La Bottega in Belfast

What a gem. Great cafe and restaurant on Lisburn Road. It's Italian, owned and run by Italians. Just bloody excellent.

It’s months since I was in La Bottega and was delighted at the prospect of returning but sadly the food was very disappointing. I chose the Aubergine Parmesan and it was terrible. Lacking in taste with a gloopy sauce around it. My friend’s dish, she also found bland. What’s happened? It’s a gorgeous venue with lovely staff. I’m hoping it was just a one off bad day! I’ll try again at some point.

Great authentic Italian restaurant serving lovely food and coffee. The service is welcoming, friendly and genuine. Highly recommend.

A beautiful Italian experience in Belfast! Like feeling at home, from the food, the quality of the products, the atmosphere, the staff, highly recommended! Exceptional pizza

Here I found real Italian cuisine! Highly recommended!

Fantastic restaurant with a great atmosphere. Very friendly, efficient service and the food is amazing. First time there but I definitely will be back. Highly recommend.

Beautiful food. Great atmosphere. Really recommend a visit. I will be going back

Fantastic, authentic Italian fare with delicious wines and great service! What's not to love!

Closed to 16 July 2024 on summer holiday. No message on phone. That’s poor customer service

Visited La Bottega for the first time last night and everything about this place was just perfect. The menu was not extensive but the quality of the food reflected the care and attention that was put into the dish. The chilli fennel sausage tagliatelle was like nothing I've ever had before. The portion size was perfect given how rich the dish was. And the taste was second to none. Compliments to the chef! The staff were wonderfully attentive but never overbearing, giving great recommendations for wine to go with our meal. Gabriele and Soari (??? Apologies! unsure of spelling ) were lovely and you can tell that they put a lot of care into their role in ensuring everyone that walked through the door were made to feel right at home. Cannot wait to go back and try lasagne! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

£82 for two lunches. Make sure you bring G4S security with you. 2 decent lunches in Roma, outside the tourist areas, wouldn't even cost half that. But as I often hear people say, a fool and his money are easily parted. I don't know how to reply to your reply so I will add a reply here. There is no problem bringing food products into NI from the EU via the ROI. That argument doesn't equate. You clearly don't know as much as you pretent about importing food from the EU. As a retired customs official I do... 2x3 courses, wine, beer, coffee, water in Isola del liri. 48 euro = £40

Food is simple and so, so good 🤍

A proper Italian experience here, with good wine, attentive but never intrusive service, and a varied and tasty range of authentic Italian dishes. If you want proper Italian food without compromise like other inauthentic and generic Italian restaurants in Belfast, then this lovely little restaurant is for you.

Can’t recommend this place enough! Went here for lunch and the pasta, pinsa, tiramisu, wine and coffee were top notch! As indeed was the service! We will definitely be back!

Food and service is amazing. Have been several times now, most recently for a chilled out Sunday pizza. Best pizza I've had in Belfast. Brilliant team, well done!

I think this is my new favourite restaurant in Belfast! Great food, great atmosphere and really nice attentive staff- couldn’t recommend it more!

We had a lovely meal. The food was superb as was the service a special mention to Jeevan, Gabriel Lorenzo and Eamonn. The surroundings made you feel like you were in Italy with the fresh and dry produce on show.

A bit hit and miss. The arancini and parmigiana melanzane were good but the gnocchi wasn't so good 😕 The Tiramisu was very good. It's still worth a try and I will be back again some time.

What a beautiful experience tonight! Food, wine, service, authentic Italian food at it's best. We will be back! Thank you

A very good Italian restrauant experience. Food was great. Coffee was great and service was excellent.

Brilliant Italian authenticity and extremely friendly staff. I had the bolognese and it was just like the pasta I had in Milan.

The staff were very friendly and talked to each guest to make them at home! I really appreciated that part of this restaurant!! Also, when I was interested in dessert choices they very kindly explained, and describe all the desert they had. The atmosphere is also very cozy, and felt truly like you travel to Italy and lived at home . And the interior design was very pretty and Instagram worthy.!!

Perfect place for lunch. Wonderful coffee, excellent food - arancini and focaccia. Really good service.

This is my favorite restaurant in all Ireland - I have no words for the entire experience. The food is more than amazing and the staff is truly amazing! I am a real fan.

Back today for lunch(my wife is obsessed with the place) after a year. I must say that La Bottega has improved massively since the last time I was there. The food has always been absolutely delicious but I was extremely happy to see that the restaurant has upgraded their menus so now you can expect what to spend from the very start. We had 2 pinza(s) accompanied with a great glass of wine. DELICIOUS. Tiramisù top quality too. Really impressed. The staff was and still is very friendly and helpful. Francesco, the owner, looked after us extremely well. Great service, great food and great staff. Definitely will be back again. Looking forward to trying the Sunday pizza night which, from the Instagram photos, looks sublime! Thanks again for the free coffe (Francesco didn't forget that 😜). The only regret, not being back earlier.

If u love your Italian food and products definitely check this place out

Amazing people and quality food!

Amazing authentic Italian food. The staff were fantastic and very knowledgeable about the food and the wine. Some great recommendations. So glad we found this place. We will definitely be back very soon!

Visited for the first time today. The food was beautiful authentic Italian, absolutely delicious. Well priced and fairly portioned. Service was vibrant and attentive.

Excellent service and quality of food is amazing!

Lovely venue and friendly waiting staff. Meal quality poor - frozen croquettes and risotto with plastic packaging left in the dish. No concession to final bill and when we complained the owner made no contact with us or apology for the quality. Finally got risotto off the bill but very awkward end to what should have been a lovely experience.

The worst food I ever tasted made me feel sick never again had to leave and they still charged for a wine and bottle off water 18 pounds stay clear people there is better Italian restaurants

Just so disappointed to be served seabass In kitchen foil, very few prawns taste horrible, like they were out of date… we have to leave, sorry but not what you expect on Lisburn Road for that price

Best coffee on the Lisburn Road!

A Belfast per vacanza abbiamo trovato la bottega per caso e subito ci siamo sentiti a casa. Posto favoloso e autentica cucina tradizionale da nord a sud. Lo consiglio vivamente.

Locale molto accogliente, personale attento e gentile, cibo ottimo... E soprattutto il proprietario Veramente una persona eccezionale.... Ritorneremo sicuramente.....🤗

The reason I have not given the food 4 stars is in no way to do with the quality but simply because of the difficulty of having a choice of gluten free. It is surprising to encounter this problem in an Italian restaurant as Italy is probably one of the best countries in Europe at accommodating people with gluten free food.

Very disappointing. Not family friendy. Was very disappointing to find out that there was only one highchair in restaurant and already been used, so we had to hold our 9 months old, while were eating. Terrible service from waitress who didn't have "enough" time to set cutlery on the table properly and throw it as quick as she could.We weren't ask if we would like more drinks, coffee and etc. Food was nice, but service really put us off from coming back.

Fabulous place - the food, staff & vino, perfect .

What a find this place was for me. Coffee is awesome and the food selection never fails to impress.

La Bottega is superb, one of the best tasting food in Belfast, without a shadow of a doubt! Francesco is very charismatic and warm, he manages to bring a piece of Italy to Belfast. Jivan is very attentive and is always happy to help! we are so glad to have la Bottega locally to us.

this place is literally the best and most authentic Italian restaurant in Belfast, I hugely recommend the foccacia and particularly the Bologna one, the mortadella was excellent and fresh and the mix is buonissimo. Il personale è molto accomodante quando si tratta di apportare piccole modifiche e questo è apprezzato è confortante avere questo posto che ricorda la cucina della nonna, grazie mille a tutta la squadra !

An amazing Italian place that has a super but small menu, as well as Italian deli stuff for sale also. The coffee was great and the pastries were superb. Cannot wait to go back for a meal

It's more of a shop/ lunch place than a restaurant or a place for dinner. Food portions are very small, food presentation is a bit poor: fritto misto came on a piece of paper which disolved with grease by the time we finished it, seabass came full of bones, wrapped in baking foil which was sitting on your plate once opened, and a salad (which were just leaves with nothing else and barely any oil). Fish was cooked well, but it's more like something you'd cook at home (could even do better and add boiled potatoes or chips and more ingredients to the salad). Seabass cannelloni portion was also small. After a starter and main course, my partner and I both left a bit hungry. Prices are a bit high for what it is. Italian music in the background was nice.

Excellent restaurant, the waiters where attentive and knowledgeable about the menu. The owner was warm and welcoming. Food was amazing, definitely try the artichoke. The atmosphere was intimate, encouraging conversation, music wasn't loud. I cannot recommend it enough and will definitely be returning.

Beautiful authentic food in a chilled and relaxing space.

One of the best places to eat in Belfast !!! Authentic & amazing. Tiramisu is 😗👌 ready for another trip to Italy after dining here. Grazie !

This place is truly amazing! Food is 10/10! Staff are super friendly. All I am saying is not to go if you are in a rush. Pretend you are on holiday, because your drinks and food may take a little longer than you wish. Again, great place to eat. Definitely try it!

First time visiting La Bottega, we really enjoyed it. They made up a custom starter for us due to dietary requirements which was appreciated. Top quality Italian produce and expertly cooked. Met the chef afterwards! The wine list was good too. Had a nice ambience and loved the Italian produce adorning the walls (available to purchase). Will be back!

Terrible. Veg. Carbonara was pasta in egg sauce with maybe half a slice of courgette. The whole thing was tasteless. Desert was a microwaved slice of unfresh strudel. Atrocious and expensive for such poor food. Avoid

True authenticity Not being able to travel this summer for our annual Pugliese trip we visited La Bottega under recommendation from my brother in law who lived in Italy and knows authenticity when it comes to italian cuisines. Well we were blown away! Cooked from the heart by chef Francesco who hails from Bari The food isn't frilly but my word the quality, the freshness and taste brings you right back to a lively trattoria in a piazza somewhere in Italia! Frankly this place to me represents what is missing in many - authenticity. And not catering to assumed untrained palates! An example of this is the carbonara has no cream or bacon! The irish palate has now evolved so we dont need cuisines from other nations adulterated! Every 2 weeks the menu changes. Provenance is considered fully by the La Bottega owner and chef La bottega keeps it real and the palate is delighted by the food served. Well done La Bottega team The service is also second to none. I hear a pizza oven is on its way! Will be back for more Keep it up.

Esperienza Sempre Fantastica..... The Food is always Fresh.... And the preparation of primary products is always excellent❤️

First time here certainly won't be the last,food very tasty & coffee fab,staff lovely.

Good coffee and snack. Staff were also very nice and helpful

We were walking along the lisburn road and spotted here, went in and luckily got a table (was asked if we had booked). The food is amazing, really fresh and tasty. Great coffee as well. We will come back

Fantastic pastries, coffee and customer service. Decor and atmosphere are all Italian and this is exactly what Belfast needs. Superb

Best Italian restaurant outside of Italy. The food is amazing and the service is impeccable 👌

Great food very clean great staff

All round great place. Would highly recommend - the coffee is great, so is the food, and the staff very very friendly.

italianità trovata nei sapori , trattamento pronto e gentile abbiamo fatto colazione alle 10 con cannoli e capuccini e pranzato con un paio di pan focacce farcite veramente mediterranee.

Outstanding service with some delicious traditional Italian cuisine. Grazie mille!

Two of us had dinner here. Bruschetta to start. Very flavoursome. Bolognese and prawn risotto for mains and a delicious tiramisu to finish. Delish. Would recommend as there is a lovely relaxed feel to the place. I can see this being a regular spot. Well done Francisco and your great waitresses

One of the best places to drop into on the Lisburn Road, super coffee friendly staff and great selection of fresh dishes.

I loved La Bottega, authentic Italian food. You can really notice the difference as the quality of the ingredients is unique. I came here more than once already, and i really appreciate the welcoming service, the food, the wine, the atmosphere, everything! I feel like i am at home every time i go. I definetely recommend it

Best coffee on Lisburn road. Ambiance and food to go and in house catering is made and served the Italian way. Team are all genuinely lovely people. If you wanted a bit of Italy head there.

I wish we have visited La Bottega long ago as we absolutely loved our very first lunch here. Food was so genuine and authentic Italian and the atmosphere is so relaxing and welcoming. Will definitely be back to try more from their menu!

This place is so nice, really good vibe and great authentic Italian food. Staff are super friendly too, definitely will be back!! Little hidden gem on the lisburn road ❤️

It was an amazing experience to have authentic Italian. Something different than other Italian restaurant. The atmosphere was very nice as well as staff.

Friendly service, lively ambience and delicious food. Authentically Italian style.

Really tasty, great beers, have to go back, great staff.

Could sit in La Bottega for hours. Truly great food! Great coffee and great music.

Amazing place where you can feel like home. High quality italian food and with lovely and professional staff.

Fantastic experience. The guys are very friendly and engaging. Food is prepared daily and changes constantly. Good for coffee and a pastry or something more substantial.

Exquisite rage of products and friendly staff. Sfogliatelle and cannoli are the best i have tasted this side of the waters :-)

We met Francisco probably 5 years ago when he was waiter in a different restaurant. He recognised us when we came to his new restaurant. The service was very attentive the food was great. We recommend La Bottega for a relaxed meeting place - beautiful ambiance and food. The star ratings are 100% accurate. We highly recommend.

High quality of Italian products... great selection of Italian music... really cool place&staff

So pleased to have discovered the authentically Italian La Bottega by way of a recommendation from my Italian guests staying in Belfast. Lovely happy atmosphere with Italian music playing and the chef/owner preparing food in full view whilst chatting away to his mostly Italian customers. Wonderful coffee and food!

Great original Italian. 👏 worth your custom

Absolutely delicious. Owner explained all the meats and cheeses to us, loved it all.

So glad this place exists. Staff were brilliant and the atmosphere was great. The focaccia with parma ham, sundried tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella etc was incredible. Also had focaccia with aubergine, salami, cheese etc which was also delicious. Good coffee too!! The whole experience was a delight. Can't wait for my next visit. Thanks!

Luogo dall'atmosfera calda ed accogliente tipicamente italiana. Ottima la selezione di prodotti gastronomici della tradizione mediterranea da gustare sit in o take away. Bella l'accoglienza e la cortesia del proprietario Francesco. Lo consiglio vivamente.

Great coffee and excellent pastries. And a very warm welcome from the owners.

Newly opened. Excellent coffee. Would definitely recommend - gotta be best on Lisburn Road.