Don Amici's in Southend-on-Sea

Not sure if it was just an off day but our party of 4 found our experience akin to that of visiting Fawlty Towers! We arrived to be greeted with surprise, as if they hadn't been expecting us despite our booking made 2 weeks previously. Despite our waitress being charming, she was obviously just helping out as a favour to the owner. We had to ask for cutlery, our order was taken in dribs and drabs, no serviettes and she was running round trying extremely hard to deal with all the other diners and multitude of delivery drivers constantly turning up to collect their orders. The main door was more open then closed for an hour and it felt very much like their orders were taken as priority over those of customers actually in the restaurant. Our starter took an hour to arrive and was really poor, portion wise as well as presentation and preparation. The main courses came out quicker and were ok apart from the one pizza of our order, who's base was so hard, it was as if the cardboard had been left on and that's what was being eaten! We declined dessert and coffee as, to be honest, we couldn't wait to get out of there. We stayed longer than we needed due to the one saving grace of an extremely well filled carafe of very tasty house wine! Will definitely not be going back or recommending Don Amici's to anyone else. Sorry.

not expensive, but then, not much salmon in the penne al salmone either

The amazing ambience and delicious pizza. The starters were particularly memorable. The star of the night was the brilliant Tiramisu - that stole the show!

Please visit this great restaurant it's small only 20 covers but the food is to die for and the owner chef very friendly and a superb cook

Been a while since I've had a good pizza like that 👌

Fantastic starters, good pizzas and mainly wonderful service.

Met by the friendly Italian owner in this small but very cosy restaurant. Made us feel welcome, checked with us everything was ok (so many restaurants don’t do this) and we both had a really lovely meal. The house red was a good choice and also very reasonably priced for a carafe. We asked for some chilli on top of our bruschetta as we like a bit of heat and he was happy to accommodate. Will definitely visit again.

The pizza here was as close as it gets to the pizza you will be served in Italy , This place is very basic , no frills, but that is what made it a good evening in there . The owner was a brilliant guy to very down to earth and great service.

The restaurant put the tiramisu on top of the pasta so it melted and was so watery upon arrival

The best pizzas in the town, unreal quality of the foot as always . Owner is a delight to talk to , always makes me feel welcome while waiting for my collection

Lovely guy, fabulous food in a very small quaint and basic restaurant. 👌

Best pizza in Westcliff for sure!

The food was delicious and the owner very friendly, definitely recommended!

Have always had a great experience when ordering a pizza from Don Amici's. The taste is heavenly and as a foodie I really appreciate the use of things like real rosemary sprigs and real dough. They do not skimp on topping and as a meat fan this is good news. Reminds me of the pizzas I would enjoy in Italy. I have not been to the restaurant but is on my doorstep and looking forward to going in at some point.

1st time trying the food here, definitely won't be the last !

Bit expensive for the portion sizes but was delicious

Volte a cantar - Back tô sing 🎤

Most excellent and authentic pizza and calzone. Will be trying again soon

The food is fantastic and the staff are great it's a shame just eat's delivery team cause them issues. No fault of the restaurants at all

Alex is brilliant, great food and service. The only trouble is just eat drivers always manage to spoil, squash or drop something every time.

As you can see from the photos this is exactly how my food arrived. The pizza was awful 10 pieces of pepperoni hardly any cheese and delivered like warm, the desert was delivered just as you see it. Cold chocolate fudge cake which should have been at least warm, melted ice-cream. Unfortunately won't order again.

Fantastic Food and great service from Alex! Top Guy

Here for the weekend wanted an authentic pizza. Didn’t disappoint. 10/10. We had two pizza & tiramisu. We thoroughly enjoyed it all. Highly recommend

So salty I couldn’t eat more than half of it.

This is a lovely restaurant with a excellent vibe - even picking up delivery we were made to feel very welcome! Food is top notch as well. Highly recommend the calzone and gnocchi!

What a lovely place... authentic Italian Great food, amazing aromas from the kitchen.... we'll be back x

Hot and tasty, lovely portions too

Went here before Cliffs and it was perfect. Service was brilliant and the food was amazing. Wasn't a fan of the white wine, but everything else was perfect. Well worth a visit!

Best place to eat pizza I’m so happy that I found a place where I can eat exactly same pizza like in Italy . See u again chef thank you 😃✔️😃

Food would've been great if the pizza wasn't delivered upside down and all the toppings were on the side an lid of the box. We'll done Just Eat.

Went there in April and again this august what a beautiful meal on both occasions I can’t fault it. And Alessandro is a lovely man. Best Italian restaurant in town.

A lovely pizzeria, with impeccable service. Very tasty pizza.

Beautiful pizza. A genuinely Italian offering. Such polite and attentive service. I love the photos on the wall of the owner with a plethora of Italian footballers and other famous faces. Would be a great choice for a work do. I imagine a work Christmas meal would be brilliant at Dom Amicis. Exactly the sort of place that would get you in the Christmas mood.

AMAZING !!! Alex, the owner is a very nice person, his dishes are DELICIOUS! you ought to try everything.

A lovely little bistro restaurant with lots of character. Food was splendid. The guy running it makes you feel welcome.

Great food, quick. Best pizza ever

Brother claimed these guys were better that Fireaway from round the corner but I'm sad to say it wasn't. Garlic Bread was burnt on the bottom and the Napoli was also well over done. Feel really disappointed.

Terrible experience. Firstly, only one guy waiting and cooking. Secondly, 3 lots of delivery went out whilst we were waiting for food (one being to a driver who left the door open, and was on speaker phone in his mobile, which beeped constantly for the 10 mins he was waiting, going in and out of the restaurant - (at that point I actually felt sorry for the restaurant). Thirdly, we weren’t asked if we wanted any extra drinks in the entire hr and quarter we were in there. I’m a vegetarian who doesn’t eat cheese. Ordered based on what was stated on menu, the small print which states ‘most dishes contain Parmesan’ wasn’t pointed out. Nor was I told that the dish I ordered did contain cheese - it wasn’t included in the ingredients, why would I assume it’s one that does? When I apologised and said I hadn’t asked for cheese on top, the owner rudely pointed to the menu pointing out the note about cheese (which was under all the meat dishes I didn’t even look at). He said he’d knock something up quick as we were in a hurry after waiting an hour already and had a show to get to. His next attempt came out with tuna! I had clearly stated I’m a veggie. He again pointed at his menu, looked really stroppy, and showed the tuna dish which was labelled with a V!! I pointed out that wasn’t what I had ordered in the first place, nor is it vegetarian. He grudgingly agreed to knock of the price of that one dish, no apology, just made it sound like it was my fault for not understanding his menu! My grandsons pizza and daughters pasta were ok, and the garlic bread was good, but the wait for 1 pizza and 2 pastas (one of which was unable to be eaten) was ridiculous, his attitude stank, and really he should concentrate on delivery if that’s what he wants. It’s an awful experience having to wait for one person to do those, with bikers in helmets and drivers on phones in and out constantly. having to wait way too long, to be treated rudely and blamed for his inability to understand vegetarianism, especially as we were the only 3 people in the restaurant. So many fabulous Italians locally, I won’t be going back or recommending at all.

Really lovely tasty pizza will definitely be returning

Fabulous food, what a hidden gem. Will be visiting again for sure.

Really nice staff and amazing pasta, lovely small sweet place :), Defonatly going here again

Had a lovely meal here. Food was excellent and reasonably priced. Would eat here again next time I visit the area.

Me, my friend took our children to Dom Amici's for dinner while on holiday in Southend. What an absolutely charming and delightful little place. Food was wonderful, as was the service and the ambiance. I highly recommend this lovely restaurant. Five stars.

I ordered twice from the Don and I wasn’t disappointed (saying from a chef’s point of view). The third time I will dine at Don’s place and leave another review! Cheers, Don!

The best pizza in Southend, been going here for nearly 2 years and always great! 100% recommend

Southend-on-Sea pizza mile, light, excellent leavening, excellent and fresh ingredient, pizza maker's word

So far best pizza place in Southend-on-Sea

Delicious, get takeaway from here instead of Domino's...unless you're hungover, in which case, go to Domino's. But, genuinely super tasty pizza with good fresh ingredients

Decent pizza. Very good value. Independent, local business

Great local pizza place!! They have a vegan pizza option too which is wonderful, I usually have the vegan cheese but the regular pepperoni as I am lactose intolerant. The staff are friendly and the prices are good. The pizza's are light and crispy the vegetables and meat are cooked perfectly on top. All in all a great place to get a pizza.

Best pizza in Southend! Such a lucky find. My partner and I keep returning to this place every time we visit!

I never left a bad review on Google but the way this restaurant handled my call after finding hair in the food is not acceptable. I just ordered this via my deliveroo app, half way through a massive chunk of hair under the chicken, my wife literally threw up and the food was binned. I called the restaurant and all I wanted was an apology, instead the guy tried to explain to me for 5 minutes that what I'm looking at (and what he hasn't seen yet) cannot be hair because the Chef wears a hat. Eventually he said sorry and offered a free pasta next time (no thanks). Also started giving me scientific explanation about what hair is, how it doesn't fall apart in food...that really was more upsetting than the hair. It's a shame, if it wasn't for the hair, this could have been a 3-star review as the taste wasn't too bad.

Excellent food well worth the money

The best takeaway pizza i've had locally. Lovely light crispy base, and not at all greasy. Delivered on time great communication and the ice cream went down well with my son too. Will definitely be ordering from you again. Thank you

Best pizza in town and fantastic service. Alessandro is a lovely guy with a quaint and homely restaurant that we love going back to!

A lovely resteraunt. Great vibes and delicious food! The owner is lovely too. Authentic Italian food at a great price

Tomato garlic pizza bread is on another level of tasty. Been ordering from Don Amicis since it moved to westcliff, without doubt the best pizza in town. The ham and mushroom is simple yet tasty beyond belief. I don't know what they do to their pizza, but even the deliveroo drivers love the smell! 100% recommended.

Always cooked fresh, really good. A small family owned business.

Omg absolutely lovely little place staff very attentive

Alex is basically the Chuck Norris of Italian food

Best in Southend. Thank you for a truly memorable experience.

Probably the best restaurant in Southend. If you are looking for great food and genuine service, this is the place.No nonsense menu and wine list, homely and unhurried atmosphere.Highly recommended!

Good, authentic Italian restaurant with a cosy atmosphere and great food. Recommended.

Great authentic pizza and good value

We had an amazing christmas over here Really Friendly service with amazing traditional pizza-thin&crusty and wonderful homemade pandoro(dessert) a kind of spongecake😋 Small but comfy place to eat Price was reasonable for that size of pizza average £9 each

Lovely food, brilliant friendly service.

The pizza is absolutely delicious and always is.

Lovely little restaurant. Very homely staff and fantastic authentic Italian food. The pizza was very well made very simple ingredients. Would highly recommend this place and will be returning. Plus its bring your own alcohol which is always nice

Horrendous service, 1 star food hygiene rating discovered after visit. Will not visit again, ever.

Great Restaurant and even better takeaway, the pizza and pasta are the best

Excellent food & dinning always:). Great little find

Lovely pizza hot and tasty, will be back.

Worst quality pesto I've ever had, worse than the waxy stuff you get in cheap tortellini! Salami on pizza instead of pepperoni! Maybe it was a bad night, but I can assure you there was NO spice in the cured pork sausage on my pizza, and the pesto pasta was poor in comparison to a pesto pasta box you can buy in a supermarket, Pasta Pia is much better quality pesto!

Friendly People Filling like a home ..So nice pizza.Best I had in my life :-)

Reasonably priced, delicious pizza, friendly staff. Will be returning

Lovely restaurant with the best pizza in town

A very pleasant quaint restaurant offering a great menu of Italian cuisine. My friend and I enjoyed a pleasant afternoon sipping wine, whilst eating our first course of succulent meats, then a course of seafood pasta and pizza, followed by the best homemade Tiramisu we have eaten in a long while. Definitely going back again soon. :)

Best pizza I have had since moving to Southend 2 years ago.. Great price..Great service..we will definetly be going back for more.

Amazing food, at very reasonable prices. The owner is really friendly as well :)

Can quite honestly say this was the worst meal I’ve ever had in my life! Went with 6 friends last night, we all had pasta dishes and most were so watery reminded me of Oliver! The garlic bread was rock hard, only one choice of red wine (Cabernet), no atmosphere and the restaurant was cold and half the lights weren’t working so very dark too. The toilet was dirty and had not been checked that it had been flushed.......I won’t elaborate! It seems like the owner (who is very friendly) is a one man band, he takes the orders and appeared to be doing the cooking too! Might be ok for a takeaway pizza but otherwise I’d avoid like the plague.

This looks like a great pizza place however I wouldn’t order pasta here. It’s more canteen quality, I really didn’t enjoy my salmone penne, it was pasta, cheese sauce and tiny bits of smoked salmon, that’s it. Really basic, so little salmon it could pass as a vegetarian dish. However I did like the prawn starter, that looked like some effort went into it. Rating 2 stars because there are some great Italian restaurants in the area and this was a disappointment.

Some of the best pizza in town!

My girlfriend and I treat ourselves to a Don Amici's pizza every so often. It's fresh, well priced and the pizza has a great unique flavour. They work very hard to bring nice pizza to this town and it really pays off. The owner Alessandro is a great guy too and the service is always excellent. So glad we have a better choice over the typical pizza places or worse - a kebab shop pizza! Long live Don Amici's!

Literally stumbled across this little gem ion the way home from adventure island with the children, really didn't want to eat KFC or Mcdonalds turned into Clifftown Road nearly walked passed, so glad we didn't. The food was excellent, real Italian pizza and very fresh. Relaxed, atmosphere, small but cosy and very clean. The owners couldn't be more pleasant, we were a party of 2 adults and 4 children nothing was too much trouble for them, would highly recommend and will most definitely be returning especially with the offer of buy one pizza get one free. Im disappointed we don't live more local to order a delivery but not far enough we couldnt hop on a train for 10mins. Couldn't resist taking home a portion of homemade tiramisu just finished for my 11's - superb 5 star rating from me.