Il Palazzo (Chelmsford) in Chelmsford

WE WERE VERY PLEASED WITH THE GREETING THAT WE GOT FROM A COUPLE OF WAITERS,SEATED QUICKLY AND SERVED WITH DRINKS AND THEN LEFT ALONE TO DECIDE WHAT WE WANTED TO EAT.THE FOOD WAS SERVED HOT AND VERY TASTY AND THE WAITERS VERY ATTENTIVE WITHOUT BEING OVER ZEALOUS.WE THOROUGHLY ENJOYED THE EXPERIENCE AND WOULD RETURN.

OUTSTANDING linguine granchio e gamberetti! Every mouthful of this crab and prawn pasta dish was perfection. I started the meal with their traditional prawn cocktail which was also good. This restaurant has a family run feel and clearly regular clientele who return time and again. It’s a popular haunt for theatre goers and visiting performers alike - highly recommend a visit if you’re passing through Chelmsford!

Lovely first visit, will definitely return to try again

A wonderful fine ding Italian experience. They offer a 2 course menu or a la carte. Service is attentive and prices are reasonable. The pizzas, calzone and pasta were amazing. Recommended

What a great restaurant to visit before a show, or anytime. The service from all the staff was great. Very friendly but efficient. Food was great and timely. Can't wait to go again

Ordered delivery via Just Eat, waited 90 mins no updates or even acknowledged the order was being prepared. Just the delivery time moving out further and further post 9:30pm so I gave up… ordered at 7:20pm. The order never came. AVOID

Lovely food and service. Great for a lively pre theatre meal or a little later for a more relaxed atmosphere. A good range of choices on the menu.

We all had a great experience and lived the food. All first class.

Although busy they were very accommodating to a group of us who walked in off the street.

Pre show dinner regulars. Very busy, great food, service, attitude, environment. The approach here is to make an enjoyable dining experience with friendly service and good with fair priced food. We will be back ! And happy to leave a service tip.

We always come here for special occasions - it's a favourite with all our family. Great food, lovely atmosphere, attentive and polite staff.

I was in this beautiful place last night and I have very nice dishes.The food was amazing.And the staff very friendly. I highly recommend this restaurant.I was sitting near the the window and near us was sitting a table of 7 people.They were very rude with the staff and with the owner as well. They spoke very rudely to the staff and their behavior left much to be desired. The owner should take them out for what they did. The staff was very friendly and spoke very nicely to them but their behavior left much to be desired. People like them should not be allowed in the restaurant.

Food was really bad the owner started to argue with us when we told him that there is a Italian flag outside and that the food was not Italian the pasta was boiled days ago and then they just boiled them again. It was mushy and the staff were rude to us

We went because we think is an italian restaurant. very poor options and nothing regarding the italian cusine.The quality of food is rubish.And the customer service is horrible. They don't accept any feedback about food quality and service.They told us if we are not happy we can go to another italian restaurant.Very very rude. For the 1st time in Uk I had the worst eating out experience.

Staff very rude and food was horrible, Don’t go here!

Food filled with oil the owner was rude.. Never coming back all the food was bad

Just went here for a lovely belated Birthday/Valentines meal. Was greeted and looked after very attentively. Food came at perfect intervals and was absolutely delicious very good prices too. Vibe of the restaurant was great, they were busy which is always a good sign but not crowded. All staff friendly and courteous, would definitely recommend and return again.

A nice little restaurant with a decent menu and tasty food. Staff were all very friendly.

Really good Italian food with a real home-cooked feel I recommend their pasta dishes, which I think they excel at. The pizzas are great but I think their pasta dishes are just a notch above! On my third visit to this restaurant on business, I went for the penne with chicken and cream. Really good, flavoursome and satisfying, just as a good pasta dish should be! I have also enjoyed and recommend the salmon spaghetti dish and any pizza. The atmosphere is friendly and warm. It feels like a family restaurant (which I think it is?)

Lovely meal in a lovely friendly restaurant. We hadn’t made a booking New Year’s Eve and they squeezed us in and made us feel right at home. There was even confusion with my order, which the fixed twice (I ordered something that wasn’t basically on the menu and they fulfilled my request once they realised my mistake) Thanks for a a lovely evening and I’ll remember next time chicken shouldn’t traditionally be in an arrabiata.

Much too noisy place. The restaurant was almost empty when we arrived. The waiter placed us right in the middle of two tables with screaming children. Pasta carbonara is not true “Italian version” carbonara. “Lardons” are low end. And the sauce isn't great. Parmesan is not left on the table. We are disappointed. Even in France: we eat better carbonara pasta! The waiter didn't appreciate the fact that we didn't have drinks. We do not recommend!

"Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me...." Il Palazzo helped me to celebrate 'Birthday Eve' with my mum. Very busy so warm atmosphere. Attentive staff without being overbearing. Mum suggested this restaurant after recent visit following a recommendation. Mum LOVED her Linguine Granchio E Gamberetti & Tiramisu. Sadly, my Penne Pollo was a tad bland but ratio of chicken strips to pasta was good! Was full so opted for chocolate ice cream for dessert. Restaurant surprised me with a birthday candle & chorus of "Happy Birthday' & all (if not many) staff & customers clapped for me which was really lovely. Authentic Italian cuisine reasonably priced!

Love this restaurant! Always go when I'm in town 😍

Authentic family run Italian restaurant with good atmosphere & food. Good value lunch menu

Great food great service absolutely lovely restaurant.

Lively authentic Italian restaurant opposite the theatre with a great value 2-course pre-theatre menu.

Lovey pizzas and food highly recommend

It was very good. You saw the plate... 😅

Went for mid week lunch. Even though we ate from the set lunch menu they tweaked the dishes to suit our requests. Can’t fault them in any way.

The food was delicious, the service was friendly and professional, and we had a great time! I would recommend and like to come back again.

We went here for my son’s birthday and we will definitely be visiting again. Staff were so attentive & friendly, food was delicious, I had calamari & prawn linguine which was really tasty. They even sang happy birthday to my son & gave him a dessert with a candle & we all had limoncello on the house!

Came for a lovely dinner. Atmosphere was very homely and the service was incredible! The food was very good and fresh. Food was quick coming out too. Perfect meal to end to the day! Thank you!

Don’t know about the food, but it would be nice if you would update the times you’re open. On the arrival (it was Saturday 13:58) I’ve been told they are closing at 14:30…. So unfortunately didn’t get a chance to try the food.

We had a brilliant time here . Food was lovely. Our whole group was very happy . Atmosphere was ok, nothing special but ok. Plenty of seating and you didn't feel elbow to elbow with your fellow diners. Definitely will be returning

Service excellent friendly attentive. We had pizza, risotto, pasta, dessert, all wonderful tasty, good portion meals. Lovely cloth napkins and sparkling cutlery. We thought very good price. We live in east devon and it would be hard to bet this wonderful restaurant. Thoughly enjoyed our meal, we even returned the next day for an excellent lunch and how lovely the waiter remembered us. Brilliant! Thank you il palazzo.

The website says ‘true taste of Italy’ Highly misleading All meals are prepped with heated frozen and tinned sauces The escalope definitely was pre frozen and overcooked and dry No Italian flavours We have eaten in many Italian restaurants and eaten in Italy many times This food was far from authentic Was suspicious in view of the size of the menu but was lead by good reviews

Great location for Chelmsford Theatre (1 minute away). Definitely book a table as it was very busy. The food was fabulous but unfortunately the service on our visit was poor and we had a very long wait to even order drinks let alone food- think it was just too busy. Would go again but with the knowledge that it may be slow and worth it for the food! 👍

Came here for a pre theatre dinner and so glad we did! Service was really quick despite the restaurant being full. The food was delicious and the prices so reasonable. Would definitely go back.

My absolute favourite pizza place. The most delicious pizza in all of England dare I say.

Fantastic staff, atmosphere food & drinks delicious Shah briilent waiter

Shah was most attentive and helpful

Authentic Italian experience! Incredible food, freshly prepared by attentive wait staff with a smile. We are a fussy party of 4 adults and 2 children (8 & 12) and all loved our food which rarely happens! Pasta, pizza, desserts - everything was fantastic. A great menu with just the right amount of choice and very reasonably priced. The chocolate ganache was one the best desserts I’ve ever had! We will be back!

Nice place:) generous with the Parmesan

I had a lovely meal here at lunch time ,the food was fantastic, really tasty and served in great time. All of the staff were great and really friendly. This restaurant is of great value and will be returning! Thanks all at Il Palazzo !!

Called with a friend for the pre-theatre menu; she enjoyed her mozzarella starter and her fish, but I was really disappointed with my chicken dish....the meat had been flattened to within and inch of its life, and was of a nasty slimy texture. Maybe I was just unlucky in choosing this meal. The lady at the next table said her dessert was one of the best five she'd had in her whole life; so I'd say go, but avoid the chicken. Nice and clean with attentive staff.

Always great food and service. Especially the monk fish, starter garlic bread and desserts to die for. Including tiramisu and chocolate ganache. Will be back for sure.

Thank you for your excellent service. Food was really nice and waiters were amazing and made the evening very special.

The delivery was on time but unfortunately the food was cold.

Best Italian I have had in a long time highly recommend

We went here by chance, it was Bank Holiday Monday and a lot of the places we would normally go were closing early, so we had a look on TripAdvisor and this place came up. Thank goodness our normal places were closed, it forced us to try somewhere different. This place was quite a find. Quite unassuming on the outside, cosy and interesting on the inside. My wife ordered a pasta and I oredered a chicken arabbiata. Both were lovely. Mine was spicy to the right level and delicious. Food was excellent value. Service was bang on. We will be back and throughly recommend this place. Thank you to all the staff for a lovely evening.

Fantastic restaurant. Food excellent.

A little gem of an Italian great service & prices ,ample portions of piping hot food this restaurant deserves to be a roaring success really enjoyed our night in there

Worst food in a long time. We ordered several items, even though it only took 20 minutes all items were cold. Food not at all what you expect from an Italian restaurant. It was expensive and simply awful.

Absolutely fantastic service. The staff were fantastic and dragos was the best and most attentive server I've come across in years.

Food was okay, nothing special and definitely could’ve been better. The waitress made a joke out of my speech impediment when ordering the starters which put a bit of a dampener on the whole evening. Just think the whole restaurant need to make sure their staff are more socially aware and forgiving. Definitely think there’s work to be done and certainly better places to go in Chelmsford.

Absolutely amazing staff, service and food. Very welcoming manager and a very cosy restaurant with ample space for seating. Range of Italian wines and spirits. The deserts were out of this world. Impatient to visit here again. 5/5⭐

We eat here a lot. Always very good food, great service and reasonable prices. Been as a couple, with our teenage children, with a big group of friends - it's our "go to" place. Never lets you down and any day of the week there's a great atmosphere.

This is an excellent place to eat, very well priced and brilliant quality food. Will be back !

The best Italian restaurant in Chelmsford hands down. Food is on another level coupled by a marvellous atmosphere and great service. Very reasonable prices and very friendly staff. Would definitely come again and recommend everyone to give it a try 😍

Lovely restaurant, great food, service and atmosphere.

Enjoyable meal, nice atmosphere

Great restaurant. Good, fresh food. Gets very busy when the theatre has a production on, so book or prepare to be disappointed. Let the staff know when you need to leave and they will do their best to help you. Across the road from Civic Theatre, Civil Centre and just a few minutes from bus and rail stations

Those with a refined palate will be shocked after eating here, especially after savouring real Italian dishes. Absolutely NOTHING authentic about ANY of the food at Il Palazzo in Chelmsford. 6 people ordered different items and everyone said the same: WORST 'ITALIAN' MEAL EVER. The food was insipid, tasteless and overcooked. We had the 'pleasure' of greasy fried calamari, soggy skin on baked fish, pasta laden with excessive amounts of garlic, a pizza that looked and tasted like it came from a 2-for-1 deal in Iceland, fillet meat and wet bacon swimming in copious sauces made with who-knows-what. Nothing looked or tasted even close to the menu descriptions. Desserts were equally awful, with the Affogato brought to the table as a curdled soup, and a vile thing disguised as Tiramisù. And of course, not even a hint of Italian staff. None of them seemed surprised at the amount of food left untouched on our plates. Name aside, the only 'Italian' thing about this restaurant was the word 'grazie' that the inept waiters were able to iterate.

Lovely restaurant with lovely staff and great food.

Family restaurant, Amazing food.

amazing place great food and service cant wait to go again!

Lovely food and great service for reasonable prices. Its slightly away from the main part of town and offers some authentic dishes.

Second visit here and not disappointed. Great Italian with excellent friendly service. Give the larger restaurants a miss and try this place. Way better evening. Thanks for making us so welcome

Dined at Il Palazzo with friends and was thoroughly impressed. The staff were welcoming and promptly accommodated us in the busy setting. Service was swift and attentive, ensuring we never had to wait. The food was outstanding, offering great value for the price. Despite the buzz, our table felt spacious and private. Highly recommend for a top-notch dining experience in Chelmsford.

A regular place for us to celebrate family birthdays. Great food, lovely friendly staff and excellent value. Highly recommended.

I come with my friends and family and it was the first time for a friend birthday and I love it so I repeat my mum’s birthday too. The food is really tasty and friendly service and glad atmosphere

I love the wine 🍷 I could try first before go for it The food is amazing 👏 😋 😍 Keep the good work guys

Good food, good service. Restaurant too hot though.

Pizza was pretty much stone cold and wasn’t particularly nice. Not awful but wouldn’t order again.

This is my second time visiting this restaurant. Both times with family for special occasions. I was excited to return after our last visit and not living nearby, but I wish I did, as I’d love to visit more often! First bit of advise. Be sure to reserve a table. This restaurant is very popular. We were booked for 5:30 and the restaurant was packed by 6. People were being unfortunately turned away that didn’t have reservations on a busy Saturday night. When we arrived we were seated promptly, drinks were provided quickly and orders taken in good time. We were with two young girls, one 10 and the other 13 and they love this place too!! The staff here always give them high fives and really make it a special experience for them. All members of staff are superb. They’re friendly, work hard, efficient and try their best to give outstanding service to every table. Service charge is not included on the bill, which is rare these days, but a tip is always very much well deserved. Coming onto the food, be sure to check the specials! However, on this occasion we all ordered from the menu. 3 cheesy garlic breads for the table to share, plus me as a coeliac I had minestrone soup. Annoyingly, the minestrone was much nicer than the one at home, so the recipient would be very much appreciated ;) it was delicious. The cheesy garlic breads are essentially a pizza, they’re huge and easily fed the other 6 diners. When informing the staff I had a gluten allergy. I was confidently walked through the entire menu. There were lots of options to choose from and I felt very well looked after by all the staff. Main courses. I had a gluten free pepperoni pizza, that also has chillis and I would say it’s one of, if not the nicest gluten free pizza I have had anywhere. Others had the steak, lamb shank, bolognaise and other pizzas and everyone was very satisfied by the food. On this occasion, one of the meals was a little later reaching the table, but nothing that became unreasonable, it did mean others had started dining but with an extremely busy restaurant and an overwhelmed kitchen, these things sometimes happen and it was sorted very very quickly and professionally with apologies. Lastly, the kids had a desert, as did the birthday girl and as they knew it was her birthday, the restaurant played a birthday song and put a candle in her desert for her, the entire restaurant sang along with the happy birthday, as did the staff - a very nice touch. Overall, for 7 of us, each having starters, mains, deserts, alcoholic drinks, soft drinks and coffees it came to £230. Just under £33 a head. Excellent value in my opinion and although I do not live nearby. I can’t wait for another excuse to return!

This place feels like a family run restaurant, decent food with attentive staff, the atmosphere whilst loud was great. It was reasonably priced and we both enjoyed our food. We will definitely be returning.

Tagliatelle was the best I've had, my husband enjoyed his pizza-nice & thin with plenty of topping. Staff are amazing. We go there before every theatre trip and I think our grandchildren may prefer it to the theatre!!

This place feels like a family run restaurant, decent food with attentive staff, the atmosphere whilst loud was great. It was reasonably priced and we both enjoyed our food. We will definitely be returning.

Great restaurant definitely worth visit if you are on S of UK spaghetti amatricana one of the best i had, great staff.

The food and service here are excellent. Everything came out in good time and was very nice. The staff were also great and even made extra effort to provide a cocktail that wasn’t on the menu. The only thing I’ll say is that the atmosphere was a little loud. Nothing anyone could do as the buildings round here are build that way. I’ll definitely return here as other diners had some amazing looking food so I’d like to explore the menu a bit more.

We were recommended this restaurant by some of our B&B guests and it was a great recommendation. Travelling from Norfolk to meet up with friends from Croydon we had a bright welcoming and had a window table. Our starters were varied but all delicious, followed by equally delicious and varied mains. We finished off with ice creams and coffees. We were never rushed, the food and service was of a very high standard and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit and would highly recommend II Palazzo. We will return on our next visit, many thanks.

The atmosphere of the evening was very relaxed. The service from the waiters was excellent. We enjoyed the quality of the food too

We always come here for special occasions - it's a favourite with all our family. Great food, lovely atmosphere, attentive and polite staff.

Tasty food, great service, buzzing atmosphere and very reasonably priced. It was the perfect location for dinner before a show at the Civic. Already planning to return with friends very soon!

Unless you’re fond of vindaloo plus type heat strength food dishes, avoid the fish pasta dishes. They include fresh chilliest that totally dominate the dish, quite unpleasant actually. Only managed to get through a small portion of the dish, quite unpleasant and not remotely Italian in character. Won’t be going back.

Awesome. Food is amazing. It was a really busy night and all the staff were brilliant. Highly recommended

We had a lovely meal and very good value for money. We will be back

Amazing food, amazing service can't wait to come back 😊. Was amazing with my little 15 month old boy 😊

Sam looked after us so well, thank you for such a lovely evening!

I ordered garlic pizza bread but I received the pizza bread with cheese. It was stone cold and rock hard. The pasta was also hard and dry from sitting in the tub

Can't believe we've not been here before!! Lived in Chelmsford for over 20 years and only just tried this place. Very busy at 6.30 on a Friday night is a good sign. Service, food, atmosphere and prices were fantastic. Two starters, two mains, shared desert and two bottles of house red (so good we had to get a second) for around £85!! Cheaper than the chain restaurants in town and far better in every way. Will definitely be back, and soon.

Thank you - so enjoyed our meals RISOTTO PESCATORE and my friend had monk fish - we love our fish dishes and I’m definitively having that risotto again, wow! I normally go for the juicy tender steak and so it was a hard choice tonight but I’m glad I tried something different tonight, If you’re a seafood food lover, this was awesome. Staff are real friendly and jovial what a lovely atmosphere busy and buzzing. Love this Italian and so conveniently placed in Chelmsford too. Will be back real soon guys!!

We have been this Italian restaurant on Saturday the atmosphere was very good the restaurant was very busy and the food was extremely delicious 😋. The stuff was really helpful and nice . It’s always nice to see place like this nice. I really do recommend to everyone who want to have nice meal . Thank you Il Palazzo

Lovely Restaurant with plenty dishes on the menu. We really enjoy our evening with friendly staff and tasty food. Altogether we have fantastic experience. Definitely recommend who like traditional Italian food. “Looking forward to going back !!

Earlier this month, we had our post-wedding celebration here, and the front of house, Constantine and his colleague, were attentive and made sure all of us were looked after. Shoutout to Constantine for going the extra mile offering assistance with our table plan/decoration and party favours. To top it off, the food was great.

We been to this lovely Italian restaurant on last Sunday for pre theatre meal. Before the theatre the restaurant was busy. Our meal come all în the time. As a desert I had a tiramisu it was very delicios. I recomand this place for everyone. We will defenitly come back thank u

Hiding gems just a minute to Train station We have come from London and some of our aparti come from Colchester. We end up at IL PALAZZO. Lovely places to have proper service and ambiance.

Went for lunch with my wife, had the 2 course lunch plus a glass of wine £14.95. Great value and great food. Nice to know you can still get authentic Italian food at a reasonable price. Staff were excellent. You may miss this restaurant as...

Excellent restaurant Had lunch, great food, good value, nice staff

We visited here the other night and were sadly disappointed. I had spicy Arabiatta which was tasteless, not spicy and shop bought pasta. My partner ordered seafood pizza, which was tasteless and consisted of frozen prawns, mussels and squid. The food was average, the restaurant...