Aperitif in Sunderland

Wow, so delicious. The food was absolutely stunning, didn’t know food could even be that yummy. The staff were incredible and super friendly. The drinks prices are reasonable and the cocktails were fantastic. Without a doubt the best restaurant I’ve been to!

Lovely cocktails, food and service! Would recommend. We went before the matinee showing at the theatre next door. The tricolor caprese salad was delicious, and cocktails were some of the best we’ve had!

Phoneline was constantly engaged when trying to book a table, took a chance and turned up Friday evening, was initially told there was no room, but they were able to find a table for us, thank you for this. Steaks all around plus surf and turf, food was beautiful, this is about my 5th visit, its just keeps on getting better and better, lobster and prawns were out of this world. Has to be the best meal I have ever had anywhere. Many thanks to David and your staff, excellent, excellent, excellent. Can't wait for our next night out.

Amazing service and the food was absolutely amazing! We also had what can only be described as the fanciest aperol spritz I’ve ever seen! A wonderful experience had herby all and we can’t wait to come back!

What a delightful little place. Staff lovely, nothings too much trouble. food beautiful. Il go as far as to say its one of the best meals I've had in a long time. Will definitely be back.

Food & Service was absolutely fantastic! Everything is so well priced as well. We will definitely be returning. The staff made us feel so welcome which we loved

Visited for lunch with a friend. One penne mamma pasta and one 10oz sirloin. Absolutely beautiful. Served quickly and staff very friendly and attentive but not over the top. Prices reasonable too. Nice background music but still able to hold a conversation, Thankyou

First wedding anniversary and had the best experience food was amazing, staff were fantastic, already can't wait to go back for our 2nd anniversary.

Visiting Sunderland for a few days from London so I jumped onto Tripadvisor to give me a guide of local restaurants this evening. ‘Aperitif’ was very close and had fantastic reviews so we booked. When we arrived we had a table for 2 near the bar. Lucy came to our table and was super helpful guiding us with what to have from the delicious menu. We decided to go for 4 x starter plates as we really wanted to have some seafood. But first, we had 2 Aperol Spritz. They looked amazing! As did all our food and the flavours did not disappoint. For dessert we chose tiramisu. Only down was the squirty cream which I’m not a fan of but it was still nice. The venue was buzzing with people and an upbeat vibe. If we lived nearer we would definitely visit again. Even the food around us looked really good so we wouldn’t struggle to choose something. Thanks Lucy for your help 👌 and to the rest of the staff who were all very attentive. 👍

Great restaurant, attended after my son's graduation, service from Dave and Seb was amazing, great food and great price, we will be back

Came here last night with my friends and what can I say lovely service and the meal was delicious too also the mocktails are to die for. We will be back again. Thank you

First time visit to this great restaurant. Good atmosphere, service and of course most importantly food and wine. We ordered the lobster ravioli and seafood spaghetti with Arrabiatta sauce with a side salad to share. We only ordered mains and both dishes were really tasty and cooked to perfection. Am not normally a fan of calamari and as I chose a mixed seafood dish, I was worried as it’s often overcooked and therefore tough, but this was delicious. They explained and substituted clams for mussels as they were not available. The clam alternatives were also delicious. The prices were very reasonable. Friendly, informative and fabulous service. We will back and highly recommend.

Friendly staff, fabulous food at a great price..The ravioli was my favourite, my daughter loved the panacotta. We'll be back!

Had a fabulous afternoon today in this place the food and drink were amazing. The pasta and chicken dishes were delicious but credit to the staff they are so attentive and amazing. All our party cannot wait to go back thank you so much aperitif for a fab afternoon with the peroni flowing.

Absolutely love it here! We came today for my Sons birthday. The food was second to none along with the service. Staff were absolutely lovely. I won’t bore you with all the food everyone got but I got my main; lobster ravioli in a prawn sauce, baked in the oven. If you love this type of food it was unreal but everything we had was absolutely beautiful. I love the atmosphere in this place. The kitchen is nipping clean, the toilets are nipping clean, the staff are polite and happy to help. The value for money in my opinion for the quality of food and drinks is cheap to reasonable especially with the rise in cost of living. You can eat beautiful food here whether you spend a little or a lot. It is our new go to as a family and will be back very soon! Thank you everyone at Apertif!

Surprisingly had not visited before ad we go to the empire quite often, greeted by a lovely lady who showed us to our table, drinks order taken and served quickly. I had the asparagus risotto beautiful and my friend had the peppercorn sauce chicken which she said was absolutely delicious although we hadn’t planned on a dessert it doesn’t take much to persuade us my friend had the apple pie and custard with toffee sauce she said was out of this world and I had an amazing cheesecake. My only negative was as others have said the music was far too loud at one point we couldn’t hear each other speak which isn’t good. Such a shame as the food and service were great just spoiled by the music an easy fix but it seems not so far!!

Not very often I right review but had for this place We went for lunch pre theatre for mams 88th birthday and you made her day and ours too we arrived and there was a birthday banner in place I took a cake for after dinner which they brought in with candles and music and hats We had a lovely chilled bottle of dry Prosecco and everyone of our meals were delicious the sea bass with sea food and spaghetti in a light sauce amazing and the chicken dish with a tomatoes the same My fourth visit here and Defnitley will be returning Staff so friendly and amazing food thank you so much

This restaurant is great! Great seafood, with wonderful service, most important, price is no s expensive. I went here everyday during my 3-days business trip here. I will miss this and will return during my next travel: goal to try the full manual

My husband and I went here again last night and again did not disappoint. The food is outstanding, fresh, delicious and cooked to perfection. We both had ribeye and came out as requested medium rare. The staff are fantastic very welcoming and friendly. The atmosphere is pleasant and inviting. Cant wait to return here again.

Visited here today for lunch with work colleague Lovey food and amazing staff great atmosphere would recommend here for any occasion

Absolutely love Aperitif, we have been coming since it opened and never been disappointed with the food or service. It is our go to 100% for any theatre performances or if we are in Sunderland city centre. My favourite dish is the penne mamma or alternatively pollo ala creama. I am especially fond of the biscoff cheesecake when it is a special. We've been for birthdays, which I would definitely recommend if you want the birthday boy/girl to be the centre of attention as they gift you wonderful wigs and everyone will sing for them. I would recommend to anyone but definitely book as far in advance as you can if it's on a. Day the theatre is on as it is usually fully booked during these times. Hope you enjoy your experience as much as we always do.

A lovely restaurant great service and wonderful food couldn’t believe how reasonable the prices were for the amount you got on your plate !! They were especially helpful as my mum has allergies would definitely recommend it to anyway if your in the area we were here for a football match !!

Wow what a great 60th birthday I had on Friday from start to finish I was treated so special soon as I walked through the door staff couldn't do enough for us. As for the food it was absolutely delicious starter main and my special cheesecake with happy birthday piped around. I would like to thank David and all the staff for making my celebration one to remember. Is anyone is looking for somewhere special please don't think twice the restaurant is a great choice for food drink and fabulous staff

Having a pre meal before going to see Aladdin at the theatre…where to start we booked well in advance with written confirmation and we got to the restaurant and they had no record of our booking luckily enough it was quiet and had a table available…ordered our drinks which was fine ordered our food…great….starters arrived which were nice but that’s where it all falls apart…half way through our starters our main courses come out!!!what?? How when we haven’t even finished our starters are our main course coming to the table??? My wife was finished but I wasn’t and was informed but the server that my main meal Will be sat under the hot light until I am ready!!! To be honest I would prefer a fresh meal that hasn’t been sat stagnant under a light bulb!!! So then I got my half hot meal and it was ok…mains got cleared and was asked if we wanted dessert to which I said yes we will have a look at the menu…bitterly 30 seconds the server was back asking if we had made a decision…to which we said no we would like more time…as the server stormed off….then after an appropriate time to look at the menu we had a different server (lovely person) we ordered desserts and more drinks..by this time the restaurant had filled up and service slowed down…eventually our desserts came and we started to tuck in….until I got to the FROZEN part of my HOT dessert!!! We informed the nice server and had it took off our bill…but before we could finish our desserts we had the bill slammed on the table!!! With the frozen dessert that I was told would be taken off… long story short we paid the correct bill and left a real shame as we were booked in for later in the year but we will be cancelling the bookings and looking else where…what a shame.

Firstly, our host David was absolutely brilliant. Friendly, fun, polite. The service staff again were brilliant. The venue was clean, lively, fun and full of customers, and after tasting the food I can fully understand why. I took my wife here last night for her birthday and we both agreed that the food was probably the best we have tried in a very long time. Compliments to all the kitchen staff. Outstanding food. Once finished our food, our host David surprised us with a nightcap cocktail with bubbles (magic ones) and then a further unexpected surprise, presenting my wife with a birthday cheesecake/ ice cream suprise. Thank you so much for an amazing evening. We both loved everything about the restaurant. See yous again soon. Regards Thomas & Stacey

Went last minute and they fit 2 of us in no problem ordered food n drinks had to wait 10 minutes tops food was very nice and service was very good

Friendly and attentive staff. Very well-prepared and beautifully presented food. Very reasonable prices. Definitely coming back without a doubt."

Pre-Panto lunch booked from home in New Zealand- thank you for making that possible! When we were arrived we were greeted warmly and personally as ‘Tracey and David from New Zealand’ - what a nice touch. The food was delicious, the ambience wonderful and the service exceptional. What a great little restaurant. We had a lovely lunch with dramatic lemoncelo and yummy homemade tiramisu. Cocktail menu was impressive too. If only we lived back in our hometown we would be regulars.

Absolutely love this resturant - The food is 5 star every visit i've been in which is my 4th time now. I have experienced lunch time and evening time dining and could not fault anything. Excellent customer service and nothing is a problem for the service staff. Lovely atmosphere, Excellent food and fine wines as well as a lovely atmosphere throughout the whole establishment. Cant wait for my next visit.

Had a beautiful lunch today as we break up for Christmas. However this review is a little belated from our visit on 16th of Dec to celebrate dads birthday. Cannot praise David and team enough for all they did for us. This has become a real regular go to for me and my family especially on an occasion. Merry Christmas David and team we’ll see you in the new year x

If carlsberg did restaurants... It's still wouldn't be as good as Apperatif. Always a warm welcome, this time for my wife's birthday, wow. Absolutely fantastic. Amazing food, atmosphere and value for money. Couldn't recommend them enough! Thank you!

Apart from the music being so unbearably loud… staff were lovely. Owner was amazing, but a big shout out to Lucy! She looked after my grandmother aswell as us. Lucy is the reason we will book again. Even got us some free shots for the table!

What an amazing experience for my daughter’s 8th birthday! We visited for the first time with 4 children and 6 adults. The food was gorgeous and the service was great. What we did not expect was the huge fuss made of my little girl when the desserts were served! I won’t spoil the surprise for anyone else who may visit for a birthday, but it really was fantastic and something we will all be talking about for ages! Thank you Aperitif for such a memorable birthday meal!

Sunday lunch was absolutely delicious meat was so tender and best yorkshire puddings I've ever had. Went in for lunch came iut five hours later such a relaxing atmosphere staff couldn't do enough for us. Perfect from start to finish cheesecake was absolutely delicious had to wait a while after mains as they were so big and filling 10.95 for lamb roast to top standard I would recommend the restaurant really enjoyed our lunch with perfect staff thank you we will definitely be returning.

Another fantastic Sunday Lunch at Apretif today, Amazing service from David, Tracey and Lucy, the Lunch is to die for 5 star outstanding service thank you Appretif 🤩🤩

Amazing Sunday lunch friendly staff great service couldn't ask for more definitely going back 😀 👍

Came here before going to the theatre first time here, waitress took our order 2 starters came out but no sign of the other 3 starters we ordered so after around 5-10 minutes we asked where the others were and it seemed like they either hadn’t been took properly or had been miss communication with kitchen but staff solved it and brought the rest of staters out. Potato skins were delicious amazing portion size for the value. Waitress brought 2 mains to the table and were none of the dishes we had ordered other meals came out we were only waiting for one meal the waitress came over with her notepad seeming very confused and looked at what meals we had and asked what they were and was ticking them off she then brought the last meal out which was brought out at the start she just said it was lasagne when it was another pasta dish. All good portion sizes, pollo Milanese was beautiful one of the best chunky chips I have had in a while. The other staff were amazing great service really helpful. Went to the toilet and seen the waitress that took our orders and brought our food out walked out of the toilet without washing her hands after a lovely meal here for the first time this let it down as it’s not something you want to see from staff who is handling food espically when she had been serving us apart from the issues with that waitress can’t fault anything esle

Came on Saturday night for dinner and the food was so amazing we travelled an hour to have a Sunday lunch.the atmosphere and staff are so friendly ,they make you feel like part of the family.i would 1 thousand percent recommend it .thank you Aperitif we will be back soon

Was going to the theatre, so we thought we'd try Aperitif out. Just had x2 pizzas and 2 drinks. Lovely pizzas- didnt skimp on the toppings- no complains. Canny atmosphere with the other, 99% female, Take That fans in the place. They even burst into song when a known Take That song came on. Nice staff.Gast and efficient. Be careful in the toilets unless you like ice-skating ...nearly came a cropper with a spot of unrehearsed breakdancing. Spot on. Cheers

Had the most amazing meal after concert at Empire. David was so helpful & friendly. Great service. The food was delicious & atmosphere was fab!! Will definitely go again. Thank you