjoy.If you’re looking for a one of a kind dining experience, a totally awesome night out that you will always remember. It’s The Little Village. Everything is going to be perfect, the finest authentic Italian food, service unsurpassed, a spectacular wine selection, a romantic spot. Hey, you may have just found your new favorite restaurant. You must visit The Little Village and you most definitely have to meet Miss Laila, because she is a huge part of the experience.