Castello Italia in Carrickfergus

Nice wee spot, downstairs is informal and upstairs more formal. One of the party was disappointed there were no burgers. Lasagne and carbonara got thumbs up as did cajun chicken, which, is actually in a crumb coating but moist inside with lots of creamy mash. Sides were possibly frozen chips but nice enough. Although party found the desserts quite dense and heavy ( sticky toffee and brownies) staff are lovely and it has a nice setting.

I had my wedding here and we could not have asked for a better day. The whole lead up and planning was impeccable. The staff went a above and beyond. The entire day ran so smoothly and it honestly felt so relaxed that our guests welcomed the staff with open arms. All the staff were so helpful and professional. John was so amazing and took extra care of our guests and especially made sure all the kids were looked after. Which meant that we could totally relax and enjoy our day. John even went beyond with helping our daughter by cutting up her food once it was brought out to her and got her a drink and totally took care of her. Everything was set out perfectly. The food was abundant and absolutely delicious. The cocktails and drinks were amazing. At the end of the night the staff entertained the kids with their dance moves as we said our goodbyes to guests and gathered our things which was amazing and allowed us some time to make sure we had gathered everything. They had packed the rest of our things and set aside for us to collect the next day. Such a well run day and beautiful setting and views. Could not fault one single thing. We are so thankful to all at Castello Italia.

It was so so good to get to have my sister date on a Wednesday evening now that you're opened mid week... Outstanding as usual, couldn't fault it. The food, service and setting is fantastic. Highly recommend.

Unfortunately the Ground floor cafe was not busy hence it was a bit lacking in atmosphere - not the Staff or Ownes fault We both had pizza which were delicious

The 3 main courses were amazing, the sides were great value and also superb. The girl that served us was very attentive and our bill was less than expected for the service and quality of food we got.

Beautiful food and excellent service would highly recommend it

Lovely food, very tasty and better than I had expected. Good menu and very polite courteous staff. I would definitely go back again. Music just a little too loud. Everything else was spot on.

As we were to be on our own this Sunday we decided to eat out and Castello was the choice. We had Bread and shared a delightful plate of Pork Belly bites. For our Main courses we had an Italian take on roast beef with Yorkshire pudding which was reported to be delicious and the seared Scollops on risotto which I had was excellent.The beef was washed down with a glass of Shiraz and the scollops with a 0% Guinness 😋😋 Service was great,and unobtrusive.

£14 for a lasagne that comes in a half not full foil tub. Was nice but a total rip off. Pork belly was so chewy my jaw was tired after taking 45mins to work my way through it. Add chips pepper sauce and small ice cream £36. Never again.

Really enjoyed Sunday Lunch Good food with excellent service. Just one thing: no horshradish sauce for the beef.

The food was nice but the portion size was woefully inadequate for a 6 foot 14 stone.man. I could have done with twice what I received. Had such a good.meal a few weeks.ago. Very disappointing.

Great choice of meals. Well-priced. Excellent staff.

We visited Castello this evening with our 3.5-year-old son, who was a bit restless and bored at first. Luckily, a fantastic waitress named Melissa stepped in and completely transformed our night. She took our son under her wing, kept him entertained, and even taught him a few “waiter skills.” It was a thoughtful and generous gesture that allowed us to truly enjoy our meal. Speaking of the meal, the food was impeccable—each dish was delicious, with generous portions that left us fully satisfied. The combination of great food and excellent service made for a fantastic night. We all left smiling and couldn’t stop talking about how Melissa’s kindness and attentiveness really topped off the evening, especially for our son. Highly recommend this place for both the food and the exceptional staff. We’ll definitely be back!

We visited Castello this evening with our 3.5-year-old son, who was a bit restless and bored at first. Luckily, a fantastic waitress named Melissa stepped in and completely transformed our night. She took our son under her wing, kept him entertained, and even taught him a few “waiter skills.” It was a thoughtful and generous gesture that allowed us to truly enjoy our meal. Speaking of the meal, the food was impeccable—each dish was delicious, with generous portions that left us fully satisfied. The combination of great food and excellent service made for a fantastic night. We all left smiling and couldn’t stop talking about how Melissa’s kindness and attentiveness really topped off the evening, especially for our son. Highly recommend this place for both the food and the exceptional staff. We’ll definitely be back!

We had a beautiful family meal here at the weekend. Food was delicious as always and staff super friendly. Melissa always greets us with a friendly smile and chat. My little boy’s favourite restaurant!

Beautiful place and amazing food. Highly recommend

It was very busy at 7.30pm and the atmosphere was quite loud and hectic. We made a reservation however our table wasn't ready and we were put beside the toilets and a storage area. We waited a while for our main courses however they were delicious when they came. The ground floor is possibly more family and larger groups friendly so next time we hope to go upstairs to the restaurant. Staff are friendly and value for money is good.

During my recent two-day vacation, I found myself needing to complete some pending work, and luckily stumbled upon this gem of a restaurant. From the moment I walked in, I was welcomed by the sweetest and most hospitable people. They went out of their way to make me feel comfortable, even allowing me to work there until I finished everything I needed to get done. The atmosphere was perfect—relaxed yet lively enough to keep me energized. And the food? Absolutely phenomenal! Every dish was bursting with flavor, clearly made with fresh ingredients and a lot of love. They not only served me delicious meals but also engaged in the warmest chats, making the experience even more special. If you're looking for a place with great food and even better company, this is it. Whether you're in town for work or leisure, don't miss out on the chance to enjoy some amazing hospitality. This restaurant truly made my trip memorable.

Extremely slow service. The pizza was nice but the service really ruined the experience for us. We had to practically chase someone down to get a dessert menu and then he left the dirty plates on our table for another half hour until the desserts were brought over. We had to eat our desserts with the dinner plates still on the table. It was just really bizarre and no excuse as the restaurant wasn’t super busy either.

Service was atrocious had to call a server to take our order and again to clear our table. They walked passed the table beside ours that was finished several times even after the people had left but didn't clear the table. Seriously bad service even had to ask for cutlery.

Very lovely staff anytime I’ve been Food is lovely and would definitely recommend

I just called in for a take out and the food yet again was amazing, easily the Best pizza in carrickfergus.

Lovely place with good food, great and very helpful staff! Only negative was noisy

Disapointed my 1st time eating there cant see me going back

Brilliant as usual food was first class ...staff very good too....only thing I did say it was for my wife's birthday and there was nothing at all ,I've did it in other restaurants and she got a free glass of wine or dessert but got nothing but was still beautiful meal ...

Food was outstanding! Service was amazing the staff listened and helped with everything, even when our puddings got held up because of the sheer volume of people that came through the door (we were in no rush for them) the server couldn't apologise enough, brilliant to see the place buzzing and your staff are certainly a credit to your business

Very tasty Italian food overlooking Belfast Lough at Carrickfergus. Our large table was towards the back of the restaurant, so not the best for watching the world go by on the Lough. I had the prawn in chilli starter which was lovely, with great big juicy prawns. Call me a chilli addict, but I had the seafood linguine for my main, also in the same chilli sauce. Again it was very tasty. Service and wait times were good on a Saturday night. We all had two rounds of drinks, then coffee afterwards and prices were a reasonable £40 each.

Always a friendly and efficient welcome. Staff work extremely hard to ensure all tables attentively looked after. Particularly child friendly. Food excellent and very generous portions at a highly competitive price. The current all-summer “children eat free” promotion in the downstairs pizzeria has been particularly welcome. Pizzas are of a particularly high standard but thumbs up for the entire menu. Congratulations to all concerned, management and staff. Definitely our favourite Carrickfergus restaurant (and there are others of an almost equally high standard).

We love Castello Italia! We were here for an engagement dinner, from our initial booking to paying the bill- it was such a delight. The staff were so friendly and helpful, sorting out our surprises for the couples and bringing such good craic to the table! Thank you so much for the best pizzas and cocktails- we will be back!!

Amazing food, great staff! Love going here.

Food was absolutely fantastic. It is definitely one of the best Italian restaurants, nearly as good as amici in portstewart. The service was terrible. Dark hair lady greeting us was really nice and seemed unfriendly. We arrived and waited at the table but no one approached us to take our order. My wife eventually went up to make an order. After 25+ mins I got our food, however the table next to us that ordered 10 mins after us received their food 5 mins before us. Frustrating!!!! And they also were approached at the table by the same lady I mentioned before to take their order. Talk about double standards...... Our table and their table both ordered pizzas so there would be no difference in cooking times, so they probably messed up the orders arrangements. Overall service is very lacking and dry, however the food is absolutely amazing. If you go there maybe wave your hands in the air to get attention or shout over to them because their attention is not good.

Great food & service. Would recommend

The food was excellent. The restaurant was busy when we were there and consequently the service was a bit slow.

The food here is amazing. The garlic bread was the best I've ever tasted. Would highly recommend

Arrived and was greeted by a friendly member of staff. We got to pick where we wanted to sit. The food was delicious and was served quickly. I couldn’t finish my main course so it was boxed up for me. Dessert was big but really nice. Thoroughly enjoyed our evening and will definitely return. Price was very reasonable.

Great food and service, my go to place to sit in or take away

Very good pizza. They even make a proper espresso.

Didnt get a window seat which we requested two weeks in advance. Got very loud when busy, we were shouting at each other across table to hear each other. Other than that the food and service was amazing.

It was great to have lovely food and very attentive staff for an early birthday meal. Thanks for making it special.

My friends and I had a lovely meal at Castello Italia, where, for the first time, they tried and enjoyed a typical Italian starter of bread, olive oil and crushed black olives. I found the online reservation app easy to use and hope to return some lunch time to try pizza the next time I am in Carrickfergus.

Been 2 weeks in a row with my little boy & the food has been absolutely gorgeous. Staff always lovely even when super busy. It’s fab to have a place to go which doesn’t just expect kids to only eat chicken nuggets or burgers… I like being able to take my little boy out for wholesome, delicious food & this place ticks all the boxes.

Booked window seat a month in advance for 7pm but on that day had to advise them which I did would be 15 mins late so arriving at 7.15 When we got there they gave our table to some other people They only do 1 sitting as closes at 9.30 pm Manager just said “ you changed booking “ So table was given away Why did this happen ! We were then put in the middle of the floor ? Managment disgrace ! Or at least the manager I spoke too didn’t care ! Food was good and waitress was excellent but no feeling at all from the manager on my question of why we lost our table !

Good food Service very slow, perhaps understaffed Drinks very expensive. Could have been cleaner

Went there for dinner, the service was exceptional and the food was just amazing. 10/10 will definitely come back.

Had booked 1 month in advance and confirmed a window seat in Restraunt for 7pm On day of booking I asked for a 30 minute later booking so 7.30 pm and asked to have same window seat again in person at Restraunt When we arrived table had been given to someone else I asked why the table I had booked at a window was not mine and was told because I had changed booking time it was given to someone else The catering staff where excellent but manager who spoke to us was very unprofessional and just showed us to a table in middle of Restraunt floor and walked away ! No apology and we never saw him again ! His attitude was terrible And don’t understand arriving 15 mins later and also informing them this was happening that we didn’t get table I had asked for 1 month in advance ! The restraunt closes at 9.30 pm so why where we not allowed table I personally had booked a month in advance ? Food was lovely and waitress was excellent but Managment /manager was not courtious in any way .

Always great. Can depend on Castello for easy light hearted service and great food. Relaxing atmosphere and lovely inside. Thank you.

Was really impressed on our first visit to Costello Italia. We really enjoyed the food and will definitely be back soon. Thank you.

Food was amazing. Was very busy and table felt very crammed in among families. Staff were lovely but rushed off their feet. Would def return .

Just one star off for service, staff were lovely and friendly but it just took a little too long to get served (although it was a busy lunchtime). All round we had a great experience, very good value with the kids eat free deal and we will definitely be back, many thanks.

Enjoyable evening, but very surprised to find a 10% service charge on the bill for 4 people. Normally find this on bookings of 6 or more. Disappointed we couldn’t leave a personal tip because of this.

Too much truffle flavour in the mushroom risotto, needs reduced substantially as the flavour is quite sickening and dominates the dish. If parmesan is to be put on the dish please ask the customer if they want it, it wasn't on the description of the dish so shouldn't have been grated over the dish. Other meals were good, although a little more choice for vegetarians would be good. Service was good on a busy Sunday. Staff friendly and available. Served skinny fries instead of chips though.

The food is always really good as is the service. I like to have a meal in here with a glass of wine to relax however, it's becoming like a playground for kids. I'm all for having kids out for dinner but when they are allowed to have hand held devices playing on full sound at a dinner table, it was really noisy, no consideration for anyone else trying to have a quiet meal. We ate and left. Normally we would stay for coffee but we didn't. There is a difference taking kids out for dinner and being at home.

Excellent food & great service on Father's Day in the ground floor restaurant. Highlights were the Linguini Carbonara, Wild Mushroom Risotto and desserts especially Affogato. Only slight issue was just that because it was a busy day our table felt quite cramped which was a challenge when lots of the party were big & tall. However all were delighted with lunch so thank you Castello team

Wonderful staff, lovely place with great views and excellent food. We arrived in the area early on Friday evening looking for a nice restaurant. We didn't know about the upstairs dining room and its fantastic view over the shoreline. The staff were welcoming and attentive which was very reassuring as my wife has a dietary restriction, an intolerance to the almost ubiquitous rapeseed oil. They worked their way smoothly around this and produced an excellent meal for her. We would strongly recommend Castello Italia to anyone visiting the area in search of a great Italian meal, happy staff and great views.

Nice location, beautiful sea view but very limited menu for an Italian restaurant specially if on 5 or 6 meat/fish main option 2 aren't available. Poor and basic food presentation also if the taste wasn't bad.

Went to Castello with my wife and 2 kids on Friday night for a meal to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We went for the bread & oil basket rather than ordering individual starters. It was very good. The only slight criticism i would make is that the olive oil and balsamic vinegar came in a ramekin which was a bit small. It wouldn't have cost them anything more than a few pence to be a bit more generous with that. For mains my wife had the ravioli of the day (crab) which she enjoyed. I had a sirloin steak which was well cooked. Admittedly I asked for it without the mushroom, but the plate looked a little bare. Half a tomato or a single onion ring would have made all the difference to the look of the plate. The kids had Carbonara and Pizza from the childrens menu, and we also ordered a portion of fires for our eldest who is 12 and is in that awkward spot between being filled by a childrens meal and being adventerous enough to go for something from the regular menu. Ice cream was included in the childrens meal so i had a sticky toffee pudding while they were eating that. It was fabulous. I must say something about the service. Out waitress was fabulous. She didn't stop all night and was charm personified. When the kids were taking an age over deciding on an ice cream flavour she went downstairs and came back with the full list of flavours. In the end they both picked chocolate, which I knew they would do. If anyone from Castello ever reads this, the girl with the red/brown hair who served us was nothing to do with this negative review. In fact she was the best part of our experience with you. The manger was also very good, but he was obviously working between 2 floors. With the exception of our waitress when he wasn't nearby the service levels other people were experiencing obviously dropped. We were sitting close enough to the kitchen to hear the laughing and craic from the staff hiding in there. Total for food was £86.15 (probably fair enough). We also had 2 beers, 2 cocktails, 2 glasses of milk and 3 soft drinks coming to £45.05 (a bit pricey). I was expecting to be paying a good bit over £100. But i was a little shocked to be handed a bill for £144.32. Not wanting to cause a fuss during a family event i paid and went back to the table without saying anything. Upon looking at the receipt i noticed that I had been charged a 10% service charge. Now I understand that some places charge a service charge for large groups. Tips are an important part of the income of waiting staff and if a party of a dozen people don't leave a decent tip it isn't cool. Upon having a quick look at a menu on the way out i spotted that the usual bit about parties of 10 or more actuallly stated the a 10% service charge is applied for parties of 4 or more. It was in written in microscopic print at the bottom of the menu. Our waitress deserved a really good tip for the service we had. I would have liked to have been able to decide that for myself. But I'm left with the nagging suspicion that she didn't see a penny of it, or that it was split with the other staff who spent a good portion of the night hiding out the back. Those of us who don't suffer from severe allergies don't read the small print on the menu, which they know very well. It was dishonest and left a bad taste in the mouth to stick us for another 10% in there. It'll be a long time before I'm back because of it, which is a pity, because the food was very good.

Food arrived really hot and fresh. Very delicious!

The service was very friendly and the food was great. All the family enjoyed it. Drinks were a little delayed but the servers were quick to put it right.

Had dinner here on Friday and it was beautiful! Gorgeous restaurant, lovely customer service and amazing food! (Tiramisu is to die for) Can’t wait to come back 🤤

We had vouchers that we got for Christmas so we headed down and it didn't disappoint there were 4 of us and not 1 complaint the staff were really friendly and the meals were beautiful. My son has Asperger's and can be hard to get food that he will try but he found something he thought he would like and left nothing on his plate which really surprised and pleased us

I’ve been a regular at Castello’s for a while now, and I finally had to write a review because they truly deserve it. Sometimes, when a top-notch restaurant offers delivery, the food quality can take a hit, but not with Castello’s. The food is consistently fantastic! Plus, they deliver! Every time, the delivery is quick, and the food is always top quality. Highly recommended!! Neil

Delicious food and excellent prompt service

Pizza was fantastic, but the steak was uninspiring. I took my 4 year old son here for dinner. He had pizza from the kids menu. It was a substantial size, freshly stone baked Italian style pizza, and absolutely delicious. I had the sirloin steak, medium rare. It was thinly cut and didn't have much flavour or texture. The hand cut chips were, again, OK, but a bit bland and could have been crisper. We both finished with ice cream from the selection of a dozen or more flavours made in-house. These were fantastic. That was my first visit, and I'd definitely go back, but would stick to pizza or pasta rather than steak.

Margarita was good however pork belly bites were awful tbh. The N’duja was ok. In all not the best tbf.

Party of eight. Impressed that all our meals arrived in one serving. Everyone was complementary about their meal. Mostly pasta and fish dishes. Perfect setting for a family get together. Thanks to front and back of house for an amazing evening!

Beautiful views also and just great place to eat and drink and lick ice creams

Very nice and quite cheap place with tasty food and good service. Family friendly

Perfect Italian restaurant, great service and location.

Staff excellent. Food very good. Early bird menu very good. Couldn't understand why we were shown to a table for 4 when there were only 2 of us. I requested table for 2 and were given one.

We have eaten here on so many occasions and we have never been disappointed, food is beautiful and the staff are very friendly, definitely is a little taste of Italy 🇮🇹 😋 Grazie

Just had the ‘Early bird’ meal tonight and I have to say the Formaggio (goats cheese starter) was the best thing I’ve eaten, ever. All the dishes were delicious, staff charming and we even had a window seat with a view of the castle. Definitely recommended 👌😋

My 9 year old loves this place. Perfect mix between fancy and relaxed for her. The food and service are always excellent.

Great food as always & friendly delivery driver

It took two hours for the food to arrive

Very good waiter, efficient and very polite

Had a lovely meal here for a birthday dinner. The food was lovely and loads of gluten free options.

Food was delicious Service was great-all the staff were friendly and attentive Lovely place and would reccomend

Food was lovely but found the staff rude and when we came to pay they couldn’t split the bill and asked us to work it out our selfs I’m sure they could of done this on the roll but the waitress just wasn’t willing to help

Castello is consistently good. The service and food were both really good. The upstairs restaurant is a beautiful setting and if you are lucky enough to get a window seat, beauiful views of the sea. Well worth a visit.

A fabulous Italian 👌 serving superb food and gelato. We ate on the ground floor of the restaurant. When the works are completed outside the view will fabulous.

Great food, i would highly recommend

Lovely meal, setting and staff. Kids eat free over Easter. Hope to go back very soon.

Beautiful place with lovely attentive staff, food was outstanding, would definitely recommend!

Went for a lovely meal with my husband for our birthdays. Really enjoyed every aspect of the meal and service. As always it was excellent.

Food was great, delicious hot and fast delivery my only gripe was the frappe was disappointing for the price no flavorings or whipped cream or anything was just cold coffee from the fridge in a plastic cup for almost £5.

I ordered the food at 18:30 last night to be told it would be delivered between 19:10 and 19:20. That was fine until at 19:55 I had to try and ring the restaurant to tell them my food hasn’t arrived. I got the answer phone as it said the restaurant was closed. I assumed at this time the food was not coming as I received no contact from the restaurant to say it would be late. To my shock the food arrives at 20:15 an hour later than scheduled. Upon opening the boxes of pizza they were extremely cold with what looked like the wrong ingredients on top of one of the pizzas. The thick chips were not cooked and cold and the Parmesan fries where delivers in a bag which just isn’t possible (also cold). Very dissatisfied customer.

Had a lovely evening to celebrate my dad's 80th birthday 🎂 Staff were really helpful and nothing too much bother. Food delish!!

Excellent evening all round...again. Thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

Great staff, fantastic with our kids.

We had 5 people in our group, two had pasta which they enjoyed, I had rump steak, which was mb 6/10 and the chunky fries were not cooked properly. The last two had duck and we had to ask for a steak knife to cut it. I sent a message to the restaurant the next day, but 1 1/2 weeks later I have had no reply. Not a good experience at all. Definitely will not be back or recommend to my Airbnb guests.

We booked this restaurant on the off chance as we wanted somewhere closer to our hotel for the evening. It did not disappoint... the restaurant was clean and welcoming, clearly a family run restaurant with lovely and friendly service. The food itself was amazing, we had 3 courses and it was all beautifully presented and tasted delicious. Well worth a visit, if we are ever visiting that way from Bristol again, we would eat there!

Top quality food from a top quality restaurant. Delivery driver was very friendly.

We had the best meal here! Amazing food, friendly service, really good value and the BEST gelato! Would highly recommend.

Lovely food and friendly delivery driver

Great food. Professional and friendly service and a nice atmosphere.

Went for birthday dinner with my wife and was very busy when we arrived. Had a bit of a wait to order but food then arrived quickly. Pasta was very tasty and we received a complimentary dessert for our initial wait. We spent upwards of 2.5 hrs there and will be back.

Food was delivered outside of the delivery time so the skinny chips were rather cold but the flavour in everything was fab and the portion size is great for the mains

Food is always delicious, service is excellent.

Love this place - the food is superb and very reasonable.

Great good and service, will be back