Dinos Italian Restaurant in Dover

Mother’s Day today and looking for a lunch venue. I reminisced about Dinos a while ago as it’s the oldest traditional Italian restaurant in Dover and I had childhood memories of this dashing Italian man called Angelo with twinkly eyes and eyelashes who is the son on the original Dino and has taken over. So I booked for me, my son and grandson. I walked in and it was wonderfully the same place I visited in the 1970’s. Angelo still has a twinkly eye and lashes. It was so friendly and welcoming, warm and cosy and totally traditional in a time warp way and that is an absolute positive (please don’t change). and also lovely and clean, small and such a lovely personal place to eat. The service was outstanding. We felt so happy to be there. The food was great - a good size menu and I totally get that as now I can go back and try something different. The background music was great - a bit of opera (gentle and calming) and Brat pack music - who doesn’t love a bit of Sinatra etc). I chose Dover sole and it was cooked perfectly. All of us thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and felt so calm and relaxed that allowed us to laugh and have joint fun after a very difficult period. Just an ask? I have a tiny appetite so couldn’t finish my main (not to worry as grandson has hollow legs so nothing went to waste) - when I book again can you tell me which section of food can I have as a “child portion”. Will definitely be back - Dinos is a secret treasure of Dover - I would love it to be my secret treasure, but that would be selfish of me. Thank you x

Wow where do I start. Booked in for valentines evening. Felt special as said we could squeeze you in. What a place more like what a rip off. Fancy looking menu with nice atmosphere. But no one made you feel special overly long waits for service, then to find out when you order your drinks and food the wine is a £3.99 pino from aldi and then pay £22 for it, then you order a starter that is just a meat platter from aldi too. I'm very shocked and annoyed that I've spent over £60 for less than £10 worth of aldi food. Really would NOT go here!!! You won't be treated any better than a valued customer at a fast food restaurant

Lovely little Italian restaurant. Friendly staff great food

Fantastic family owned traditional Italian restaurant.

We went here for lunch on Christmas Eve and it was exactly what we had hoped for. This is very much a traditional Italian restaurant, with dishes and decor from yesteryear. That is absolutely NOT a criticism. Olives as an aperitif came in a generous pot and were well flavoured with garlic and (from memory) fennel. Himself had whitebait as a starter and they were also good. The spaghetti with sausage in a tomato sauce was great - plenty of sausage bits in a thick, unctuous tomato sauce. Himself had fettucine alla carbonara which was also great and tasted very much as if the pasta had been home made. For dessert we had zabaglione. It has been years since we have had zabaglione and this one was perfect - warm, light, rich and boozy. People at other tables seemed to be regulars, and were in happy conversation with Mr Front of House. Prices were reasonable and we came away very happy with our lunch and keen to visit again. If you want banging music and super snazzy "concept" decor, give this one a miss. It has probably looked exactly like this for years. However, if you want really decent Italian food in a pleasant setting for a really competitive price, do go!

Dino's was recommended to us as real Italian food cooked and served by real Italians. Spot on. I haven't even seen zabaglione on a menu for ages... delicious!

The perfect place for great quality food, a friendly family feel to the service, and a lovely atmosphere all at a great value. If you are looking for a place for a celebration, date night, or just want a decent meal then this is the place to go. Forget about all those chains, try a true family run restaurant. We will be back!

Perfect and Delicious. Best Italian food. Just like they make in Italy

Delicious food and excellent service

Nice little authentic restaurant, well worth a visit.

Angelo was a super host and the food was delicious in every way?

Angelo, missus and chef are great, by far best italian in Dover area, very cosy setting as well

Heel goed gegeten,vriendelijke mensen.

Excellent authentic Italian food... friendly service . reasonable prices

Muy buen gnocchi de la mama! Recomiendo, muy buena atención

Great meal and very helpful staff

Lovely authentic Italian restaurant. Good food and nice atmosphere, friendly staff.

Wonderful service, excellent food. We were celebrating my wife's birthday yesterday. I have called the restaurant sooner and asked them to prepare a little surprise for her. I am glad that the staff remembered that and have provided a wonderful surprise after the meal. I'm really satisfied with the service of the restaurant and I can feel their passion of making customers happy. On the other hand, the restaurant did a good job regarding the food. We've tried a few dish and they are all very good. The seafood are fantastic and are highly recommend.

Grundsätzlich war das Essen in Ordnung. Nicht überragend, aber in Ordnung. Ich hatte Gnocchi, die waren weich wie Kartoffelbrei. Und dann noch Rigatoni mit Pesto , die Nudeln waren leider mehr als aldente. Der Service war auch nicht so gut, die Aufmerksamkeit, Getränke mäßig, ließ leider zu wünschen übrig.

Lovely! This is the genuine family Italian restaurant that we have been looking for locally. The lure of Spaghetti Vongole and other traditional dishes drew us in and we loved the charming atmosphere. Excellent, freshly prepared home cooking. So pleased to have found this in the centre of Dover. So far we have only tried the delicious pasta but will return for sure.

The recommendations of others online led us to this great spot for a Sunday lunch before returning to our cruise ship at the port. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. The ambiance was very charming. The food was delicious and reasonably priced.

We had a lovely Sunday lunch here on our way back to the cruise terminal.

Overnight in Dover for the early ferry. Well established general Italian place that is well used by older locals and people staying over. Good value for good food. Some nice wine at reasonable price and right temperature. Pleasant helpful staff

A dover per prendere il traghetto....una vera perla...un angolo di Italia. Angelo gentilissimo e la cucina squisita.

Great dining experience. Superb pasta and terrific zabaglione.

Excellent Italian restaurant. Nice homely atmosphere and very friendly. We eat there regularly and would certainly recommend it.

I won’t be going to Dover & not go to this amazing little Italian restaurant!! Be sure to book as it’s not the biggest restaurant in the world & you will be disappointed if you don’t get it! Front of house guy (sorry forgot your name) is so friendly & knowledgeable. Food it outstanding!! Atmosphere lovely. I HIGHLY recommend the Zabaglione for desert!! It’s what a went there for & was not disappointed! The restaurant has been there since the early 1970’s so it’s obviously doing something right!!! So look forward to visiting again!!!

Excellent pasta and very kind service!

What a little gem of a restaurant. Food was amazing and Staff were lovely. Food was so tasty and piping hot we will definitely return.

Great Italian home cooked food, a great family atmosphere, VERY GOOD VALUE FOR MONEY, large car park just across the road which is free from 6pm to 8am. A must for great Italian cuisine in Dover.

Fantastic food and great service

Fantastic. A really authentic Italian menu with friendly staff. Really tasty dishes, all well seasoned. You can taste it's all homemade and to family recipes.

Best Italian I have visited years. Great food great service, loverly people. HIGHLY RECOMMENDER

Amazing food great atmosphere will definitely be coming back

fantastic..... The best spaghetti and meatballs I have ever had, what a find. It's worth coming to Dover just for this gem of a traditional restaurant...Bellisimo !!

Amazing restaurant, service was great and lovely home cooked food.

Fantastic food and very welcoming atmosphere

Nice Italian restaurant at Dover, good atmoshere, nice- and original Italian chart, you feel yourself in italy. Top.

Lovely food. Attentive staff and an authentic atmosphere.

Nice homely Italian food. Lovely desserts and a very good espresso. Friendly, efficient service.

Came here on the off chance as original place we were going was closed. Have heard good reviews of the food and we were not disappointed. It was lovely and staff were friendly. Only complaint was that it was freezing in the restaurant. Not sure if the heating was on? It was a shame but the food was delicious. We will go back but perhaps in the hotter weather!

Lovely authentic Italian food! Grat knowledgeable staff & good atmosphere 👌 👏

Absolutely lovely food and a really friendly atmosphere. Would definitely recommend for any occasion. Book for weekends

Eaten here a while ago and the food was excellent however 4 of us ate there and the food was average and not hot. We were the last ones in the restaurant and it wasn't late and the owner opened the front door and let the cold in, I would rather him asked us to leave just leaving the door open was just rude.

Lovely food , lovely staff. Real ltalian food.

Excellent food, excellent staff, excellent chef, we have been coming to Dino`s restaurant for nearly 40 years and have never had a bad experience, Angelo and Lorna are top hosts, the chef always delivers top quality food, they always go the extra mile, and the wine list is superb.

Deanos offers a great menu, with pricing around £10-15 for a main meal. Of course, if you want the steak, you pay more. Plus sides etc... The atmosphere is quite intimate, as its a small place. It feels like an authentic Italian, without all the bright lights. Great service. The staff are fantastic and responsive. The food was beautiful and tasted fresh. Didn't need to wait too long. We had spaghetti and carbonara. A wide variety of drinks available at decent prices. Would highly recommend this place. We were fortunate to get a table, so might be worth calling in advance.

It's not my best but food was good

Wonderful food and wonderful service from Lorna and Angelo. Never disappoints.

We just moved to the area and had a couple of nice evening meals so booked to bring my daughter who had just had a baby for lunch. The price was the same as the evening and the food was terrible, my daughter always has spaghetti Bolognese as she says its best in an Italian restaurant. She gave me a bit to taste and it seemed like it had been cooked several times before. The pesto pasta with pine nuts I had was tasteless and no nice toasted pine nuts on top, in fact I couldn’t see any at all, it was very disappointing after I had told my daughter and partner how good it was. They had made an effort with decorating the table and the people are lovely but I think I probably won’t go back.

Owner was incredible. Food, service, and atmosphere were fantastic

Very welcoming. Good variety of food. The wine was nice. I will be definitely going back with my parents next time.

Food very good. Varied menu. Dino and his wife were friendly. They had just opened after a holiday break and when one thing on the menu was not available they offered a delicious off menu alternative. We wish the restaurant was nearer where we lived as we would certainly be regulars!

Booked last minute due to overnight stay in Dover before a cruise . Food and service excellent , would not hesitate to eat here again when in Dover

Enjoyed our meal here. The staff were friendly, welcoming and did their best to make the evening enjoyable. The food was extremely delicious, we both had steaks which were cooked perfectly , the wine we had was also very tasty and it was all reasonably priced.

Nice friendly family run restaurant, food was very good.

Beautiful wine, beautiful food. 2nd visit and will surely be back! What a delightful place. A real gem in the Dover eatery scene

Absolutely amazing food. Highly recommended !!! The staff is very nice and friendly, the restaurant feels like home. We definitely need more restaurants like this one!

Smakfull mat, god vin og dagens kake, som var laget av cottage cheese og pære til dessert. Jeg spiste tomatisert...

Il Rustico is much better, just 100m away.

Fabulous family run Italian…great food, welcoming, a favourite haunt of channel swimmers and family and friends…just reflecting on how many good nights I’ve had here…vaguely wondering whether to keep it to myself but ultimately…it would be churlish not to share….Enjoy!

Last here 3 years ago - pre-Covid - great that it is still here! Wonderful main courses fettucine carbonara and pollo a la crema, but possibly "the best tiramisu ever"...

Food deserves michelin star. Service good and friendly

It's like being in someone's living room. The food was lovely and the service friendly and warm. Wasn't expensive either

So good!! Best pasta I’ve had so far in the UK. The service was amazing, good vibes as well!

Simply incredible. We went last night, first of all very accommodating. The food is beautiful, so flavoursome and well cooked. You have to try the scallop! An amazing experience, will definitely be back. Thank you for having us!

What a find. Our hotel restaurant was fully booked ( thank goodness) so we googled nearby restaurants and found this lovely place. We recommend the house speciality chicken and house wine ( red for me, white for my wife) All the reviews are spot on....

Delicious food and great wine. The staff were very welcoming.

Great little Italian joint on Castle. Super food.

We went to celebrate my daughter finishing school, it's such a lovely cozy restaurant with the nicest staff and the food is amazing

I've seem the reviews and they are very good. Unfortunately my experience was poor. Long wait for service and during my order they left to answer the phone. Starters were wrong so had to wait longer. My partner said her food was good but mine was average at best.....probably a bad night. We will try again in the future.

מסעדה קטנה וחמודה, שרות אדיב ומחירים סבירים.

Food was delicious, service was excellent, and prices were very reasonable (we actually rounded up and gave a tip!). Wonderful atmosphere. Recommend trying the spinach and ricotta stuffed chicken!

It was absolutely delicious every bit of it! The staff are very friendly would definitely recommend! Unfortunately I don’t live that near but will always visit when in the area!

Another fantastic meal at Dinos last night. I took friends in for the first time and they loved it! The service is second to none, the food is quality with fresh ingredients and cooked in the authentic Italian way. The menu is fairly priced with...

Great traditional family Italian. Honest food and service and good value. The place was full with quite a few local people - always a good sign

Recommended here by another local pub. The meal and service was excellent and reasonably priced. Would def visit again on a trip to dover. Many thanks

We've enjoyed meals out here over the last few years, really tasty and reasonably priced Italian food. It's a small, charming restaurant with a lovely old fashioned feel. We've not been here since the Covid outbreak but would consider returning in the future, highly recommended :)

The food is amazing, especially the risotto. The owner is very friendly and helpful. Service is good and we enjoyed the dinner there. Will definitely go to this restaurant if we visit Dover again.

Just had a fantastic meal at Dinos in Dover. Great atmosphere, very friendly, just a pity we live so far away in leicester. Highly recommend anyone to try this restraint.

Had a wonderful evening for my surprise 60th birthday, arranged by Angelo and my husband such a memorable night

Couldn’t be more pleased. They were in a tight spot with timing but still made us feel at home at the bar - they even put a table cloth down for us to enjoy our meal on. Food was incredible and the staff was excellent. Angelo was so welcoming and genuine, I would be a local here if I lived in the area!

This is quite simply the best Italian restaurant we've eaten at outside of Italy. This is not only because of the superb quality of the food and the authentic ambience of the interior, but also because of the quality of service and the hospitality of the host, Angelo. He is friendly, attentive, warm, helpful and full of good suggestions and recommendations regarding not only the food he can offer, but also things to do and places to go locally. He's fantastic with children and a very generous host to boot. He even sent me a message the night before our latest meal giving detailed instructions on the best places to park near the restaurant. In short, I cannot recommend Dino's restaurant highly enough. We don't think twice about driving an hour from our home to eat there.

Why have we not eaten here before! food was fantastic as was the wine. Wanted to have meal out with my family so glad we ate here👍

The best Italian restaurant. Owner is so friendly amazing service, not to mention the food is so good and so fresh! A restaurant with a lot of history really authentic, couldn’t recommend enough can’t wait to go back!

Great food, great service. Found it hard to choose off the menu everything looked great. Really accommodating and friendly, this is a proper family run italian restaurant with an old school atmosphere! Highly recommend, we will be back!

Absolutely fantastic food as always, we have been using Dinos now for at least six years and are or at least would like to consider ourselves regular customers. We absolutely love this restaurant the atmosphere is amazing it’s like stepping back into 1950s Italy. The...

Amazing experience food love the atmosphere will be going back

A friendly, family run restaurant. Decor and menu a little dated.

What an incredible experience. We were warmly greeted after walking through the door and treated like family until we left. The restaurant offers an extensive menu and all our dishes tasted incredible. The ambiance is very classy without being pretentious, equally appropriate for a casual family dinner or romantic date night out. Well done Dino, Clara and team!

Very nice meal with a pleasant owner. Will definitely go back..

Amazing food and impeccable service as usual! Thanks to Angelo and all the team for making us feel so welcome. Not the first visit and definitely not the last :)

Ok but the restaurant was really cold, maybe because we were an earlier lunch but we had pre-booked. This could also be why the starter was a bit on the cold side too. No lights on in the toilets and chairs stacked in the corridor partially blocking the way. Could have been a better first experience but not writing it off for another visit, maybe in the warmer months...

Fantastic food and great service. Dover's best Italian?

A classic timeless Italian family restaurant, totally charming in service and ambience. A wine list that is fantastic value , no ridiculous service charges. Seasonal specials ... delicious porcini! If you'd like cutting edge design and modern cuisine then steer clear, if you love Italian...

Staff very friendly, food is excellent, my wife and I have been going to this restaurant for 34 years or more, so they are like our family. James & Glen

Very friendly and helpful owner willing to stop for a chat . The food was delicious and the decor very pleasing . Definitely worth a visit .

Great traditional Italian food, cooked by Italians. Family business. Cosy restaurant with friendly staff

Who is leaving these reviews? Have any of you ever had a decent Italian meal? I'm convinced that the pizza was frozen from a supermarket with the toppings changed to fit whatever the customer orders. The decor is ancient, this in itself is not an...

We thoroughly enjoyed a delicious freshly prepared lunch, with generous portions, and friendly professional service. A place the locals love.