Etna in Lancaster

A must visit when we’re in Lancaster. I’ve been coming to this wonderful Italian since I was a child in the 1970s. The food is authentic and Mimmo & his son are always very welcoming. It’s great value too. We had cannelloni, carbonara, fillet steak with pepper sauce followed by tiramisu & crème caramel. Mimmo makes everything from scratch. Superb!

Very kind and funny owner and amazing delicious food. Top rating.

Warm, welcoming and super tasty food

Lovely place amazing food would recommend

Incredible authentic atmosphere, not even too expensive when you compare how much better the quality compared to the big chains, the gentlemen who served us was incredible, and even gave us a free limoncello shot to finish our meals. Will 100% be back again.

I took two friends visiting from Edinburgh before catching their train home. Mimmo was his normal engaging self. The food, service and atmosphere was excellent, and was a perfect way for my friends to finidh their stay in Lancaster Thanks Mimmo

Deserves to try it , especially the Pizza 🍕 .. best Italian 🇮🇹 food 😎

Really bad pizza. Tiny portions, tasteless, pizza base was hard and rubbery. Soo expensive for what it is. Would not recommend.

Lovely local Italian run by fun loving staff. Friendly and engaging, we've loved this restaurant for years.

The food was so good we went back the next night. The owner and staff couldn't have been more helpful.

Second visit to Etna. Had the calzone. Very nice. Good service and atmosphere. Definitely going back!

Love going to this small Italian restaurant in Lancaster Town centre.Always a warm welcome and excellent food.

Lovely Italian restaurant. It felt very traditional. The food was delicious, the beer selection was not great, only bottled Morretti

Fabulous food, Fabulous service will definitely be returning

It was really nice and staff was friendly. However we were given a bad table even though the restaurant was basically empty! Additionally I ordered a dish that was meant to be with no meat and it was served with pork. I don’t know if I read the menu wrong or if there was a mistake but I was really disappointed. My friend ended finishing the dish. But overall it was a nice little experience.

Nice Italian restaurant and good range of food

Etna is a hidden gem in Lancaster. The food is delicious and the staff are warm and welcoming. There is a nice atmosphere. Etna is perfect for lunch of tea. I would 100% recommend to anyone thinking of going.

Absolutely charming, family run Italian restaurant. An interesting selection of dishes on the menu. Our food was excellent, as was the service and a home made creme brulé completed my enjoyment. Our first visit but definitely not the last.

Warm reception from the owner, superbly tasty, authentic Italian food.

Every time I come here I am always amazed! Excellent service and food. Would recommend their lasagne the most! The garlic bread, bolognese and tortellini are also nice.

Quite a small establishment, but pleasant. The food unfortunately was not very good. The pizza was small and appeared to be more of a shop bought base and heated in a standard oven. The pasta was overcooked and quite " claggy". House wine, reasonably priced, but no more than drinkable. Very popular place,as the owner seemed to know a lot of people. Staff were pleasant.

Love it here , traditional, friendly and just very enjoyable

Family run restaurant, really look after its customers, good service and proper Italian cuisine

Food is excellent, authentic Italian taste and atmosphere.

We visited to celebrate a family birthday. The food was excellent and the owner and his family made us very welcome. A really good traditional Italian restaurant. We will definitely be back.

Great Italian food served by very friendly staff. Family run and a great atmosphere.

Nice looking restaurant and very presentable inside. Ordered beef stroganoff and my mrs ordered pasta with prawns. My beef stroganoff was quite tasteless and I got the expression it had been pre prepared or possibly frozen. This dish was £21 and expected better. Pasta came wrong and wasn’t the prawn dish she originally ordered. Won’t be returning as left very disappointed and went home and made toast as I was still hungry. Poor effort

We were pleased to have been accommodated on a busy Friday evening despite not having booked. However, our experience was not a pleasant one. Two of our party were presented with meat dishes when they clearly stated that they were vegetarian, which resulted in another long wait for replacement food for them. The portion sizes are very small, and the pasta dishes are pretty tasteless. We found the owner and his son to be rude and argumentative with very poor customer relations and will never return to this restaurant again.

Great place loved the food and waiters' sense of humour! Made our night out in Lancaster 😊

Traveling for work and found this lovely restaurant. The owner served me and as I was late and had let the chef go home he cooked the food himself. The food was lovely and the staff were great. I will certainly be going back when I am next in Lancaster!!

Fantastic place, delicious food and nothing was too much trouble. And made my birthday special. Thank you. Christine and Julie.

Last minute date night with been married on Easter Saturday this year we arrive and askedfor table straight away we was seated the service and atmosphere and food amazing I forgot my glasses and they had a spare so I could read the menue we definitely go again esp with us living in Lancaster well recommend thanks for lovely meal ect

Great spot, brilliant food. I was unexpectedly stuck in the city centre for a few hours waiting for a train and was lucky enough to end up eating here. The atmosphere was great, and very welcoming (and I would usually feel a bit awkward eating alone). The waiter was friendly and the owner was great; he clearly knew about half of the customers and gently teased me about my terrible Italian pronounciation. I found the decor really cool and it was nice to look around, and the atmosphere was really nice. The food was delicious and I felt really restored when I left. I'll definitely be back (on purpose next time).

Unbelievable experience at Etnas, fantastic staff, food top notch… would come every day if i was rich!

The best Italian restaurant in Lancaster lovely owner lovely staff great food and wine we always look forward to visiting

Lovely, friendly staff but pretty poor food. Garlic bread was rock hard, pizza looked as though the base was manufactured. Soft drinks were served in tiny mixer bottles. Not awful but not fantastic either. A shame because the staff were really rather good!

Very affordable prices and a very homey atmosphere. The lasagne is good, and I'll say that the pasta dishes are better than the pizzas on average. The pana cotta is worth a try as well. Overall decent experience, but no mind blowing food

Great food. We came late but they stayed open for us and we're very inviting. The food was AMAZING and the service was great. FIVE STARS for everything ❤️

My son absolutely loves this restaurant whilst at University on Lancaster. The food , service and hospitality is exceptional. So we had to go for our graduation ceremony celebration. It didn’t disappoint!! Such wonderful friendly staff and the all food was incredible! Thank you so much for making everything so special! X

Fantastic Italian restaurant run by Italian owner ( I guess). Place full of Italian vibes - smell of food, music, waiters rush, etc. Food delicious I felt guilty that I couldn't taste other dishes unfortunately my stomach has limits. Any way I have booked table for next week. So see you there

Excellent service. Food and atmosphere

Etnas has been around for so long, it is literally part of the furniture in lancaster and the overall dining experience never fails to deliver and the food is consistently brilliant. The owners jokes are as cheesy as the complimentary parmesan but it doesn't detract from the outstanding Italian cuisine on offer here.

Wow, absolutely beautiful restaurant and the food takes you back to Italy especially when the Limoncello comes out.

Great service, they squeezed us in on a busy Friday evening and the pasta siracusana arrived quickly and was absolutely delicious! And the tiramisu was wonderful too.

What a wonderful restaurant fabulous 👌 food and lovely friendly staff will definitely be going again xx

Going to Etna is like visiting an old friend - attentive service and a great pizza - far better than eating out of a box at the quiz.

Great atmosphere. Good food, superb wine, lots of laughs. A more than enjoyable evening.

Sadly disappointing. Poor quality food, very small portions overly priced. Like stepping back in time, 30 yrs since my last visit and everything is still the same...except the staff who were brilliant

Top1 Italian food in Lancaster, but a bit sad that the location is kinda hidden from the popular avenues. And sadly I didn’t find it earlier!

I had a great experience and enjoyed the experience. Great food and I'm hard to please.

Lovely Restaurant and the food was delicious. The staff are very friendly. Great atmosphere. We had to leave early unfortunately but we will definitely be back ❤

Tasty food, quick service, attentive staff and cosy atmosphere.

Tasty, quality food. Friendly and efficient service. Family atmosphere

Cosy, friendly, family-run authentic Italian restaurant. Fantastic food and easy on the pocket too. My favourite Italian in Lancaster. Would definitely recommend.

100% recommend for delicious authentic Italian food and wonderful staff and atmosphere. Transported us right back to our holiday last summer, and the food was made even better by the lovely staff and manager. Thank you Etna!

Absolutely amazing. Such simple hearty Italian food. Had carbonara, lasagne and garlic bread between us and a bottle of Friscati - all at a very good price. Best we've ever tasted. Great atmosphere. Highly recommended. Will be back (very soon). Thanks Etna

Brilliant food Brilliant staff fair price 👍

Absolutely brilliant night in Etnas, food delicious, staff very friendly, not visited here for a few years & so glad it is still as good as it was years ago. Wonderful memories wonderful eateri

Waiter with curly long greasy hair was very unwelcoming and rude. Was muttering under his breath at us, he was confrontational and even “joked” for us to leave, “I’m the owner and if I say you should leave then you will” he said this with a very stern cold look. We all wasn’t sure if he was joking and then he told us he was but it really dampened the mood to the point we wanted to leave and felt very awkward. The food was naff, I’m currently sat on the toilet with food poisoning. 0/10 very very disappointing- will never return. Avoid.

Excellent food done in a British-Italian style. Portion sizes are too small though.

Great service and delicious 3 course menu. Authentic Italian cuisine that was exactly what we were looking for. Now our go to Italian in Lancaster

Unfortunately it doesn’t allow me to put cero stars. NOTE: this is from my experience. The owners are extremely impolite with their staff. I have heard referring to them as muppets. If this wasn’t enough, We tried to tip but we were told that the owner doesn’t even share the tips with the staff. Such a blatant selfish action. I would never ever recommend it or come back again with those despicable owners. The food is ok but now I wonder how their cooks.

This place is a lil gem. The owner was so inviting, friendly & so funny. I literally felt like I was in Italy. Food was absolutely delicious, so authentic. 😋 The decor and ambience felt so traditional. I went with a few girlfriends, as we were on a break from London, staying nearby, we all enjoyed the experience. We will be returning to the Lake District just so we can go back to this beautiful restaurant. Highly recommend 😊

Our favourite restaurant for the last 30 years. Fantastic food and a great atmosphere.

Love this place! Good food in a small, intimate setting; with a fantastic, friendly service from the owner and the waiting staff. Have returned a few times and will certainly return again the next time I am in Lancaster.

Only a small place so booking recommended, smell of garlic and Italian food cooking tempted the taste buds when you walk in. Decent choice on the menu, staff were friendly. Portion size wasn't over facing and reflected in reasonable price. Obviously a regular haunt for some as owner knew his Customers which is always a good advert.

Please read all for the truth of our experience. (Or the overall paragraph for a quick review:) ). We had high hopes for Etna before coming due to these reviews but our experience was far from amazing. The owner wasn’t really the nicest to us. We initially noticed the sly remarks and actions when he said the red wine we wanted would be too expensive for us! We laughed it off initially thinking he meant no harm but throughout our visit, his sly eye and manor towards us just wasn’t comforting or inviting. We were served the wine in the small sherry glasses which were on the table already (presumably for water). We didn’t think anything of it, until we looked around to notice every other table we’re given large (normal) wine glasses. This made us feel quite secluded and unwelcomed. We ordered stuffed mushrooms and cheese garlic bread to start. Unfortunately, the mushrooms were dry and stuck to the hot plate and the garlic bread didn’t have much cheese on it. However, as we were a hungry family and came for an occasion, we ate it anyways. We asked for some balsamic oils but they had non, instead they gave us garlic oil which was lovely. Our mains weren’t anything special. Bland and basic. We tried using the salt and garlic oil for some more taste in our pastas, pizza and chicken dish and the waiter offered us chilli oil too which helped. We didn’t complain, we ate our food and we tried to enjoy our occasion. We had a lovely tiramisu to end the night on a high but then the bill came. We were charged two miscellaneous transactions of £3 each. We raised this with the manger to get a confirmation of what it was and he proceeded to tell us it was the garlic oil and chilli oil!!!! If we knew we were getting charged £3 each we would have taken the bottles home with us!!! For a dash of oil to be taken from the bottle I’m sure the fee of £6 was unnecessary and absurd. If the food and service was nice and we had felt welcomed as everyone else had, we wouldn’t have minded the extra payment. But we just thought it was cheeky! We ended up paying the full bill and tipped the extra change in the end as we really didn’t want to kick up a fuss and be picky. To top it off, every table was offered limoncello once the bill came and we weren’t. Overall, we felt as though they just wanted us to leave as soon as we arrived, they gave us bland, old food, and we really noticed the divide they were portraying. If that is to do with our race or not, we felt embarrassed and uncomfortable. We are an all adult family who really value our food, especially authenticity. However, this restaurant is a no from us. Service, food, environment & manager - 0/10. Really disappointed here.

Great restaurant, lovely staff, you must eat here !

Food was sublime, out of all the Italians in Lancaster, this one certainly stands out. Waiter was really helpful and friendly, portion sizes were good and the Tiramisu was to die for. Definitely recommend.

Great food and good fun its a goto place on Lancaster

Food was amazing definitely would go back, had the steak

Great food and great service in the centre of Lancaster.

Best and only authentic Italian in Lancaster. This is one of our favourite restaurant in the area. It is a small, friendly, traditional Italian restaurant that is not overpriced. The food is delicious and the service is excellent. The wine is great quality too. If you are after a nice meal with a relaxed, friendly atmosphere then you will not go wrong by coming to Etnas. Mimmo, the owner, also makes a decent homemade limoncello.

Etna is simply a wonderful, authentic Italian Restaurant. Decor hasn't changed through the decades, thank goodness. The red and white gingham tablecloths still going strong, it all adds to the charm. If you fancy something off the menu, just ask. Mimo is happy to oblige and can cook up a fabulous fish dish too. Lovely food and wine recommended. A friendly welcome always.

Lovely authentic little Italian restaurant. Food was gorgeous and reasonably priced. Can't wait for the next visit

This was a gem of a find when staying over for the night in Lancaster. The food is amazing the owners hospitality is second to none and the authenticity of the place has a lovely warm feeling to it. Cannot recommend enough. A must visit

Great atmosphere, great service. The owner of the restaurant treat you not only as a customer, but a friend. Their dessert is an absolute try. I will give them 10 stars if I could!

Great home cooked food and friendly atmosphere

We had a girls day out in Lancaster, and stopped here for dinner the food was fantastic, especially the garlic breads. The service was very quick and the staff were friendly. I would definitely recommend this for lunch or tea

The vegetarian lasagna was disappointing, the pasta sheets were chewy, the filling lacked creativity, mostly peas. The pizza was great, however overall the serving sizes were tiny.

Lovely traditional Italian food. Warm and friendly. Especially recommended for the family as they're brilliant with kids and make the whole experience that bit more special

Excellent food ,great price & atmosphere

Cosy is probably the best way to describe the restaurant. Rather dated and looking tired inside and in need of some updating. However the owner was very friendly and welcoming and the food was ok. Pizza was small. Feels like it is from the 80's and has never changed. Food isn't expensive and I can only vouch for my pizza, but it would have to be much better to justify paying more. I wouldn't say don't visit Etna, just don't have high expectations.

Staff brilliant food brilliant and overall experience was wonderful. Definitely go back. Highly recommended it the whole experience

Excellent food, fabulous staff and fantastic atmosphere! Highly recommend.Faultless💋

It is always fantastic both in food and table entertainment/service thank you had another great night to celebrate my granddaughters 19 birthday 🎂 🥳

Best Italian in town, well made food and cosy feel

I came here for my birthday at lunch with 9 friends and we all had a fabulous time. The food was excellent and reasonably priced. The owner Mimmo who served us was a real character and gave great service. We will definitely be back😀😀

Brilliant place, lovely owner. Really good food

Mimmo is a fantastic host! Me and my partner love coming here. The food is always delicious and at a very reasonable price. The homemade limoncello tastes incredible 😋. I would recommend Etna to anyone.

The best pescatore pizza ever!!

Great Italian food... wine... ambience...with personal service from the owner. Really enjoyed it.

Nice welcoming atmosphere, still very traditional Italian. Don't ever change, love the place.

Really lovely ambiance and excellent service!

Good food Great value Best tiramisu I've ever eaten Lovely people 10 out of ten

Always the same Always wondeful

The food was very poor. Barely cooked, tinned peas in the lasagne and the pizza was very small, stodgy and tasted unusually strange. The Coke was only 200ml for £1.99, which is a bit of a rip-off. The only thing it had going for it was that it was empty on a busy day.

Food is great, and the staff are amazing. Always made to feel right at home! Really enjoy visiting and would recommend Etna to anyone in Lancaster.

Absolutely dreadful service, 2 young kids who seemed not to be fed the right information. We were a party of about 20, the staff had no idea who had ordered what, wouldn't let us pay for the drinks as we went along as they only had one card machine! I didn't get my main course and mine was ordered specially as I have an allergy. Food was bland, well my starter and garlic bread. Main meals, the portions were so small. This place used to be the best, now it seems the worst! Very disappointed!

Small intimate restaurant with excellent food and service.