Italian Kitchen in Sunderland

We went last week food and service were great, went again on Monday were asked if we wanted a drink before we even sat down, the potato skins were burnt the chips were burnt my partner got a few mushy prawns and don't get me started on the chicken salad. Sorry but we won't be going back

Beautiful food in lovely relaxed surroundings and very reasonably priced, served by Steph whose customer service was fab very polite and professional 👍

Squeezed us in. Very busy. Polpettoni was amazing. Sorted out problems efficiently and kindly.

This is a fabulous restaurant!!! Excellent food n extremely well priced too. The portions are very generous n they are delicious! The service is brilliant n very efficient. It was really busy n reservations are highly recommended. I would definitely eat here again!

Service was great food was absolutely perfect

Foid here is always lovely, service can sometimes be a little slow. But gorgeous ambiance and food.

Llegué anoche y me decepcionó la comida, los arancini eran pequeñas bolas con arroz demasiado cocido y duro y el tagliatelle scoglio que siempre consigo aquí no era tan buena pasta era demasiado espesa, la primera vez me decepcionó no estoy seguro de si nuevo chef, pero el peor arancini que he tenido

¡Adorable! Vinimos como un regalo especial y nos dieron una cálida bienvenida! El servicio era atento, pero no demasiado! El personal era amable y conocedor del menú. La comida era maravillosa! El Pollo Gamberoni y el pollo Kiev eran particularmente deliciosos! Muy recomendable aquí!

Visitamos su restaurante en Nochebuena, que hemos hecho un par de veces. Estaba muy decepcionado y molesto por la forma en que nos trataron. 1 calle nos pidieron que fuéramos en el bar ya que nuestra mesa no estaba lista lo que está bien ya que es un momento muy ocupado (tuvimos que pararnos como no hay asientos) , nos sentamos 15 minutos después. Una vez que nuestra comida y bebidas fueron ordenados tuvimos un tiempo encantador, PERO mientras algunos de nuestro grupo todavía estaban comiendo que habían terminado platos fueron tomados tan rápido haciendo que otros se sintieran incómodos y esto fue extremadamente poco profesional y molesto. Una vez terminada nuestra comida (en 1 hora) nos pidieron que nos moviéramos a la barra ya que necesitaban la mesa! ! ! ! Teniendo en cuenta que la mesa de al lado había estado ante nosotros y NO se les pidió que se fueran, lo que mencioné esto a la camarera para que me dijeran que mi gerente me pidió que te preguntara! Servicio muy desagradable con 0 de atención al cliente, ni una sonrisa en ninguna cara! Y me gustaría saber por qué nos pidieron que nos moviéramos después de una hora y no una mesa que estaba allí antes que nosotros. No es un buen comienzo de Navidad Envié un email pero no respondí.

Delicious Italian restaurant with all the classics on the menu. Something for everybody to enjoy and quality service

Booked on Xmas eve,which we have for last few years Had to wait for table which i can understand its a busy night ..But hovered round table all night picking plates up before fork hit the table.. Got asked to go in bar soon as I settled bill so they could move next lot in. All to rushed. Won’t do it again

Always good food served here. Great atmosphere, staff can't do enough to help you. I would highly recommend.

Hemos estado aquí varias veces en los últimos 10 años y nunca hemos tenido ningún problema. Esta noche no fue tan buena como siempre. Mi pizza estaba aparentemente 'olvidada' y tuve que esperar unos 10 minutos sin comer mientras mi familia (8 de ellos) comía sus comidas. Tampoco me disculpo mucho. Mi tiramisú no era comestible. Otros miembros de la familia lo probaron y coincidieron en que había algo 'apagado' en él. Se lo dijo a la camarera y ella al chef. Ella regresó y dijo que él lo probó y dijo que estaba bien. ¡Sólo sabía diferente porque estaba hecho con sambuca! No podía probar el café o la sambuca, ¡solo me sabía horrible! He tenido tiramisú encantador allí antes. ¿Hay un nuevo chef? Nunca he conocido el tiramisú hecho con sambuca. Finalmente, la factura llegó y el depósito no se había quitado. Por suerte nos dimos cuenta. En general, The Italian Kitchen fue un fracaso esta noche.

Increíble italiano... buena comida y servicio. Muy ocupado, pero el personal estaba al tanto de todo. Hermosa pasta y un montón de opciones sin gluten.

By far the best italian in the area. Fantastic food ,very tasty and well presented with lovely staff cant do enough for you highly recommended

Habíamos reservado para 5. 30 pm para aprovechar las ofertas familiares de 2 platos. Fue una elección sabia como cuando salimos del restaurante estaba lleno. Las comidas fueron bien recibidas. El servicio era bastante bueno a pesar de que estaba ocupado. Los precios para las comidas familiares eran competitivos. Lo malo, los menús estaban sabrosos y manchados. Mi esposo fue al baño (no vio uno dedicado para discapacitados) y habría apreciado una barandilla, ya que encontró que sentarse y levantarse era muy difícil.

I have to admit I am absolutely no authority on Italian food but the fayre that we were served up seemed quite tasty to me albeit a bit pricy but in this case I think we get what we pay for. I would have no hesitation in recommending the food menu to anyone who might ask me about it. What I do know about is experiencing a nice relaxing ambience, taking ones time with the meal and with a bit of gentle music with only the chit chat of others in the background to add to the occasion. There was absolutely none of this. The almost constant very loud clattering of cutlery and plates together with the third rate irritating music coming through worn out speakers made our visit less than relaxing and enjoyable. It is not hard to work why this is the case. Basically it means people finish their meals quicker, pay their bills and get out. More empty tables for the next lot. The owner just simply does not want customers taking their time and enjoying what they are paying for. I am sure I am not the only one to see through this tactic.

Only someone who has never eaten real Italian food could rate this place with 5 stars. Definitely, this is not Italian food. The recipes, besides not existing on an Italian menu, are made with very cheap ingredients—I'd even dare say they are the cheapest on the market. The wine is also of the same level; just one glass of house red wine will ruin your head for the whole next day. It's a shame because the venue is nice, and the staff is lovely—the best part of the place, without a doubt. There are certainly other places in Sunderland that serve quality Italian food, albeit more expensive, but the ingredients are worth it.

Fantastic Sunday lunch carvery. Excellent food and good value for money. Special mention for the amazing Yorkshire pudding,

Lovely atmosphere. Amazing food. Great deals for happy hour. Quality has never dropped. It's been for Sunday lunch as well as other time in and outside of happy hour. Friendly staff. Parking is limited, but there is some option to park on street outside

Great food and vibe, and not over priced .

Always a good restaurant good service good food

The Italian Kitchen has been a mainstay in Sunderland for many years now and for good reason. Food includes everything you would expect from an Italian, always served beautifully and tastes great. The Sunday carvery is also outstanding making this an unexpectedly top tier Sunday lunch spot. "Family hour" in particular offers great value. Highly recommend.

Great italian reataurant, good choice of food, reasonable price

Absolutely delicious, great staff, great environment and fantastic food, definitely worth a second visit

Had a lovely sirloin steak. The restaurant was very busy for a Monday night and the staff appeared quite rushed.

Fantastic food and service and even a happy birthday was sung too amazing

Went for the first time yesterday. I've been gluten free for two years now and this is the first time I’ve had a garlic bread in all this time. I couldn’t tell the difference! So so impressed! For mains I had a spicy ragu with gluten free pasta. I think my only critic would be when it comes to pasta and gluten free options it always seems to be penne only in my surrounding area. Would be nice to see another alternative. Highly recommend!

1st time today. Not 1 complaint from me and the missus. We had the adult carvery and 2 sticky toffee puddings. Sitting here well and truly stuffed. Thanks everyone of yous.

Outstanding food and the service was wonderful.

Love the lamp shank, but my favourite is the goat cheese pizza very delicious

Had a 3 course meal. Delicious food, great service and great prices too. Will definitely return!

Lovely food, great service, left sooner than planned as couldn't stand the sound of a kid on an I pad with a repetitive tune. ....

Amazing place. Food is unbelievable and got brought an ice cream for my birthday. Visited a few times and will happily keep going back.

We booked a table last minute. We arrived early and were seated early. Service was very quick. Staff very friendly & attentive. We went for the 3 Course Special which was very reasonably priced and we weren’t disappointed. The food was full of flavour and there was lots of it. Goat Cheese Starter was just divine, the Lamb main was full of a different flavours (highly recommend) and the Lemon Dessert was beautiful. Very impressed, will definitely be back. ⭐️

Pedí media pizza, ensalada, papas fritas y salsa de boloñesa - según el menú. Lo que recibí fue una pizza doblada sobre sí misma, patatas fritas y salsa. La pizza parecía una gran renovación, la pasta de masa en el interior estaba sin cocinar y sin ensalada. Nuestras comidas fueron servidas aligerando la velocidad y despejadas con gran rapidez. Comida rápida que era, buena comida que no era!

First time here, went with work. All the food looked fantastic, lasagne was possibly the best one I'd ever eaten. Lovely place.

I love the food here and staff are lovely. My only gripe is that when it's someone's birthday they blast music so loudly while a cake is brought out that it literally hurts. It is so sudden. I have been in my restaurants where happy birthday is played, sparklers, posh dessert etc. never this loud though. On the plus side, I go regularly so the food must really be good! I love that you can order any pizza at half size with a portion of the most delicious triple cooked chips rather than debating whether you will have room for chips with a full pizza.

We were thirty minutes late getting seated even though we’d booked. Manager was very rude and arrogant. No turnip or cabbage/broccoli. When asked if they had more we were rudely told well it is late on a Sunday. We mentioned well yous accepted the 15 person booking so surely you would have enough vegetables to feed people. Was told by the manager tough with a shrug and walked away. Customer service was disgusting as we were all together for a yearly memorial to a son, brother, uncle and friend

Food is normally the best however got a beef dinner and was cold

Me and my partner come here on a frequent basis, we’ve often recommended to family & friends and brought them along too. A few months back, the pasta we ordered (we order the same one most times) was completely salty and inedible. We weren’t the only ones with an awful taste in our mouth, as the manager seemed disgusted that we reported this issue. You can see via the photos the difference in the pasta. We’ve decided to go back as we do enjoy this place to eat, but what a mistake. He clearly recognised us from the off and didn’t look best pleased, I wish we left at this point but we thought the unprofessionalism of this establishment would end there. Sadly not, he launched the pizza onto the table like it was a frisby, it almost ended up on the floor. He shouted asking if we wanted Parmesan, he wasn’t friendly or welcoming in the slightest. The food was really spicy, and this wasn’t what we requested, the dish is not usually spicy and one we enjoy. The pizza wasn’t cut either, and he also wasn’t happy when we asked for some utensils to cut with.. We will never return to this establishment, nor will our friends or family.

Tuesday evening 5pm. Last day before kids return to school after summer break Was very busy.. food was good, but I have had better here, on lots of occasions.

Lovely food, good selection on the menu. Service was prompt and friendly.

Food was outstanding very very nice,starter was mushrooms in sauce,absolutely delicious then pizza which was the best pizza I've ever had.highly recommend 😋

Had the best italian meal I've had in a long time Staff were amazing food outstanding 👌 You must pay a visit if you are in the area

Decent size meals of good quality

Always love coming here for food and drink. Great customer service. Service always with a smile. I got the Angus burger meal. I asked without cheese as I'm lactose intolerant and I really enjoyed it. Lovely Angus meat. All food was hot. Onion rings nice and crunchy. Fries I loved, Nice and crispy and salted. Lovely presentation. Only one negative was the bottom of bun was soggy but that might of been because of the salad. Maybe toast the bottom of bun more and dry off the salad a little before applying. Didn't want to ask for replacement as I was very hungry. Could do with bigger parking place as if you use Aldi car park you might get charged if you there more than a hour. Food is served fast too on a busy evening within 10 mins. Lovely decor and clean. Feels homely. Would highly recommend this place Thank you to all who work here and the owner for such great experience and can't wait to come back for more.

Nice food at a reasonable price.

Staff are very friendly and helpful the food is beautiful and hot well worth a visit to the Italian kitchen

The food was delicious. Authentic vibes. Very busy however, and the phone rang whilst we were there, relentlessly. Although the staff were busy, there was no urgency to answer the phone. Now some may argue that a phone is less a priority than sitting guests and I agree, but the ring tune was loud and could be heard above the vibrant chatter. Slightly annoying after 45 minutes of constant ringing. Food great, service outstanding. Slight moan.

Pizza was again soggy in the whole centre this as happened before, tonight another person ie couple complained same thing , I do not like to complain as I enjoy my meals hear

Excellent staff couldn't do enough to accommodate me with my 10 month old absolute pleasure to eat and dine here. Food was 5* as always

AlwYs delicious. Great setviceand normally buzzing

Absolutely insane food as always!! Been coming here every weekend for 12 years and i’ve never had better food or service! Would recommend to anyone who’s in the area 🫶

Love this restaurant and food is always excellent. However tonight we booked a table for 6.45 to accommodate our 12 year old. Apart from garlic bread starter we still hadn’t been served our main course by 8 pm. We know it’s very busy and we don’t normally complain but we just think you shouldn’t take bookings if you can’t cope with so many people. The food was as always delicious but our youngster was too tired to even have her favourite dessert .

Iv been eating there for long time and alway been very happy, but today was not good at all , I love brushetta but always have the bread toasted today was just really soggy bread. The kids spaghetti boll was ok a bit watery though, but mine was very spicy tasted more like chilli and so salty I couldn't eat it . Really disappointed.

Fantastic menu great staff always a lovely welcome Thank you

Restaurant top notch well worth 5* friendly staff served with a smile

Lovely food, staff all friendly and service very efficient.

As a once frequent visitor to The Italian Kitchen I have always enjoyed the food and service here. More recently I have visited their Takeaway Nana Franca on Sea Road where the food is fantastic & 10/10 every time. Visits Italian Kitchen today & before my partner & myself had even pulled out our chairs we were asked “Can I get you any drinks?” Our waiter was a very rude man with a bald head, striped shirt & tattoos on the back of his neck! 0/10 for his attempt at any customer services! If he doesn’t like his job, maybe he should get one somewhere else that doesn’t include interaction with paying customers! The food itself was below average & not a patch on Nana France. Maybe the chef should go down there & see how it’s done properly! Our pasta sauces were both a watered down version of the amazing quality we get at their Takeaway! Our cutlery, plates, glasses & table were absolutely manky! We even witnessed a family finish their meal on the next table to us & the waitress moved all their plates, glasses etc away, then set the table for the next seating without cleaning the table! Our table was sticky, glasses smudged & smelly, and cutlery looked like it hadn’t been washed for ages! Food: 6/10 Attempt at Customer Service 0/10 Cleanliness (or lack of) 2/10 NEVER AGAIN Oh yes…… also charged £3 for a glass of Pepsi in a manky glass!

60th birthday celebration food amazing been today prefer afternoon not too busy service was excellent and precise had salmon for main thought I.d died and gone to heaven ha ha had an amazing time with my family

Excellent quality of food and price 👍

On walking in a waitress was straight over and asked what I wanted to drink before I’d even pulled out the chair or had a chance to look at the menu. I asked for a Pepsi max and she said, “two Pepsi max” as she turned to walk away. My sister quickly said no and asked if she could just have water, the waitress gave her an odd glare, so my sister thinking perhaps she had misheard asked again if she could just get a glass of water, the waitress gave an odd look and repeated, “water!?” Before she walked away. We were pleased that the staff changed over after that. There were not many veggie options on the menu but the waiter was helpful and let us remove items from the calzone to make them suitable. The food was lovely and plentiful. So, I would recommend.

Great prices and lovely food, always busy so book in advance. Still perfect in 2024!

Terrible sound system too lound poor quality spoit night just turn it down few smiles would help

This is a busy restaurant and very noisy. Food was ok. Staff never smiled. Everyone seemed so serious.

Wonderful food,massive portions, excellent staff,lovely atmosphere. Our favourite place to eat

Brilliant as usual excellent service and great choice of food really affordable.

Lovely food and amazing staff!! Can't recommend this place enough!!!

Used to be lovely place for food .

Fantastic place, food amazing and large portions. Best food I’ve had in a long time. The staff are excellent in both the service and advice they give.

Very reasonably priced and nice food. Carvery is very tasty

Been here quite a few times for Sunday lunch, the food is beautiful, won't go anywhere else for Sunday lunch now.... the pub has its own little car park but there's plenty parking in aldi car park ... never had any problems with parking or anything else for that matter... well done guys keep doing what your doing ...

Ate there quite a few times last night sick from the pizza and my partner is currently in bed with sickness and cramps after eating the prawns. We have nothing to eat all day apart from in there so hard to be told two different meals will not be as a result of the place said the person who I contacted from there.

Great restaurant food always perfect served by friendly efficient staff

A word of mouth recommendation. Was absolutely fantastic. Food looked and smelt amazing. Went for the black pudding and mash with peppercorn sauce for starter and pizza main course. Great value of £13.95 for 2 course set menu. Arriving midday on a monday, I thought it would be dead quiet, but we weren't the first to arrive and the restaurant continued to get busier as lunch went on. Service was efficient and polite. Over all I'd highly recommend this restaurant!

Service a little slow but there were 16 of us. Everyone enjoyed their food too. Just one issue really the waitress knocked my wine glass over holding about a third of a glass and splashing my clothes they replaced the glass with barely the amount it had already had in it......I just feel given my trousers/leg for wet (luckily they were black do red wine wouldn't stain so no probs) they could have provided a full drink to apologise? Just a thought for next time ??

Very nice food affordable and well worth a visit best steak I've had for a long time

A great experience all round, the only downside is that it closes so early! We booked a table for 8:15pm and based on their website the restaurant closed at 8:30pm (which we didn't know) so they were moving tables around us whilst setting up for breakfast. Seemed a bit noisy whilst we ate. My wife is coeliac and their choice of options were brilliant There were 6 of is dining and we all had starters, mains, 2 alcoholic drinks each, and 2 x non alcoholic gin and lemonade, £185 which I thought was insanely reasonable. Wish we took more pictures of the food

This place is always excellent. The food is tasty, arrives quickly and there is always enough! The service is excellent, staff are always friendly and helpful. I cannot fault it. Portions are very good and prices are fair. Definitely go back soon.

Lovely food, couldn't fault it. Can't wait to go back.

I went for garlic mushrooms to starter, I thought it tasted weird,soapy kind of taste. My daughter tried it said it was fine then said hang on there is a awfully after taste. She had a brutetta that was lovely. My second course was a chicken pasta that was tasteless. Such a let down used to love dining here. It will be a long time before I try it again.

Holy wow! This place was absolutely smashing! Came with a bunch of work colleagues on match day so there was already a full house and an amazing atmosphere! The staff were superb! So helpful in suggesting what to order, so attentive and checking in on us (despite how busy they were), and when the food arrived... Gosh.... Well presented and so so tasty! Id have eaten here again without a second thought.... Hopefully be back up again sometime to come here! Thanks guys really made our works meal out one to remember! (Parking is a little tight but street parking on main road is also a possibility)

Food was lovely service was very good would recommend Italian kitchen

Beautiful food plenty of choice. great prices. Staff are friendly and helpful. Definitely recommend.

Food quality and quantity 5/5. Value for money 5/5. Service 4/5. Would have been a full 5 star review but on arrival there was a mix up over my booking.

Gorgeous food and attentive staff thoroughly enjoyed our visit! Best gamberoni I’ve ever had! Everyone enjoyed their meals and we had a lovely night

Lovely friendly atmosphere, food was great and staff very helpful as I have gluten intolerance, catered for my needs

Food is beautiful and staff very attentive. Probably my favourite Italian, definitely recommend.

Service is fast and friendly, it's a nice place and the food is beautiful and fairly priced

Excellent food and the service was excellent.

Italian kitchen is just the industry standard now. It's always lovely, always well priced and always busy. The perfect place. No matter what Italian restaurant we try, we always compare it to here, and usually the more expensive restaurants aren't any better. Everyone in our family eat here fairly regularly!

Terrific food. Lovely staff with a great atmosphere. Definitely be back. Update 08/04/22: Back again, food still amazing, staff are brilliant can't wait for the next one 😀

As always a great place to meet up with friends and family. Food absolutely lovely.Staff attentive and efficient. We went for the special deal..and it was really packed full. Large tables of people celebrating special occasions. So it was incredibly noisy....again no complaints from our party but if you want a quieter more intimate dinner perhaps a little later in the evening. Will always go back.

Beautiful food but 1 female staff member very rude. Room a little too warm and music a little loud

Amazing food. Fast service. Good specials two for 13.95 can't go wrong. Highly recommended

Been a few times and the food, service and staff are bang on, will be back

Great food and Amazing customer service , highly recommended. We will definitely come back😊

We came in as a couple. Food came out quickly. However we got the same starter and quantity was visually very different despite being the same dish. Then for mains we ordered lasagne and carbonara pasta. The lasagne was mainly cheese and carbonara very watery. No one asked us how our food was or offered anymore drinks or even asked once they took food away when it had visually not been eaten at all.

Booked a table for 18 people for 7 o'clock 4 weeks in advance didn't get seated till 8 didn't get our food until 8:30 food was really nice service staff very polite and friendly I would definitely go again just not at busy times.