Il Paradiso del Cibo in York

Tiny hole-in-the-wall with very unique food and friendly service. I enjoyed the handmade Sardinian "malloreddus" pasta. We loved all the foods we tried. They do not take payment cards! We paid with PayPal.

Wonderful. Just wonderful. The food and service were both 10/10, i would totally recommend.

This has been my go to italian in York for years but tonight was disappointing. Food good as ever but the service was perfunctory. Menus handed out with not a word - bill presented with not a word and payment taken with not a word. It now seems as if customers are taken for granted. Additionally a 10% service charge has been introduced with no indication of this On the website Paolo talks about laughter, jokes and good food - this was how it used to be but it now seems the first two have gone by the wayside. Too easy to get customers perhaps - I don't think I'll be back. Very sad!

Intimate and great, friendly staff, great food. We'll be back.

We had a delicious meal in this authentic Italian restaurant - fast, friendly service, a wonderful atmosphere and freshly prepared food. Highly recommended

food very average sadly rude manager who decides to take 10% tip despite appalling service and humiliation of customers in front of the whole restraunt just because they wanted something serving slightly different. Instead of the manager suggesting another option he decided an angry tone and disrespect of a customer with a loud voice was the better option. On this basis I would never return again. A waste of £100 + on 2 starter 2 Mains a a few beers. Beware of the 10% mandatory service charge whether you like the food & service or not. Had better food for less and much better customer service.

We needed to find somewhere reasonably priced in York to eat last minute when staying there for a few days. We didn't want 'posh' food out to spend a long time there, and this fitted the bill perfectly. The food was really tasty (a risotto & a pizza), the service good and there was plenty of choice of gluten free dishes. The only minus to it was that it's very very cramped and the tables are on top of one another, and chairs are not very comfortable. It means it's noisy, not private and not the sort of restaurant to go to for a romantic meal or if you want to sit for a long time comfortably. However the good thing about the fact that it's busy is that there's a lot of atmosphere. The fact that it was almost full on a Wednesday night shows it must be popular.

Incredible restaurant. Have been coming here for years and the food & service never disappoints! A must visit in York.

Great food! I want to go back for the lasagna! Absolutely awesome. Great atmosphere and good times.

It is cosy and small and has a vibrant atmosphere. It is very busy and difficult to get a table at your selected time so book. The menu prices are reasonable with more expensive special meals. The food is really good and comes piping hot. 10% service charge was added without any declaration of this on the menu which is a bit sneaky. Don’t buy garlic bread to nibble on, unless you really want it, as it is 80% of a meal price. Staff are very attentive, happy and pleasant. We were asked to move tables. This was no problem to us but despite 2 staff apologising with the offer of a limoncello for the inconvenience it never arrived.

The most delicious food of York.love it ❤️

The best restaurant of York. Delicious Mediterranean food , the staff very friendly, clean and imaculated. I love this restaurant and them food them make . Recommended 1000%

Wow! Just, wow. I love my food. I particularly love Italian food. And this place just stole my heart. By all intents and purposes it's not much to look at from the outside, which in some cases may lead you not to go in. But please do. This is some of the best Italian food outside of Italy that I've ever had. The specials board apparently changes daily, depending on which chef is on. After reading it we immediately discard the normal menu. We started with a sharing burrata pizza bread, had a sardinian sausage pasta and beef filet pasta for main and shared a fresh made tiramasu for dessert. Each dish was faultless. The pizza bread base perfectly crisp with lashings of basil oil and wonderfully fragrant marinara. Rich and perfectly balanced pasta sauces and delightfully light tiramasu completed the best meal I've eaten in a long time. All for a very reasonable price considering the quality. Anyone who hasn't been before needs to make it their go to Italian of choice. Run, don't walk people. 👌

I will never go to this restaurant ever again. First, the manager Steve is so friendly. My friends and I used to go there quite often, and I always give extra tips because I really enjoyed the experience. However, my last two visits were absolutely terrible. The manager I know weren’t there (not sure if he left or just having day-off). The food is same as usual, but the service was totally unacceptable. The staff treated us like we were there to beg for food. I didn’t take that seriously, as people could be having a bad time. Plus, the previous experience was real good. Therefore, I went there again to give it another try. But it turns out the same! I don’t know if the staff are not happy working there, something wrong with the management or they are simply not respecting customers at all. But none of these can justify their bad attitude towards customers. Thus, I will never go back and tell my family and friends not to visit this restaurant.

The Godliest of cuisine. I could get hit by a bus on the way there and the thought of the dishes on that chalk board would be enough to make me crawl on my hands and knees through that door. Have been about 5 times now, will always recommend to friends, but only the ones I deem worthy of experiencing the best food in York, let alone Italian. Starters, incredible. Mains, even better. Even when you’re inevitably completely stuffed like a happy cat, you can always make room for one of their desserts. The cannolis are a particular fave. Honestly, walk in, close your eyes and point at a random dish on the menu and you will love it. Fondly referred to as “Cash Only”, the only thing that makes this place any better than its menu is the atmosphere and staff. Great relaxed atmosphere in the day, really fun atmosphere in the evening, but you probably won’t notice because you’ll be too busy eating to notice what’s going on around you or bother talking anyone on your table.

Delicious food. Very good indeed. Gluten free pasta was very good too. Also they say the do gf pizza

All our meals were outstanding, what a little gem of a place.

Best Italian restaurant in York by a country mile. All the staples plus an amazing and ever changing specials board. Service is consistently above and beyond, quality of food unsurpassed and very reasonably priced. Just remember it's cash only

Wow what a meal! We had the specials and both were incredible. Priced well for what you get. Great service, lovely staff. Good drinks selection. Will be back again.

Had one of the best pizza for long time great service

The child was ill off the food, and the service was disorganised and disappointing.

This is a REALLY good authentic Italian restaurant, could be located in the hills of Sardinia, I love it's rustic, rural feel.....best Risotto I've EVER had (had it twice in a week, it's that good) tremendous value for money.....best bring cash, as that's the preferred method of payment....in my top ten, favourite little Italian restaurants, including London 👍😊

Excellent food, service and atmosphere.

The place was recommended to us by a person working in Indigo Hotel where we stopped for a weekend break a year ago. Don't get fooled by a look of this place. It may not be a fine dining restaurant, but the pizzas we ate were one of the best we ever had and we visited many places around the world. In fact, I have not eaten a better pizza in the UK. Everything was fresh and tasted just great. Service was fantastic and the prices were very reasonable for the quality of food served. We also had few alcoholic drinks. Good atmosphere was a cherry on the cake. We will definitely come back to eat there again during next stay in York. Highly recommended place! PS. We observed Chef preparing seafood and it also looked delicious. 👌

Excellent. Food/service/atmosphere all amazing.

Beautiful food. Genuinely authentic atmosphere. Our favourite restaurant in York by a country mile

Called in around 4pm on a Saturday and got the last table. Very busy restaurant, quite small but very atmospheric. Service was good. We had Spaghetti Bolognaise and Seafood Risotto, it was delicious, so much meat in the Risotto. Beer was good and cold. Overall excellent experience, would recommend.

chose the ‘special’ menu and the prawn starter and steak main course with horseradish cream sauce was delicious! Friendly, cosy atmosphere! Saw a toddler being made welcome too.

Nice Sardinian food. A little cramped and a bit expensive but worthwhile.

Well hello!! What a fabulous evening. Loved it so much we cancelled our other reservation to come the next night. Chef Paolo offered to make us a tasting menu our second night here. Had the mushrooms and the gamberoni special and the beef special. Was fantastic!! And… have the house-made limoncello!! If you must … the tiramisu was delicious.

The food is fab, the cheesecake amazing, the staff were great

Six of us went for dinner after a concert in York. We arrived a bit early so they sent us to their associated cafe, Paradiso Dolce Salato, just down the road. This was brilliant - so fresh and friendly. We had drinks and warm focaccia bread. If you’re in the vicinity and fancy a snack or an ice-cream, this is the place to go. Back to the restaurant and this was also brilliant. A true Italian experience, we could have been back in Sicily with family cooked food. It seemed to be full but people kept coming in - I don’t know where they fit them in - but we could understand why they came. They don’t take cards which could have posed a problem as we weren’t aware in advance. However, they did accept an on-the-spot bank transfer which sorted it.

It was friendly, nice atmosphere, good service and the food was delicious.

Lovely authentic Italian. It was very, very busy and even though we arrived 10 minutes late for our booking time we were asked to wait 5 minutes as our table wasn't ready. The staff were quite stretched but so friendly when they came over. The food was nice too and lovely authentic atmosphere.

Amazing restaurant. Food is wonderful and staff are amazing. Thank you for a wonderful evening x

Love this place. Been going since 2007 and seen it develop. Consistently good food. Also good value for money price wise. My wife and I had the specials.

Superb Italian. We had a lovely meal here after dropping in by chance. Having eaten in dozens of Italian restaurants this is one of the best. After the best garlic bread I think I've ever had to start the mains were equally impressive. I would definitely come back here when I'm next in York.

What a great find, staff welcoming and attentive, the food was amazing, fresh and authentic. Location was also a plus as just 100yds from Hotel Indigo and close to Barbican. Yes they only take cash (no cards) but had no issue as we all should be using it more. Would definitely visit again next time I’m in York and recommend without hesitation.

This restaurant was on a list of recommendations sent by a local air BnB owner. We visited on Sunday evening as a family of 2 adults and 2 children. We didn't make a pre booking but on arrival we were shown to the last available table (very lucky!) We had the mussels and arancini balls (best I have ever tasted) to start. For our 6 year old we were able to order a smaller portion of the carbonara for main however he enjoyed it that much he could of probably eaten it full size. Food and service were top notch across all 3 courses. Reasonably priced we had 2 starters 4 mains, 8 drinks and 2 puddings for just over £90 including tip. I was worried about payment when I saw the no card payments sign however we were able to easily pay via PayPal. Would recommend and would visit again when back in York.

Simply amazing - a must visit ! Stunning food and service

Faultless!!!!!!!! Authentic Italian cuisine, served with such passion. Great atmosphere, specials board absolutely incredible. Such a fabulous place.

Great food, great atmosphere, very cosy, we love it ,visit every time we go to york just been for our anniversary. Definitely recommended

Wonderful, authentic Italian restaurant. Great food, beautiful wine, brilliant staff, fantastic atmosphere. Highly recommended.

Lovely, authentic, Italian (Sardinian) family run restaurant. Small, so booking advised, but you can get lucky with a walk in, depending on time of day etc. Beautiful food, lovely staff (think the people that own actually work there) friendly, warm and inviting. We go regularly when in York, which is several times a year. If you are in the beautiful city of York, this restaurant is a must visit. You won't be disappointed.

Lovely restaurant and service. The food was fantastic. However... the toilet area leaves a lot to be desired so I dread to think what the kitchen is like. Sanitary pads were hanging out of the bin. Surely they should provide proper units? Would go back... but don't use the toilets!

An incredible Italian restaurant, small but it makes up for it with the best pizza in the city! The staff are all amazingly friendly and there is a fantastic atmosphere. I would recommend calling ahead to book a table, and though they don't take card payment there are alternative options available and a cash machine not too far up the road either direction.

What an incredible place. They made us so very welcome and always great to be able to watch F1 once the restaurant has closed ❤️

An excellent little Italian restaurant. My partner and I enjoyed an amazing meal here. The food was excellent, the staff were friendly and efficient and the atmosphere was great. Higy recommend visiting here

A lovely, snug Italian restaurant. Amazing food, atmosphere and service. Reasonably priced. The cheesecake was one of the best I've ever tasted

Fantastic family run restaurant, fantastic food and service. Had the mushroom risotto. Will visit again when we are in York.

Called in by chance ( wasn't sure ut was open ... had a delicious pizza

IMPORTANT: they don’t accept credit cards. It’s possible to pay by bank transfer (only for British banks), PayPal, and by cash. Because we didn’t have enough cash in wallet, the PayPal QR code was not working, and we don’t have a bank account from UK. So, we had to find a ATM to withdraw money. That was the only bad thing the happened for us. Just for that I rated 4/5. Despite that, everything else was perfect! All the food was delicious! The service was also great. My wife and I ordered a starter to share, a main course, a desert to share, and a glass of wine each. Everything costed £55.

Well, I went in with my daughter, grandaughter and friend last week. There were some diners in there - encouraged by the staff - attempting to sing opera! Very loud, like strangling cats, couldn't hear ourselves speak. It marred our experience; this went on throughout our meal! It was two men in particular with their loud booming voices - making us jump and our ears ringing. Seriously awful. Terrible! Also encouraged by one of the young servers - impromptu screeching. See, not even mentioned the food, we couldn't wait to get out!!

The pizza was Neopolitan style and delicious! If you love VPN pizza this is the place for you. Caveat: they only accept cash or PayPal.

Sometimes you you just fall on a place that turns out to be extraordinary. On Saturday evening we were treated to vert authentic Sardinian cuisine, the specials menu was so tempting I could have tried everything on it, I had a melanzina ( aubergine with mozzarella, pecorino and tomato) then a steak with mushrooms. It was all delicious.

The food was fine at best, we had spaghetti bolognese and risotto al funghi. The spaghetti noodles could have been a bit softer in my opinion. The cutlery was a bit old. The place was very crammed with customers bumping into each other if you try to move. The worst part was that they didn't accept card payments. Should have been told about this from the beginning which caused some inconvenience. The bill was a bit pricey given the ambience and location of the restaurant. The service was a bit impersonal, almost what you would experience in a fast food establishment. Would not recommend to a friend.

One of the best restaurants in York. Never disappoints.

Food not great, plastic cups, old cutlery and cash only.....

Wow …. You must eat here if you are in York. It isn’t big inside so book ahead. The standard of the food was amazing. I have eaten Italian all over the world and I can say this is the best I have had. The owner is a cool guy and the service is great. Do not miss this one. We aim to be back in the future.

“Do not order from anything but the blackboard” is what we were told by a lovely ex-RAF gentleman at Howl. We took his advice and had one of the best meals ever!!! Definitely make a reservation and know they are cash only!

Very nice, food was exceptional

Delicious mixed seafood salad to start, followed by artichoke and bottarga pizza on white base 😋. All accompanied by Milan derby playing in the background 😂. Friendly chef came to chat as we were leaving 😊

Great small restaurant. Lovely food. More wine variety please? Rustic/basic/cramped but would return. Thank you !

Took friends to enjoy a favourite restaurant before an event at Barbican. The back room was fully occupied with earlier sensible couples although it was only 5:30. I call them sensible because on a cool damp evening, with the newly acquired sliding doors open to the front, it was not a pleasant thought to sit with food being chilled quickly. Offered 4 places in this area we asked if the windows might be closed. The waitress went to ask management and came back with a negative response. We left.

Quite possibly the best Italian meal we've ever had. Tortolloni with monkfish was sublime. Family run, friendly service. Popular, busy, noisy, crowded with its own charm. Wine either red or white - in litre bottles!

Lovely food and a lively atmosphere. However, 3 of us, all adults, were squashed into an alcove and on to a table that maybe would have accommodated 2. Thus, it was a very uncomfortable and disappointing dining experience.

Bardzo dobre jedzenie . Włoska rodzina prowadzi ta restauracje .

Great plate of food. I chose from the blackboard specials. Will be going again.

We’ve eaten here a few times over the last few years, and have generally made a point of eating here on our visits to York. In the past we’d always had a great time with good food and a lively atmosphere, but this visit was a real let down. Whilst the quality of the food was still good in terms of taste, the portion sizes of the suckling pig main course had become really small making it really poor value for the price, and if I’m honest we didn’t come away feeling like we’d had a filling and satisfying meal. My son’s suckling pig hardly had any meat on the rib he had. Whilst there was nothing fundamentally wrong with the service we received, which was efficient and polite, when you looked at the way they treated customers that they knew there was a really marked difference. It easy to say in hindsight that we should have said something whilst we were there, but complaining can always be awkward, and asking for more of the pork would have been quite embarrassing. It’s a real shame that this wasn’t the experience we’ve had in the past, especially as we came well out of the way for what for us is a big treat that we’d really looked forward too, but while the food was tasty and the service was ok, for £100+ (for 2 starters, 4 mains and 2 can of soft drinks), this wasn’t what we were expecting, the meat portions were tiny and in the end was a real disappointment. In addition, it’s a bit extortionate that a can of Diet Coke cost £2.95 (and this wasn’t with ice and lemon) Sorry to say we won’t be coming again next time we’re back in York.

Made to feel like criminals when questioning what clearly was not our bill. Embarrassingly bawled at at table before another member of staff corrected things. Ruined what was a simple meal out.

Food was delicious and waiters/waitresses were really lovely to us ! Food was quick to arrived and drinks too! And affordable pricing !

We were staying just 2 minutes walk up the road at the Hotel Indigo and passed this several times. Glad we made the decision to book in. Bookings recommended as it was full on a Sunday evening (BH weekend). Small and cosy, attentive staff, great atmosphere, lovely quality food and very authentic- reminding me of some of the small family run places in Rome. I would recommend.

Eat here every time we visit York,great food and atmosphere We wouldn’t eat Italian food anywhere else in York!

Fresh seafood and authentic Sardinian experience. The best service I’ve ever had in England. Thank you to the amazing members of staff Sebastiano, Lorella and Matteo. Highly recommended!!

Does not accept credit cards. Bring cash or find somewhere else. Food fair, service fair. Relatively small portions.

Food was ok but very pricey and the service, at best, was surly. We were very disappointed as the restaurant at Sutton on. Forest is one of our favourites. Plus 10%. Service charge!!!

Delicious simple lunch. Amazing spaghetti pomodoro and fantastic tomato garlic bread and insalata deli mare. I love the simplicity of the cooking which allows the ingredients to shine. Not the most comfortable seating but we were very well looked after. Would highly recommend

Absolutely Superb Italian. Wow what an amazing restaurant the staff were excellent, the food was delicious and we loved the board with all the Stunning Specials . I had the best oven baked giant prawns cooked Sardinian style with risotto which was bellissimo. It's the...

Great food, very nice wine (especially the red!), and fantastic service. The only thing we didn't like was the slightly louder music but they turned it down as soon as we asked :) Highly recommended for an authentic Italian dining experience.

I sent a booking email via their website to book for a party of 8 . After two days with no response I telephoned . I was told they don’t take card payments but would need a £10 per head cash deposit. When I explained...

Three of us ate here tonight. Despite the very good food and (for the most part) friendly service, our experience was somewhat spoiled by three issues with payment. 1. Only cash is accepted. This is not well signposted to the street. There is a sign within the restaurant, but that is only visible after sitting down (and in out case, ordering). I spent 20 minutes walking around looking for an ATM machine. 2. We had made clear that we wanted the £20 set menu. We asked for red wine. We were given 'large', rather than 'medium' glasses, and were asked to pay for the difference (having not been told there were different sizes). That was the restaurant's fault which I had to explain repeatedly. 3. A 10% service surcharge was added to the bill. The menu did not say such a surcharge would be charged. I asked that it be taken off for that reason and that was met with an unfortunately dismissive response.

Cutest little Italian spot, perfect for date night staff were so friendly on arrival and food was gorgeous great size portions and great value for money would highly reckoned a visit.

A great, authentic Italian restaurant in the heart of York. Really good food and wine. Service was friendly and very welcoming.

Although very ‘cosy’ this is our favourite restaurant in York and fave Italian ever! The food is fabulous as are the staff, entertaining, obliging and a busy Italian vibe

Small but homely little restaurant with homemade, authentic, Italian food. Worth a visit.

Best place to eat in York. I have been comming for years and have never been dissapointed.

Really nice small family business , food was lovely and staff attentive , also nice and clean, I would recommend taking the 5-10 min walk from the centre down walmsgate to go here and would advise booking also I’ve given 4 stars only because my...

Had seen largely positive reviews before our dining experience. Overall the food was ok, the service & atmosphere was a bit chaotic and they didn’t accept card. I wouldn’t go back

Excellent menu. Food was fantastic. Lovely cheerful staff. Very reasonable.

Excellent fillet steak I recommend booking.

Superb little restaurant. Authentic Italian food, fantastic staff and reasonably priced. Only thing to note is payment method is bank transfer, paypal or cash. Not too much of an issue but just be prepared if you’ve never used paypal payment like I hadn’t (its not difficult).

The food does the talking. Unasuming location. Having been recommended the restaurant by an Italian, we could see why. Busy and friendly atmosphere. Owner even answered our questions on ingredients used and showed us which brand they used. Food amazing! Menu wide ranging. House wine...

We booked in advance for dinner for two couples celebrating special anniversaries. Arrived slightly early & shown to our table straight away. Good food & drink options. Starters served but was left a long time waiting for our mains. There was a table of about 8 peoples next to us & from what we could hear were known to the owners. Despite arriving after us it seemed theirs orders took president and am certain this was the reason for delays with our food. However, Tagliatelle was superb and the seafood risotto outstanding. One of the mains was not hot at all but it was eaten due to the fact it was getting very late in the evening, would have added further delays & we wanted to eat together!! Our waitress was Federica & when we mentioned it to her she couldn’t apologise enough, she was also aware we had been kept waiting for our mains for a long time and produced a selection of desserts for us all to enjoy. Even with those very slight issues we all thoroughly enjoyed the evening and would totally recommended. We booked a table for 4, front line terrace with amazing views.

Loved this place! Excellent food with fast and friendly service. I had risotto and it was excellent. Canolli for dessert was delicious and just the right amount of food.

A friendly family run restaurant European holiday atmosphere, delicious food, portions quite large. Best to book. Staff attentive and take time to listen to your requests.

This is a small restaurant with good quality Italian family food, also some nice wines. Friendly, helpful staff. Great value dinner.

I felt like I was in Italy, whilst dining in this place. The charm, character and friendly staff really make this place a stand out Italian restaurant. The food was excellent, fresh, prepared with quality ingredients, added more to the experience. We had a couple...

loved the crazy lively atmosphere.Lovely upbeat staff happy at work.nothing was too much trouble.the best bruschetta we have ever tasted.fresh simple ingredients used in the dishes.perfect.attention to detail noted.would love to come here again

We loved everything and highly recommend. The only small downside was that card payment is not accepted. Only cash, bank transfer or PayPal.

Outstanding dinner for our party of four. The best Italian meal we've had in many years. Entrees were perfect and our pasta mains left us talking about them the next day. Bookings are essential, as this place is in demand. Very good value for money, also.