Ask Italian in Canterbury

A fabulous dining experience, the service was brilliant from start to finish, friendly and polite and very welcoming, the food as always was delicious, thank you Zdenla

Delicious food, lovely atmosphere

We tried this place for the first time when we visited the Marlow theatre. I ordered a lasagna as it’s my favourite Italian dish. At £17 I was hoping for an amazing dish full of flavour and with a good amount of filling. Unfortunately, it was completely the opposite. It arrived in a flat cast round dish that was around 6” round. It had just three pasta layers with no more that a tablespoon full of meat filling distributed sparingly between the sheets. I couldn’t taste any cheese and only tomato purée. As it doesn’t come with anything else I ordered a side of chips at £5. They came in a small pot like those tiny buckets. Probably only 8 in there. Overall it was no worth the £22 I paid. The lasagna was the worse I’ve ever eaten from a restaurant and was on par with a £2.50 supermarket one at best. Yet again, over priced for mediocre food.

We enjoyed a meal with friends. The food and cocktails were great and the service from Wiktoria was excellent

Told them I had an allergy which is severe as I have an EpiPen. They have me a book with all allergy details in and got told if it isn't in there then we don't support it. It would be down to you. Asked for an ingredients list of some kind so I could check myself and got told they don't have one.

We visited Ask for our anniversary dinner on a Monday evening, due to the time of the week the restaurant was fairly quiet so we were seen to promptly throughout the whole evening. We had the olives and fondue to start which were super tasty and a must for any cheese lovers out there. For our mains my partner went with a Pepperoni Pizza and I went with the Mushroom Truffle Calzone with Chicken. Both pizzas tasted amazing and we had the aubergine fritters for sides which were outstanding as well. The desserts on offer were very extravagant and a nice way to finish off a lovely meal. The staff were very attentive throughout a perfect evening. All in all it was a lovely evening and we will be returning for our anniversary next year, provided she puts up with me for another year!

Nice place to enjoy some italian style food. They realy tried to make up a charming and comfortabke dinning experience for everyone. Very much recommended for family with kids, as the kids menu is absolutelly great!

Shared a lovely family meal here. Everyone enjoyed their food.

Fantastic evening for our son’s 18th birthday. We were very well looked after, from the initial excellent and warm booking of the table to the welcome on the night. Exceptional attention and friendliness and the team really went the extra mile to make it a truly lovely celebration. And the food was great too!

Visited Ask in Canterbury for a family meal. Staff are very welcoming and polite. The biscoff cheesecake is in my top 3 cheesecakes that I have had.

Always find Ask good hit and miss. Ordered a pizza that was delivered really quickly and on this occasion, really enjoyed. Quite busy there considering there was a food festival just up the road and atmosphere was quit nice and mellow.

A wonderful experience, me and my boyfriend loved it. The food was fantastic

Amazing service - had the Carbonara & the most accommodating staff at the Canterbury restaurant. Special mention to Zdanka, who was so sweet and welcoming x

Lovely food, good service from Ana. Thank you.

Lovely evening, amazing food, tasty wine and a very yummy pud. Service was fantastic with our server Anna was very attentive. Would 100% recommend.

Lovely evening for our anniversary

Food was super good and a lovely atmosphere, and the waitress was amazing!

The atmosphere was very nice, all the staff are lovely. Especially Leila, very kind and welcoming

This restaurant is not to be recommended. We think its a tourist trap. The service was not polite. The portions were very small, the quality was very poor, and it wasnt classic italian food, as labeled on the menu., Overall, we dont recommend this place, and suggest you stick to another italian restaurant in the area.

This place is a joke… the manager polish woman was rude …. not to recommend this place

Had an amazing time at ask italian, our host Victoria was extremely attentive and ensured we had the best possible time , thank you :) Will definitely be returning

Victoria in canterbury ask italian was very lovely, attentive and warming, we had such a lovely evening and everything came out nice and hot. Very cosy atmosphere and our host victoria looked after us very well :) will be back again!

Service ok food not to standard expected from chain various issues. 3 meals not eaten manager refunded won't be returning anytime soon.

We love ask Italian but it seems the portion sizes at this particular location get smaller and smaller every time we come and definitely are not worth what you pay anymore. The staff here always seem so quick to get rid of you too. I was asked 4 times whilst my husband took my son to the toilet if we were done when we were clearly still eating and it just made us feel uncomfortable and like we couldn't enjoy our meal. Not only this but there always seems to be a bug problem in this one. There's ALWAYS fruit flies from the plants and this time there were ants crawling all over the table so we asked to move and it seemed like such an inconvenience. We never enjoy the food from the Canterbury restaurant anymore due to all of the above and would much rather travel for the better quality of other service, cleanliness and portion size in the other ask Italian's.

4th floor of Nanchi, Lai Lai, We had Strawberry Sparkle (tasted just like pink lemonade) and Elderflower & Apple Mocktails (fine), as for food Lasagne, Honey Luganica Sausages, Chicken Lecca Trial, good good, 😘

Food was extremely good and fresh. The pizza was a good size for its price. However, the staff seemed to not care and only wanted to get things done which led to poorer customer service on my end. Another bonus was the payment. You were able to order online and also have the feature to “split the bill”. Great for teenagers when paying if need be and easier. Needless to say, the food was amazing and so was the tiramisu. Will be returning 😊

Brilliant service and delicious food. My recommendations 😉

I recently ordered to collect. On arrival, I saw the cheft smoking right outside the restaurant, which didn't really sit well with me. In terms of food I don't think it's as good as it used to be the quality has definitely gone downhill, and it doesn't taste as good as it used to. Last but not least, it was very overpriced and not worh the quality

We went in to have a coffee, which has nothing Italian about it but the most irritating thing was the manner of the Lady (not the waitress) who was quite grumpy and how she asked us if we wanted the table inside or outside... I would review the behavior given that the location is worth it.

Always welcoming but sometime children can be noisy,

The service is nice The pasta is delicious And delicious Marghita pizza

wasn’t good, the beer was VERY warm and she got VERY defensive over it. The last time we went..the lady slammed our drink down which I found a bit disrespectful, I’m very disappointed with the food and service, I wouldn’t go here, the manager is just as worse! 😠

The manager was smiling but you. Could tell she was grumpy I would not recommend this place the food was okay and ordered a beer it was so warm than she said (It’s not my fault the fridge can’t. Keep up) than when we asked for some cheese she said tell me when. To stop than she said okay I think that’s it and just left so yes I would not recommend this place never again !😡

Quite pricey. Grumpy waitress. The food came in quick succession. As if there was a rush. The food was adequate but not special. Not recommended.

A pretty sour reception, and we were told we had to leave for the sake of reservation, which seems like quite bad organisation, as we were only there for 50 minutes. I informed them of an allergy, and because it ‘wasn’t on their list’ it didn’t count and I had to just take the risk myself. Great food though.

Lovely food, excellent service, Leila was very helpful and friendly. We will return.

Lovely meal yesterday. Food was excellent. We sat at a window table to eat our food and during our starter we suddenly felt very hot and uncomfortable with the sun streaming through the window. Unfortunately, the blinds do not shut and seem to be there more for decoration which maybe needs looking at by whoever designs the interior. However, we expressed how we were feeling and the manager was attentive and kindly moved us to a different table which was a lot better and enabled us to actually enjoy our meal without overheating! We noticed other people also asking if they could move tables away from the sun so maybe the decor needs looking at by whoever manages that side of Ask Italian and working blinds need installing. You want to be able to eat a meal in comfort. Despite this, our starter, main and dessert were all delicious. Our waitress was friendly and always had a smile on her face even though you could see she was busy! Thank you to yourself and the manager for not ignoring our concerns yesterday, as we appreciate that you were busy. 5 stars for swiftly solving our problem!

We had dinner there and were completely satisfied. The service was generally very good, although we sometimes had to wait a bit for someone to come to us, even though it was relatively empty. The food was very tasty and plentiful, according to the price. There was also a rich and delicious menu for our little one.

Staff friendly and attentive. Enjoyed our lunch time pizza n salad verdure with goats cheese. Excellent coffee, n Americano served with hot coffee. In a lovely building n attractive garden has tables.

Was waiting at the door to be seated, polish waitress asked me if I would like a table and I said yes a table for one. She then said we are fully booked, I had asked her so how come to begin with you asked me would I like a table and when I mentioned it was for myself that all of a sudden your fully booked. I had seen tables that were empty so never understood. In all honesty that wasn’t the issue at all I wasn’t bothered about not getting a table. What I was bothered about was the fact that as she walked of she swore in her language. Very rude women and bad customer service.

The Food was delicious and we get very fast

Had been here some years ago and liked it, so we came back this time. Service hasn't been as it used to. Had to ask for ever bit. Food was okay but not more. Price is too high for the quality.

Good value in a nice setting great service even when busy

Extremely unfriendly & unwelcoming employees. Unsure what their food is like as we never made it that far. The manager lady needs to learn some manners.

Pasta portion size had majorly decreased from its normal standard, pizza was okay however the extra £1 for garlic mayo stung ontop of an £17 pizza. The chilli oil additionally wasn’t nearly spicy enough. Service was okay.

Very good with friends!!! Good food..... no actually nothing to say

Had Caesar salad. Found a slug and mud on the lettuce leaves!

It was a wonderfully relaxing experience. Great food, with plenty of choice for the most discerning palate. Staff were attentive throughout, without being in your face every time you looked up. I am very happy to recommend it and will definitely be returning soon.

Over assertive wait staff, indifferent attitude & seemingly nil real interest in client comfort and satisfaction - never again!

The place is cosy and simple. The food is one of the tastiest Italian pastas I have tried. Every part of the menu that I tried was fresh and tasty. I highly recommend it if you want a tasty lunch or dinner. Service was fast but not very friendly, which didn't affect the experience much.

Great food and amazing service. Kudos to the lady who served us really fast as my 5 year old was starving. Within 2 mins of orders food from kids menu she already gave starter and some colouring sheets to make him really happy. Really appreciate that. Rest of the food including pizza and pasta were delicious too. The three of us were vegetarian but we had enough options and food was delicious. Thanks and will visit again

Absolutely delicious food, good service and nice atmosphere. I had a Mushroom Risotto and it was soo tasty. I was surprised how fast the food came, usually there’s always a long wait for the delicious dishes. We sat in the garden and the atmosphere was very pleasant and relaxing. The service was also great, the waitress was very professional, friendly and kept running in and out to please me and the other customer’s requirements. Overall a nice lunch in ASK Italian Canterbury. Definitely recommend it to all Italian food lovers and not only.

A busy restaurant but food arrived in good time, staff very efficient

Ordered Bruschetta as a starter . Absolutely tasteless. Very disappointed ☹️ when it came , meant to be topped tomatoes, red onion and cheese . Arrived with just tomato! Highlighted this to the restaurant manager who came across rude and patronising . Only to be told ‘well we like to change things up’ . When we pointed the menu states with onion and cheese , she said I’ll check the menu and never came back . Filthiest restaurant window I’ve ever seen The large main window was dirty, cobwebs, bird feathers . Looks like not been cleaned in 20 years! Definitely put from ever going there again .

Just OK. Staff lovely but food is exactly what you expect from a high street chain. For the same money cafe De soleil offers something a bit more appetizing and interesting. FML the anti pasti for two was underwhelming. Small, enough for an adequate sandwich.

This branch of Ask is a flagship of the group it represents and has been here I think nearly 30 years. Lovely Iconic location. I did book but I don't think my booking went through properly but they still accepted us for a table for two. I ordered the Aranchini and the Courgette fries both delicious and Still Lemonade and Salted Caramel Ice Cream. My mother had Still Lemonade the Courgette Fries and the Chicken Salad with the Little Gem Lettuce and then a Raspberry Tart. Bill was 55 or there abouts but I tipped 10 per cent as the girl did her job and served us very very well. It is often difficult to please my mother but this branch is far better than the one in WWC. Well done, It made a nice meal out for a change. Thank You.

We will return on our next visit to Canterbury.

Problems with a voucher we had from buy a gift. Manger was over the top and really rude to us. Very clever attitude no need for it. Empty restaurant but yet the few people in there we were all squeezed together , tables so close we may as well have been sat with them, really uncomfortable. Will not return. Don’t waste your money.

Fantastic experience in ASK Italian - Canterbury. Booked a table for Mother's Day for 11:30am when they opened and I think we were the first customers to walk in. We were greeted and seated straight away and served a shot of. Homemade Lemonade which is standard. It was tasty which my mum ordered it for her drink. We ordered Folded Garlic bread, Chicken Lecca Lecca Small for starters, mains - Gnocchi Arrabbiata, Sea Bass Al Forno, Chicken Cacciatore and sides - Zucchini Fritti. It was all delicious, well presented and the texture of the fish, pasta and chicken was nicely done. Drinks were Ginger Bear and the homemade Lemonade. We didn't order dessert as we were too full. The restaurant is clean with nice decor, I visited this restaurant a while ago and since then the layout has changed. They can now fit more people in the restaurant as they have bigger tables. The staff and friendly and polite as so is the service. Overall a great experience, if you want to have italian and you are in Canterbury I recommend this restaurant.

Excellent food with an interesting menu. A cheese fondue to share was brilliant and a first for us! Veggie pasta was excellent and my lasagne was one of the best.

I ordered “burrata and pancetta carbonara” pasta was overcooked and felt kind of watery like it wasn’t properly drained…the toped burrata was actually half and very very cold so not creamy as it should be. It says “velvety sauce”, it wasn’t, just very normal as I said kind of watery and I paid £17 for this “special” pasta…very disappointing.

The best Italian food I have ever eaten 😋 The staff where really nice and food was ordered and delivered very quickly. Would definitely eat here again

Weekend in Canterbury for my birthday. Wanted to find a typical old school Italian restaurant but no luck. Chose this as it looked cosy and easy walk from hotel. Booked in advance as busy night in all restaurants. Friendly staff, cosy warm rooms, typical "chain" menu. Good size starters, well cooked and great ingredients. Mains were well cooked, the pollo milanese was OK but nothing to write home about. The sea bass though was excellent, 2 of us had that. Child's menu was good, granddaughter loved the funny face pizza. 3 adults, 1 child, large red wine, coke and aAperol Spritz, £106.95. Felt Price matched the food etc.

Well not 100% happy. Felt like I had to give a 10% tip. The handheld device wasn't clear on cancelling the tip. Food was good. Waitress was good.

Asked Canterbury used to be great, but my recent experience was very disappointing. The staff has put down a wrong order for us and refused to exchange it unless we pay extra for it. Since we requested to exchange the starter and she refused, no other service given. Ordered king prawn and crayfish pasta as one of the mains, the large king prawn with shell was mushy.

Zeer lekker en vriendelijk personeel!

The lasagna was absolutely rubbish made in a factory somewhere and then just put in the oven which would be if it was better than a pound one from Iceland Italian restaurant that can't make a lasagna lasagna is meant to be layers of Bessemer sauce ragu and pasta there one definitely isn't

First rate service friendly and welcoming, restaurant situated in an old house which obviously very hard to heat as was quite cold. Food was hot, though felt it all lacked flavour, which is the main reason for my rating.

Very nice food was perfect especially the desert.

Recent visit to Canterbury. Had a lovely meal at ASK Italian. Food was great,service was spit on. Would definitely be back.

Delicious meal and we managed to get a table without a booking on a busy Saturday evening! Recommended 😋

Reasonably Italian fare. The risotto was a little over cooked unfortunately.

I also enjoy visiting ASK. The Canterbury branch especially has a fantastic ambience and atmosphere. Celebrated a quiet birthday meal there this evening which was a blast. The staff were lovely and made us both feel really welcome. Also got the sweet additional of some happy birthday chocolates added onto our deserts!

Lovely atmosphere, immaculate clean, fast and careful service, excellent pasta with kind prawns, delicious starters, good wine list.

Lovely food and friendly prompt service

Disrespectful staff . Waiting to pay and all 3 carried on talking. Then had the audacity to point out how to leave a tip. Difficult understanding when ordering. Chipped dishes. Sticky tables. Size of the little dessert was appalling. It was so small my friend ate it in one little teaspoon. Service was not as it should have been. Would never recommend this restaurant. Food clearly is n9t cooked as you order.

Pleasant evening meal after the theatre. Had a 30% off of food voucher. Have eaten here before and food is always nice. The lady who serviced us I think was the manager she was very polite and hard working. It's a place to go for a simple Italian style meal.

Good food and atmosphere. Staff are helpful. Food are served quickly which is very friendly to my hangry friends 👍🏻 Recommend all mocktails and the tiramisu but not the lemon tart🤭It is not pricey and I will definitely come again!

I like the style of ASK Italian, excellent all round, but chilled out. Almost continental. Had some delicious food 😋. Thought I'd show the empty plates. Everything was 5*, well done guy's! 👏

The atmosphere was great and the pasta was delicious.

Very tasty food, good menu with variety of dishes. The glass of fresh lemonade on arrival was great. Excellent service. As it was my birthday I was given a glass of Prosecco which was a lovely gesture.

Main pasta dishes no flavour very bland. Manageress looked as if she was half dressed for the beach with very short shorts.

Very pleased with our meal and service. Made to feel very welcome. Good choice of food and caters for various dietary requirements. Overall a lovely experience.

Great restaurant with great food, friendly atmosphere

Tasty food, fast service, please try pasta and margarita Warm and beautiful interiors

Absolutely wonderful meal. Service was perfect . Good food serving. Staff very pleasant and always helpful not gott one complaint. Food was served piping hot and the cocktails were out of this world. Planing on coming back when we are in canterbury again. All I can say is I recommend you eat here you can't go wrong.

I love Ask Italian. The food and drinks were so good and service was so nice and friendly. I will definitely go again soon.

Io credo che questo locale abbia dei seri problemi di gestione. Ho cercato di accomodarmi ad un tavolo in giardino ma e’stato impossibile trovarne uno pulito , c’era un unico tavolo occupato con due persone gli altri erano tutti liberi ma incredibilmente sporchi e disordinati , non c’era una sedia pulita ed al suo posto , sembrava in quel giardino fosse scoppiata una bomba atomica !!!! Ho fatto le mie lamentela ad una ragazza carina ma totalmente esperta. La cosa più vergognosa e’ che certe società mettano a disposizione i loro capitali per avere risultati come questi

Couldn't fault any of the food and the chocolate Etna dessert was amazing and I'm not a dessert person. 😋

This place was a real delight. It was early evening when we called in, so it wasn’t particularly busy, but still had a really nice atmosphere. The first question we were asked was about food allergies and when I said yes, we were given their allergies handbook so I could check my choices. We started with the vegan garlic bread, which was very nice. I had the linguini con fruiting de mare and my wife had a chicken and mushroom pizza. My food was really excellent, very enjoyable. My wife had half of her pizza and took the rest back in an Ask Italian doggie bag. The beer was standard , but very nice. The decoration was good too. If you are in Canterbury and like Italian, this is the place to go.

We had a little fondue for starters and the beef brisket pasta and the grande lasagna for mains. Both were delicious and fresh, but really small portions. It seemed to be high quality, but the price didn't fit the size of the meal. The staff was really friendly and although you can order and pay online (QR-Code on the table) they were attentive and checked on us regularly. The homemade lemonade was great and looked so nice in those little bottles. So overall it was nice food, but a bit too pricey for the small plates.

Service was good but the food was underwhelming even for a chain restaurant.

Good and ambience is good but staff are very rude. We were group of 7+ toddler and felt uncomfortable every time we called them to order food. At last we ordered and paid via app just escape the experience

We had a meal at their Canterbury restaurant. The meal was nice, though a bit disappointed they had run out of our favourite chicken dish. Good to see they are still taking cash to pay the bill.

Had a beautiful meal here to celebrate a special occasion and we felt thoroughly spoiled. The lady who served us was lovely (our receipt stated the name Zdenka, so we hope that's her name!). Other staff were really friendly too and there was a great atmosphere. They were extra careful in relation to my allergies and we really appreciate the great care taken of us while we were in the restaurant.

The billboard promise of a dairy-free, gluten-free chocolate orange torte drew me in for a sweet bite and a coffee. Was glad I stopped. Really enjoyed the ambience, the off-peak hours service was still welcoming and a few quiet moments off the busy high street. If you often feel deprived of dessert because of dairy/ gluten restrictions this one is worth it! Enjoy!

Food was fantastic. Service was fantastic. Atmosphere was very bland felt like I was eating in an empty unfurnished house. The decorations are boring, it felt too dark when the weather was nice and sunny outside. There was no background music. Couldn't see the beautiful river next to it at all. Felt very congested in there, despite the good food and service I just kept having the feeling of wanting to get out ASAP to get some air. I felt like the next table could hear me think.

The lasagna was delicious and the waitress (Marina) was fantastic. I visited the place with a friend who is in a wheelchair, and Marina was so helpful and accommodating to get us seated comfortably. Such great service is rare in Canterbury or in general. She also gifted us a lovely Ask Italian Christmas tea towel which put a big smile on my friend's face. Will definitely come back again. ♥️🇮🇹🍝

Cannot comment on the food as we waited 50 minutes and had to abandon as we were going to the theatre and running out of time. Staff seemed more interested in serving other diners. As a gesture we did not have to pay for the drinks we had

So if you suffer from food allergies that are not listed under the 14 allergen group be proper to be refused service. We had a table book for 12 to enjoy a family meal for me doughter 3rd birthday and on arrival we where addressed by a member of staff that informed us that she’d tried to call us to inform that as my doughter suffers from a coconut allergy that they would refuse to offer here any food. We where advises that the rest of the party could stay but my doughter of three was not allowed to eat. I’ve worked in hospitality for 13 years and understand allergies but as a parent to be told that a 3 year old that can not choose here own food to be refused survive is outrageous. Be wornd as this is company policy.