Il Camino in Maldon

Went here tonight, this was only our second visit in 15 years but will not be our last, we will return soon. Arrived and was seated at our table, drinks order taken while we looked at the menu. Only one waitress working but she seemed to cope well, friendly and polite. Menu is not massive but there is a good selection with items we have not had before so great to try a few new things. My wife and son started with a mushrooms starter and I had the rings of pasta, all the starters were well presented and tasted fantastic nothing not to like. Now on to our mains, my wife had the lamb shank, our son had chicken Brest which again was better than ive made it sound and I had the swordfish. This was were I thought I was going to have an issue as it stated it came with sun dried tomato crust and I’m not a fan of tomatoes so I asked if I could have it without, the waitress came back and said it was already on the fish so I said okay thinking I might have to scrape it off but went it arrived I tried it and it tasted lovely so I’m glad it was on there. All of our mains looked great and were very tasty. Then to finish off my wife and I had the tiramisu and our son had crème brûlée, again these didn’t disappoint. To sum up great food, friendly staff at a fair price, nothing not to like well worth a visit.

A wonderful Valentines evening with exceptional food. One of the best menus I’ve seen in a long time….was hard to make a choice! The restaurant was full but ran like a well oiled machine. The service was perfect and the staff lovely. Definitely a new favourite place for me! Would highly recommend.

Like eating in an Italian home! Food authentic, service great, atmosphere just right 👍🏼

Absolutely outstanding! The chicken and mushrooms in white wine sauce is without doubt the best meal I have ever had, and I say that with no exaggeration. I will be dreaming about it for years to come. The lady serving was attentive and charming, and the head chef/owner was also a delight. The atmosphere was perfect; cosy but not cramped, not too noisy, but did leave wanting more of that incredible food 😅 Can't wait to come back! 😊

Absolutely fantastic I wish I could give more stars

Absolutely outstanding, a small restaurant with a lovely atmosphere. The food was amazing and different to lost italians, with lovely personal service. A real gem would highly recommend.

A lovely surprise. Very personal dining experience, great menu and very reasonablypriced. Would definitely recommend.

Very good food reasonable priced

An excellent restaurant. Service was exceptional for special celebration of 70th birthday with 12 of us who live in Maldon. Staff were very helpful. A lovely atmosphere. Food and wines excellent with wide choice. Lovely touches as restaurant provided birthday cake . Menus were printed to mark the 70th birthday! When we left, the manager gave the person who was 70 a bottle of champagne.

I chose this restaurant for nine of us to eat dinner at for the following reasons: Town Centre Location, Age & Style of the Building and most importantly the menu. We were not disappointed in any of these areas. Great location, a wonderful building full of character and food of the highest quality cooked to a fantastic standard. From entering the door we were looked after by the waiting staff and as our dinner came towards the end The Chef/Owner came out to us and spoke passionately about his love for what he does. We were presented with two complimentary bottles of red wine which just added to the occasion of our anniversary dinner. The menu prices are very affordable and excellent value considering the quality of the food. The house wine was fresh and tasty other wines consumed were well priced and thoroughly enjoyed. All nine of us were very pleased at the choice of Il Camino and I am pleased to recommend this restaurant to others. I also want to say a special thank you for the patience and flexibility that was shown towards me when organising the booking, particularly with our number and seating arrangement. Because of the nature of our visit with persons travelling from different parts of the UK and abroad I called and changed the numbers on a number of occasions. Thank You so much. A fantastic night was enjoyed by all.

Had an army reunion meal here. Everything was first class, food service and atmosphere.

Fantastic authentic Italian serving delicious food. Chef & owner so passionate about what he does and this pays off with his delivery of plate after plate of amazing flavors. Our first visit and we will definitely be back - the staff were lovely, friendly and efficient, the prices here are more than reasonable. We were amazed how 1 chef & 2 staff managed to run the restaurant with such professionalism, every table was taken, we can see why - perfect from start to finish, thank you for a lovely evening

Such a beautiful meal for our anniversary, and Maurizio treated us so well. The food was outstanding (all of it) but an extra special mention has to go to the mussels as a starter, incredibly delicious. Staff wonderful as ever and the whole meal such good value for money. Thank you, we’ll see you again soon.

Exceptional food and service. We visited tonight for my sons 18th and it was everything we had hoped for, amazing food and a lovely atmosphere.

We had an excellent meal in il Camino on Wednesday evening. My wife had asparagus and I had mozzarella with tomatoes. For mains I had venison and my wife monkfish with a selection of vegetable which were fresh and tasty. We eat out regularly in Maldon and Danbury and the prices in Il Camino are the most reasonable in the area. Highly recommended

Fantastic food, really good service. Menu choice was great, and had a good selection for anyone gluten free!!

As ever, the food was exceptional, every bit of it. This is such a beautiful restaurant, and anyone that hasn’t been is missing out, and you really should make the time to visit. We cannot recommended it highly enough!

The definition of mediocrity. The service was perfect, the waitress friendly and amiable. However, the food was extremely disappointing. The starters were decent however they were nothing special. The mains were just thrown on the plate with no care. The venison was tough and bland with no real taste that would discern it as venison. When we complained, the chef came out and assured us that the meat was of high quality, which confirms that it was not the quality of produce but lack of skill as a chef that created a poor meal. With the meals there was a side of tasteless vegetables that really did not add to the meal. The steaks were okay, there was nothing notable about them. The same could be said about the Brasato di Carni Miste which was average, the same quality of food can be and is regularly prepared in my home. The pork belly was very tasty and we had no problems with. Finally, all the items that came with a sauce were drowned in it, this was a poor attempt at hiding the lack of flavor. I am extremely disappointed in this meal and would never recommend it to anyone

Came to Il Camino to celebrate my husband’s birthday. What a wonderful restaurant! Such a traditional old Italian with a lovely atmosphere. Food was superb & the staff were so friendly & attentive. Every part of our meal was so enjoyable & the price was surprisingly reasonable too.Will definitely be back! Thankyou to all the staff for a great evening.

Wow ! Found this restaurant by chance, and we'll definitely be back. Staff so friendly and attentive, and food was really reasonable. We were brought a bowl of breads first, really lovemy touch. We both had sea bass, large portions , loads of vegetables,beautifully cooked. Drinks were very reasonable too. We will definitely be back, we will book next time to make sure we get a table!

Excellent food, our waitress was charming, very well looked after. Highly recommend II Camino for special occasions, or just a delightful super.

A cosy, warm restaurant offering excellent food with amazing flavours. Mauritzio goes the extra mile for his customers. We will come again.

Absolutely fantastic. The service was excellent, it felt like we were the only customers. The food was sublime everthing was beautifully cooked and tasted fabulous we would recommend highly and will definitely go again. 5*

Just been to il Camino for Valentine night with my husband, really fresh and tasty food, very friendly and welcoming, definitely recommend

Fabulous food and staff. The food was excellent, really well presented and good value. Staff were very friendly and welcoming. Would recommend as adults only and not to be spoilt by children.

Excellent food Friendly and attentive service from the restaurant owner

Excellent service, freshly cooked, lovely selection of vegetables cooked perfectly.

I took my mum here for dinner on a very rare evening out. We chose this restaurant because of the reviews left here. Unfortunately we were so underwhelmed and disappointed. The negative experience started as we walked in the restaurant to be met with a strong musky, stale smell that was very unpleasant. The decor was in dire need of a touch up and the area was grubby. The window we were looking at had a long, filthy curtain that was pulled to one side up the wall with a dirty extension lead running under it. We were given bread as we sat down that was stale and we were unable to eat it. We both chose the pork in red wine jus and asked for it to be cooked so there was no pink in it but was also tender. When our server told the chef we heard him complain about this request. It is entirely possible to cook pork well but retain the flavour and soft texture. Unfortunately the pork was chewy and the red wine jus had not been reduced enough and so smelled and tasted of red wine. The vegetables had not been seasoned, just partially boiled and so the carrots were nearly raw. All in all it was a very disappointing experience. We were both shocked at the quality of food and the cleanliness and upkeep of the restaurant itself as the reviews we read were positive and the food prices per dish were not cheap. The food was over priced. To top all this off a 10% service charge was automatically added to the final bill, I can understand this for a large group of people but is not appropriate for just two people. Really sorry to say that we would not return.

We were welcomed ok. We had bread to start, which was a measly small baguette…..of which i asked them to top it up. Whilst we were eating the bread and oli es the starter came out! I kindly said can you not bring out whilst we were eating the bread and olives. There was a huff and a puff…..I wasn’t impressed by that. Think poor training. Saying that the starters we very nice albeit very very small. The main course, my partner ordered Fish Stew. There was very minimal meat for the price of £15.95 and she found it very sour! When i asked for something to be done about it, the owner was not understanding and downgraded the value if the meal to £9.95!!!! This should not have been charged in the first place!!!! Now ive been to this restaurant a few times with no issues but this has left a sour taste in my mouth and will not be returning in the near future! This place has a policy if adding 10% service charge to the bill too, this should be discretionary not forced. Bad business acumen and sense towards its customers!

Went to this very friendly Italian restaurant in Maldon, High Street. The food was absolutely amazing and the waitress was very attentive. Unfortunately we had a table of six next to us that must have hearing problems. Would definitely go again.

We visit Il Camino regularly, normally with family but is also perfect for date night or with friends! Service is always impeccable and food amazing! It’s nice to go to an Italian that doesn’t have chips or pizza! If you are looking for a traditional, heart felt Italian, this is the place to be!

We had an adult family dinner for seven of us. the food we had was lovely and where applicable cooked to our liking. Service was very good and we thought that both the food and drinks were very reasonably priced. we had a great evening all round.

Unfortunately giving this restaurant 1 of 5 isn’t doing it justice. They run out of steak so I ordered the duck and the fat was so chewy. Food took a couple of hours to come out, by time I wasn’t hungry. Price wise you would of thought you would get better service and quality.

In trasferta di lavoro in Uk, cercavo un ristorante italiano. Cibo eccellente, proprietario e staff molto gentili, conto più che...

Second time going and it was as beautiful and delicious as the first. Its the best Italian restaurant around. Hands down. The chef is from Italy and the food is all his own. Amazingly priced and the customer service is second to none. 10/10.

You can easily cook a better meal from home . Very over priced . Frozen fish etc . It was a good family run buisness .a real shame.

We had a lovely meal there this evening great food, lovely staff , Excellent value ,would recommend this restaurant 👍

Below par food. Sent one main back and didn't wife didn't finish hers. Very dry salmon, it's almost certainly frozen. Bland vegetables served as a side to the main dishes have literally zero imagination put into them. Only two stars due to it being on the cheaper end of dining out. Definitely wouldn't return. Most home cooks can knock up a better meal than we had here.

We had bread an olives and balsamic to start and the bread was just a small standard baguette very dissapointing. Then i had the ribs there was 5 small little ribs on a big plate with a sauce tasteing of worcester sauce I then had...

Not knowing what to expect-We we’re pleasantly surprised! We had a lovely evening. You can tell the quality is consistent by the number of regulars. The chef is knocking out homely/ classic Italian food, which you can’t get anywhere else. Don’t go for garlic bread...

Nice friendly atmosphere, staff were very helpful.

Amazing family run restaurant with exemplary food quality. Would highly recommend this place to anybody local / visiting.

Have wanted to try for a long time, not what I expected. Expected more really, didnt think there was a great choice of food, not much room to move inside and cramped in the corner.Food was ok one meal was sent back as the Seabass...

Lovely evening, pleasant and helpful staff, food was excellent. Would recommend and go back again.

Pleasant evening with wife and sister in law. Pleasant environment in the oldest building in Maldon. Good food, good service, good price. Nice to chat to staff, who have been there a while, about the building and its history. Haven't been there for quite a few years. Will be going back. My sorta place.

Great food...great atmosphere... Compliments to both staff & chef..

We visited on 30th July, booked in advance after hearing a recommendation from a listener on BBC Essex. We don't live in Maldon and booked overnight accommodation in a nearby pub especially for our visit to this restaurant. We were not disappointed! The owner/chef could...

Proper Italian food, a very pleasant change from the usual chain pap

Well, in Maldon and looking for a special place for dinner. Sure Maldon can do less badly, but not obvious. Yes restaurants are struggling for staff, but here they lost the fight. Food is good, the veg need a bit of livening up. Sadly the...

Good service, lovely food, good wine. A real treat! Wouldn't hesitate to return.

Excellent food and service. Cant fault it in any way. Our first visit but we will definitely be going in the future.

Great food, service and atmosphere. Three generations in our party and all three courses were finished. More of a traditional Italian and not just pizza. Definitely recommend to my friends and family.

Best experience. Free glass of bubbles on arrival. Lovely food great staff and brilliant atmosphere. Mauricio has surpassed himself.

My partner and I came here for a birthday dinner recently and everything from the service to the food itself was wonderful. There was still an atmosphere despite social distancing, as the interior itself is very pretty and interesting to look at. Fully recommend for...

Wonderful restaurant. Excellent food and wine list and lovely owner and staff. Very Covid secure.

Received a very warm welcome on our first visit. Food and service were excellent. We enjoyed ourselves so much we made a second visit on the last night of our 3 night stay at the Swan in Maldon.

All three of us had an absolutely fabulous evening. Lovely and accommodating waiting staff and by far the best meal out that we had in a while. If you're looking for a reasonably priced Italian beyond pizza, look no further.

Amazing food. Both the starters and mains had amazing flavours. Very rich sauces and satisfying meal sizes. Will definitely be going back. Friendly and professional staff too.

Myself and my wife managed to get a table a the eat out to help out. It's somewhere that we haven't tried before and found it a great opportunity to do so. Upon entering it lacked atmosphere and was very quiet. There were two very...

The owner had time to chat to his guests, reasonable choice on the menu, however if you require Pizza this is not for you. Good choice of wine at reasonable prices.

We booked a table for my wifes birthday on a Friday night. Firstly let me say that the food itself was very good. We probably didn't choose the best time to visit due to the concerns generally over the coronavirus and this being an Italian...

We did pre book a table, just as well as all tables were occupied while we were there. Waitresses were friendly and happy to explain the dishes. We had three courses plus drinks and coffee. Our meals were excellent, I wasn't keen on the house...

After reading reviews we booked a table for Saturday night to celebrate our anniversary and were pleased we did. The restaurant is local for us and is quaint and small, it was warm inside and the staff were welcoming and helpful. We parked in a...

My favourite place to eat. Stunning food. Small but very cosy.

Very Cosy, warm ,inviting Italian Resturant, Top quality food , With service to match, a must for anyone enjoying , A special evening , or just on a stroll in maldon, ***** mald through maldono

Lovely restaurant with friendly service and amazing food cooked to order. Recommend the seafood options - especially the Scallops. will definitely return.

You must reserve your table in advance here, or be disappointed. Fine Italian dishes, fine wines, attentive service. Doesn't look much from outside but inside is full of character very old building. We celebrated our wedding anniversary there and were surprised to see local friends...

Excellent food as per normal. 🙂

We went as a group of 4 friends for a celebratory meal.Three of us ordered starters, mains & dessert - but, unfortunately our fourth member was unable to manage more than a starter of pasta. On ordering this,the waitress then proceeded to upbraid her, telling her it would be against the law for her to drink a glass of wine unless at least a main was ordered (Quite untrue). Although the food served was of a good standard, this rather unnecessary interaction somewhat dampened the atmosphere of our special meal.

Fantastic food, well-priced and relaxed vibe. This is the best restaurant in Maldon.

Visited for the first time last Saturday. Bit weird that you knock at the door to get in, but hey we all have our quarks. We had 3 courses, all nicely presented and tasty. I had calves liver which was lovely, mushy husband had pork...

Went to Il Camino for a family celebration last Friday. From booking our table to paying our bill the service was excellent. We were greeted on arrival by the owner ad made to feel very welcome. Our party of 10 all ordered starters and mains which were absolutely delicious, full of flavour and very well presented. The house wine was very pleasant and reasonably priced. We also ordered a celebration cake for dessert which was delicious. If you want somewhere for a special occasion or just an evening out try I'll Camino. I don't think you will be disappointed.

Food Okay service Okay but not very welcomingwe had table of 6 Were told to be quite we are disturbing other diners. We are in late 50s business people we are not loud but told to keep it quiet. Apparently couple next to us didn't like it that we talked while waiting for our meal. Then they left we had our meal then also left there loss as we all eat out a lot in Maldon areabut not there! The same night they also told a table of eight to be quite they also left .Believe me with that attitude there business model is deemed to fail

We have been to Il Camino several times over a number of years and are never disappointed. Tonight my wife had Asparagus and myself Meatballs as main courses. Absolutely delicious! Service was top notch too. Thoroughly recommend this restaurant. Looking forward to coming back soon....

Good food and wine list. a little quirky you have to knock to get in. Mid week offers can be good value.

Our first visit here for a family celebration was a real revelation. For here you will find good Italian food excellently coked and presented. Table service is efficient while not over the top.

Service slightly slow to begin with, but once the drinks came then the food, everything was spot on. Lovely food, everything full of flavour, definitely would recommend and definitely will visit again.

We were lucky enough to get a table without booking and had a fantastic meal the food was tasty, well presented and extremely good value. The staff were friendly, helpful and efficient.

The best Italian restaurant in England possibly the world

Lovely food. The ribs for starter are amazing!!

Having walked past this place so many time we thought we next give it a try. Having to knock on the door and wait for it to be open gave it a feeling of classiness. We were offered three tables in different areas of the restaurant. The wine list is small and is very reasonably priced as is the food. We had Pasta and scallops for starters both delicious, the food was hot! That’s sounds crazy but in a lot of restaurants its only warm, they really do cook each meal fresh. Mains was Rib in a peppercorn sauce slightly more done than i would f liked but tasty, The Sea Bass was gorgeous wish i had ordered that. Deserts were lovely the sauce on the plate was divine. So my results in tour de-Maldon food excellent unfortunately it scored a four because of the environment and some other little touches.

Excellent fresh Italian food, a very good place to eat

We have lived in Maldon for years but for some reason never considered trying this restaurant. Friends booked and invited us to join them, glad that we did. We were only a small party of six and all of us really enjoyed our evening. Nice relaxing atmosphere, attentive service from the two waitresses. We all found a dish to suit us on the menu and all of us really enjoyed every part of the meal. Considering the amount we had to drink, wine, beer etc I feel that at a cost of around £40 per head including 10% service represented great value for money. We all agreed that we will not hesitate in visiting again.

The food was nice but the service was too fast and felt very rushed.

Felt very rushed and hurried with our 10 year wedding anniversary meal and portions were very small, waitresses spent more time chatting with the chef and then rushing our plates from the table and quickly returning with next course. Overall just very rushed and didn't feel like a valued customer, in and out quickly seems their attitude, won't be returning unless it changes.

It was cosy and friendly and the food good although they ran out of house red and did not offer the next cheapest at the same price which was an opportunity lost. Service was slow as the two waitresses were very busy and staffing was too low.

Having visited a number of years back and being slightly underwhelmed, made a return visit on Saturday. What a different experience! Fantastic service and delicious food. Will definitely be returning.

A simply great place to eat. Lovely ambiance, great friendly service and excellent, well priced food.This is a hard to beat restaurant. Ribs for starters and the lamb shank strongly recommended. Has to be the best place to eat in Maldon.

Visited on a Friday evening without booking, staff lovely especially young waitress. Decor needs refurb and toilet area smells damp toilet seat broken. Food is homely and reasonably well executed, it is good value but not the place for that special meal.

Booked here for a meal and catch up with friends on Saturday night.Food was great and even though they were full and busy the staff were very attentive and we didn’t have to wait long for anything.We all had three courses from pork ribs, scallops, sea bass, duck and enjoyed everything.Great atmosphere and stayed there all evening, in fact we were last to leave.Would definitely go again.

We visited Il Camino on Saturday night for my birthday meal with my husband, we had pre booked our table and were seated in the window.

My partner and I went for dinner at Il Camino and it was honestly one of the best meals out I’ve had in a long time.

We had such a lovely meal on Tuesday. We wanted somewhere special for our anniversary but we are increasingly frustrated by restaurants charging extra for vegetables and potatoes. We just wanted good quality food that is cooked/prepared by someone who knows how they want it to be eaten and cares about it as a whole meal. We have often dismissed this restaurant and now feel that we have been missing out. We had perfectly cooked king prawns, scallops, venison and lamb shank. Then delicious desserts and a really good Gavi. The owner/chef and waiter were friendly and welcoming and created an authentic atmosphere, even down to knocking on the door to come in. Just imagine you are in a little Italian village calling round to Nona’s for dinner. Shame the seating isn’t at one huge wooden kitchen table! The prices are excellent and there is even a two for one offer in the week. We will be back, thank you.

We had used Mauricio's establishment some years ago and decided to revisit for a celebration meal. We were not disappointed. The service was very friendly without being imposing. The menu had a good choice and the wine list had sensible prices. As we visited on a Wednesday we were able to avail ourselves of a 2 for 1 deal. Yes the choices on this offer were limited but we both found something we liked. Even without the deal the menu is not unreasonably priced. The food was all freshly prepared and very tasty as well as the portions being a good size. We must go again!

Have to knock on the door and wait for a while to get in.

We loved it specially as the owner highlights Fish & Meat as opposed to pasta, even had a Rabbit dish!, add an affordable wine list and a midweek Offer on the excellent food and we were set for the evening. Special interest to me as i was born next door (many, many, years ago) and could supply the grateful owner with some background of the building. All 4 of us enjoyed our meals and will certainly return and i personally appreciate it when the owner/Chef is very much "front of house" when not in the kitchen. ..

Excellent authentic Italian food. Good selection and cooked to order. Also good wine selection and service. Nice surprise for birthday!!

We had booked exclusive use of Il Camino on Sunday 17 June for a triple celebration - our Ruby Wedding Anniversary, plus two birthdays, plus Fathers' Day - which we attended along with 23 family guests. Maurizio, the owner and chef, had offered us a menu which provide an impressive choice of 9 starters and 8 main courses, and so there was plenty of choice. Everyone enjoyed their meals, all freshly prepared from ingredients of high quality. Many said that they were surprised at the speed of the service, bearing in mind that there is only one chef.

We are regulars at this little italian restaurant. The menu has a good mix of dishes but for me the swordfish is outstanding, both succulent, tender and mouthwatering. Accompanied with the chilled house white, a perfect marriage and the wife agreed!!

We visited this restaurant last Saturday evening and it was fantastic. It’s USP was the fact that everything, yes everything is cooked to order. So as the menu makes clear, there will be a delay after ordering. It’s clear critics of the delay in receiving their meals had not read the menu properly.