Il Bacio Express in Hackney

I have been going to this place for about 5 months. Now that I have met everyone who works there, it is time to write a proper review. Starting from the pizza that is the protagonist of that restaurant, independent as you take it, you are always satisfied! For me it is the only Italian pizza in London! And I have tried many! Tiziano puts his heart into the dough and the filling. Then there is Salvo and Jitka who are two wonderful people and make you feel like you are at home (in Sardinia). The chef who prepares a lamb stew to perfection, which we have tried and reordered several times. Then there is Anna who is a professional and friendly manager. Wanderson who has a smile like the Sardinian sun 🤗 as for the desserts, we have never left without tasting one, and have never been disappointed!!! If you are looking for a place to try Sardinian cuisine, this is the place I recommend. But if you are looking for a place to eat Sardinian / Italian and feel at home I implore you to visit it because you will feel at home! For me it is the best pizza in all of London!

So pleased that this super little restaurant has moved from Church Street to nearer me. Have eaten in a couple of times now and got a large order of around 40 pizzas delivered for an event at the Mildmay last week. The pizzas are lovely - lots of choice and generous with the toppings. I also enjoy the Sardinian wine. Service is friendly and quick and their outside space is a little sun trap. Small breads offered to start and got a limoncello afterwards. Mum said the Tiramisu was delicious and one of her favourites. Nice neighbourhood restaurant!

Welcoming, great food, and reasonable prices

Absolutely love this place! I've been plenty of times before but most recently was my first time in the new location and delighted so see that nothing has changed. The food is absolutely amazing and very reasonably priced. We had both pizza and pasta this time and it was all absolutely delicious. Also recommend saving space for their gorgeous homemade Tiramisu! If you want a lovely cosy atmosphere and proper Italian food this is definitely the place to go.

Superb food, wonderful flavours and a warm and friendly atmosphere. Highly recommend.

Gem of a restaurant. First class pizza (and from the morsal of lamb I tried from my friend's plate, the rest of the menu is fantastic too), a very warm welcome and cosy atmosphere. Highly recommend!

A brilliant place! This is the IL Bacio Express on Church Street for 34 years and now back and still magnificent in Newington Green. We had a wonderful meal as a family of five, every pizza and pick from their specials was fantastic. Great value and wonderful warm hosts. Thank you and see you next time!

An amazing unique pizza. Dough very good and topping brilliant. Cheese and pear. Like a fondue pizza. Drink white wine with this.

My husband and I went there last Friday. It’s a small Italian restaurant that pleasantly surprised us. We ordered a delicious pizza – the food was fresh and flavorful. We were also served a complimentary starter of crostini and olives, and for dessert, we had a tiramisu that came in a very generous, homemade-style portion. We highly recommend this place – the chef and staff were incredibly attentive and friendly. It truly has a taste of Italy in London!

Solo eater Never had food here over the 40 years eating in Stoke Newington & N1 Great wines nice olives homemade bread Great atmosphere service Chicken escalope on the smaller side in my comparison little dry . Don’t like any kitchens to have microwave ovens when the real one works fine !

I had food poisoning after eating seafood from this restaurant. Added the receipt.

Best pizza in North London, great prices and friendliest service. Salvo and his wife and staff are lovely!

While visiting London, this cozy Italian restaurant caught our attention. We ordered two pizzas and a drink, everything was ready in no time. The pizza was made from a crispy but at the same time fluffy dough. The nice friendly owner served us warmly. Finally, we had the tiramisu, which was perfect. Pleasant music was playing in the restaurant. I really recommend this restaurant, that's why I give it 5⭐

Lovely food, great portions too. Chocolate ice cream is gorgeous!

Cold burned calzone that was soggy on the bottom & 3 slices of salami no mozzarella to see and some dead weeds! Save your money, this is awful masquerading as authentic Italian! 🇮🇹 basic bland food of dough & filling and how hard can it be. 😳

Grown up on Il Bacio pizza - will always be my fave! Love this place so much - food is delish and staff are amazing !!💖💘💓

FIVE STARS. Absolute legends ! These guys are having an outstanding pizza. And beautiful experience with the staff members. Totally recommended !

Delightful pizzas and pasta, the squid is also a must, served by lovely people. 10/10

Always fantastic food and service. Loved the restaurant when it was on Church Street. Very happy it has moved closer to me.

Hands down one of the best pizzas I’ve had in London in 8 years. Pure authentic Italian flavours and atmosphere. Staff and owners are just amazing. Food is just excellent. Same exact vibe on an actual Italian restaurant in Italy. Made me feel at home away from home. I’m not gonna forget this place!

I recently visited Il Bacio and had a delicious meal. The seafood risotto was very tasty and so was the pizza! The staff are so lovely and warm. A lovely restaurant in Stoke Newington! I highly recommend a visit! 🌟😌

Delicious food and amazing menu!

Really good pasta, first time trying Sardinian food, highly recommended

This place is just exceptional! The food is so so good I felt like I was in Italy! The service was honestly the best and I highly highly recommend this restaurant! I recommend everyone to eat here!!!

Good food but bit annoying that they don’t slice the pizza, especially if you don’t own a pizza cutter lol

It’s a smaller restaurant but makes it a lot cosier. The food is still unreal or even better. They have moved from their previous location, and we’re so lucky they have moved closer to us! Best Italian in North East London, and would dare to say in the whole of London. Best quality/price. Moreover, they do takeaway and if we order through them is a lot cheaper. They currently have not got an alcohol license, but there’s an off license next door. I’m sure they’ll deliver the best wines to go with the food whenever they do.

Incredibly kind staff. Pizza really really good and cozy inside

The pasta is made fresh on site and it outstanding! Highly recommend the mallorreddos barbaricina, absolutely delicious, simple and authentic.

I'm pleased with the quality of the pizza I ordered. The dough was amazing.

Just ordered online via Deliveroo . It was pasta ragu. It was simply inedible. First time in my life I had to throw away the food.

Really disappointed. Have been eating here for over 20 years and the meal this week was really bad. My tuna pizza was mainly tasting of salt and when the staff were told nothing was done. The starter was good as was the wine, but what has happened to Il Bacio?

One of the best meals we've had in London. Incredible atmosphere, nice patient service and food that didn't leave me with any room at all. In fact, what was left was lunch the next day. Made me want to visit Sardinia, soon!

I ordered vegetarian pizza and it was full of good veritable and was tasty.

A lovely little neighbourhood restaurant

Well priced charming little place selling properly Italian Italian food!

Delicious and intense flavours!

Very disappointing service after 20 years. Il Bacio have allowed me for a very long time to modify my order of their signature pizza so I can I have normal (cheaper) ham rather than designated Parma ham. Management have decided this will now add £2. Despite losing the Parma ham. £15. Ridiculous.

i love the food, been here for over 10 years and never misses

Piccola gemma sarda nel cuore di Stoke Newington! Amazing exceptional Food . Quality ingredients! And the best part is the a staff, very nice people, it happened that we were there and the owner decided to celebrate his employee’s birthday with customer as well! That was so nice ! Ci vediamo presto!

Apart from the door being open letting in a chill, this is one of my go to spots. The food is always good and the staff are accommodating which helps. If you're thinking to visit, you should 😁🤌🏾

Absolutely ridiculous Kept lying about driver delivery Disgusting behaviour

Always love the pizzas from here,

Delicious an authentic Sardinian restaurant in Stoke Newington. There were plenty of traditional dishes such as Sardinian sausage (salame), malloreddus, culurgiones and seadas, plus lots of more different Italian dishes. The service was great, the staff was always friendly and the price was proportioned with the quality of the food. Definitely would recommend. They also have a good wine choices with Cannonau and Vermentino.

Simple and non pretentious, food is tasty made with fresh ingredients. Service very polite and helpful

Gorgeous meal here for our New Year's Eve. Really friendly and welcoming staff; very attentive. Very extensive menu with traditional and authentic Sardinian dishes. We ordered off the specials menu - can highly recommend the culurgiones! Intimate cosy vibe with candles on the table. Was very happy to see that they stock Vermentino too and this wine did not disappoint! The staff warmly thanked us for coming and set us off on our way with a mini panettone to ring in the new year - such a kind and sweet gesture! Husband is Sardinian himself and would also highly recommend this spot! 10/10.

This is honestly the best Italian restaurant in London. All of the food is stunning and not overpriced, the staff are friendly and delivery is quick and well stored. I would highly recommend a visit to this restaurant for some of the best quality Italian food in London.

What is home? To some, a physical structure. To others, a group of people or merely a concept. To me, it's the first bite Il Bacio Express' Integrale alla Parmiaggiana. I have often wondered whether my attachment to Il Bacio Express is a function of its proximity but I can conclude with absolute certainty that this pizza is out of this world. It being extra-terrestrial, proximity plays no role. I have often heard that the pasta is the real star of the show at Il Bacio. With such a star studded cast (excellent service, Sardinian beer, and murals to make even the most seasoned aesthete weep), that is certainly saying something. Maybe one day i'll build up the courage to take a dip in those starchy waters, but for now and for the foreseeable future, Il Bacio's pizza remains the apple of my eye. My parting words are to those who have given negative reviews to Il Bacio having ordered it to your home. You don't deserve Il Bacio and all that it has to offer. If you can't be damned to get up and humble yourself before the best rotating wood fire in Stoke Newington, you ought to eat whatever leftovers are sat macerating at the back of your fridge. Humble yourselves.

My girlfriend and I thought we would eat here last night and we weren't disappointed! The food was delicious and there was so much to choose from. Not pictured were the bruschetta and arancini which were fantastic! Staff were friendly and attentive as well. We'll be going back.

Always quality food from this long-standing, beautiful little restaurant.

Hi - didn't get the tricolour salad!

Best Italian restaurant in town...if you're looking for a place to enjoy a real Italian food don't waste you're opportunity to visit this place!!!! Totally recommend it!!!!

Intrigue, balance, crispy base.

Beautiful place, delicious and prompt food, shining service and gorgeous patrons. Great company. Thank you.

This used to be my local pizzeria, and every time I come back to London I'm excited to visit. Best pizza in town in a cosy, chilled space.

Disappointing. Pizza crust was burnt and aubergine slices were too thick. Different chef?

Very happy with the order as usual. Thanks

Food is either uncooked - raw or burnt to a cinder. Disgusting. This has happened 4 times now. Yes, I am stupid for going back. If you ring them to ask for a replacement they argue and won't reimburse.

Pizza was tasty but stone cold when it arrived.

pizza with cream should be illegal to make, thrown directly in the garbage can , pizza con panna no per favore e supply non cotti bene ..

Excellent service offering good food

Il Bacio is one of my old-time favourite pizzerias in Stoke Newington. It was too hot to cook or go out today and Il Baccio came to the rescue and did not disappoint.

Delicious Sardian pizza and pasta dishes in a local restaurant at good prices that are packed with flavour

I have been dining here since I was a child and it’s always so warm and friendly everytime we head back. This is a must for anyone visiting Stokey!

Visiting the area and found this lovely authentic Italian restaurant. Lovely staff with great attention to detail. Food delicious! Would defiantly return again next time I’m in the area.

Absolutely lush pizzas delivered really quickly 🙌

Lovely pasta, salad and bruschettas - tasted very authentic and decent price for the quality too!

SO GOOD! we ordered from here and the food was incredible - I got the cannelloni. Can’t wait to come back here for a sit down meal

Pretty generous portions, so good bang for your buck. It's got a great atmosphere particularly at night and service was impeccable.

Yum as usual. High quality food, delivered hot!

strange experience. had delivery. food really good i thought. seemed a tad doughy so needed slightly longer in the oven. i had to eat as a calzone as very floppy. not ideal. toppings were lovely, but in sections! olives on 1 qtr, pepperoni on a different qtr. was bizarre and unique! olives were cut in half, but still stuck together. once i separated the olives and moved toppings around it was quite pleasant, if slightly underdone and floppy. not sure about this place, as everything seems in situ to get a properly good pizza, but sloppiness with the toppings combined with undercooking meant i don't think i saw these guys at their best as base and ingredients were tasty and fresh. disappointing as i think possible could have been top notch with a bit of care. i may order again. i may not.

strange experience. food really good i thought. seemed a tad doughy so needed slightly longer in the oven. i had to eat as a calzone as very floppy. not ideal. toppings were lovely, but in sections! olives on 1 qtr, pepperoni on a different qtr. was bizarre and unique! olives were cut in half, but still stuck together. once i separated the olives and moved toppings around it was quite pleasant, if slightly underdone and floppy. not sure about this place, as everything seems in situ to get a properly good pizza, but sloppiness with the toppings combined with undercooking meant i don't think i saw these guys at their best as base and ingredients were tasty and fresh. disappointing as i think possible could have been top notch with a bit of care. i may order again. i may not.

Absolutely amazing pizza. Highly recommend. Just wish it had arrived hotter!

The lamb was cooked well but, in some really watery liquid. The vegetable gratin was gross consisting of 3 chunk florets that hadn’t been cooked properly, I couldn’t cut through them with regular cutlery. Poorly seasoned, very thin runny liquid & the tiniest amount of mozzarella cheese. The tiramisu was all sponge, thinnest layer of cream & pretty tasteless/ didn’t balance well at all, like way over diluted coffee. If I hadn’t just got in & wasn't exhausted, I would have walked round & asked them to make it again. It was shocking.

Great food- reasonable prices. Lovely atmosphere and brilliant waiting staff.

Best family restaurant in Stoke Newington

Went on a chilly Sunday evening for dinner with 2 of my housemates and l and took the risk by ordering a vegan Margherita pizza. It was delicious and it tasted like the real thing. Happy tummy, happy me! They serve free fresh breads as you expect in a more traditional Italian restaurant. My other housemate ordered a meatball salad, garlic bread, and the other, another pizza and a salad (I forgot which one). We finished it off with ice creams for dessert. We were all satisfied with our food and the time it took to be served and will surely be back here. Overall, it was a lovely experience. They allowed our dog in which was also excellent!

Absolutely amazing down to earth Italian food. Cute and cozy environment, lovely service, and quality ingredients. Thanks!

Dog-friendly...? Yes they are! So delighted. Been three times already. As of December 2022 it seems. I would love to be able to go to this restaurant again - they always did fabulous pizzas and Sardinian food, far far better than the chains round about. The problem is that I have a small dog who gets furious if I leave her at home. Il Bacio is not dog-friendly so I can no longer go. I would really appreciate a change in policy. I had to go to The Blue Legume instead, and discovered that they let dogs in the restaurant as well as outside and their prawn linguine was delicious! Il Bacio seem to have unwittingly pushed me towards someone else's business! La Duchesse also lets dogs into the cafe with no apparent problem. Please reconsider. Everyone around Church Street seems to have a dog these days and businesses are adapting accordingly.

Wrong item, and awful presentation of the pasta. The chips looked really bad too. I did not pick up the food and still got charged.

They really know how to make an amazing risotto! Highly recommend.

The food arrived before I was notified that it was on the way. It was delicious thank you

Pizza was like just out of the fridge. Quite expensive and cold experience.

Worst customer service, do not welcome black people

Food arrived piping hot, it was delicious, perhaps you should put a choice of regular or large portions, it was sooo nice I am sorely tempted to eat the food ordered for my husband. Thank you, will definitely be ordering again.

Super rude service phoned to complain over a mashed up Caesar salad and a mashed up calzone pizza all messed up all for a lovely £32 and on top that the guy started to talk over me and being rude as an Italian can only he don’t waste your money in this arrogant establishment we where regular clients for sure I will never order again and will advise anyone to do the same. Everyone works hard for their money now these days and seeing places like these having totally disregard for a persons hard earned money really puts you off ordering any take way whatsoever save money cook at home 🙌 not worth the hassle the disrespect or the price tag

Really bad unprofessional customer service on the phone tonight. Order arrived all mixed with sauce dripping through boxes. We called and got a rude guy who could not give a heck. Obviously not bothered about their customers or quality....

Delicious! Loved the bread with the risotto. Mind you, not 100% sure the ice cream was quite worth the price but it was nice.

Everything good as usual just the fiorentina needed more time in the oven as the egg white was very runny. I had to put it in my oven for some extra minutes to cook it through. Tasted great after.

This is my favourite restaurant in London. Food is great, tasty and authentic, service great.

High disappointed and disgusted by the device and quality of food A 1 star review is too high for the experience I had. When I walked in I saw the chef sneeze all over the counter and his hands, which he did not wash. The food was cold and raw with a hair inside of it. When I complained to the waiter he said the chef refused to remake my food or give me a refund, he gave nothing complimentary and was rude when i payed. Highly disgusting I do not recommend going here even if no food place is open you are better off starving. 🤢🤮🤮🤮🤮

Yummy Italian takeaway! Really good gluten free pizza base (one of the best I’ve had). Incredible pasta as well - the sauce is *kisses fingers* We ordered gluten free dessert as well but that sadly did not come. Overall really tasty and affordable!

The pizza is amongst the best in London: crunchy with quality ingredients (including some that most pizzerie do not offer). The delivery is always on time and the pizza arrives warm.

A pity about the poor service. Our waitress was very poor, got some of our starters and mains wrong resulting in one of our party watching others eat whilst waiting for the correct dish. The food was great from a very extensive menu. The menu and quality of food is the main thing and therefore I would go again.

Home delivery, I love Thier pizzas! the dough is thin and crunchy and the ingredients are always tasty. Never tried the dine in experience: will give it a try soon!

The ravioli were absolutely amazing

Horrid service delivery took hours , called the restaurant and the manager was rude and uncaring and when the delivery driver finally arrived he was rude and abusive, insisting I rustled up £4 more than how much the food costs on the menu and once the food arrived it was cold.I woudlnt recommend

Disgusting service. We came in at 4 and got seated straight away which was good until there were little mice scurrying around our feet at our table outside . We then complained to the “boss” who proceeded to get offended and claimed “we don’t own the street it’s not our fault “. If this is what we see i can only imagine what goes on in the kitchen behind the scenes? Needless to say I will not be returning to this death trap .

Really nice Sardinian restaurant.

I usually love this place and have ordered loads of times, but this order was disappointing. The food came a bit late, but that's not a big issue. More of an issue was that the egg on the Fiorentina pizza wasn't cooked properly. No one wants runny egg white on a pizza! I had to re-cook the pics even after it arrived late so I was pretty annoyed.

You only gave me one Pasta when I ordered two. The bread of the Bruschetta was soggy.