La Dolce Vita in Dumfries & Galloway

Nestled in the heart of Dumfries, La Dolce Vita offers an inviting, well-presented setting in a building with unique character—an old bank transformed into an Italian eatery. My guest and I stopped in for lunch, drawn in by the appealing prices on their midday menu and the charming ambiance. From the outset, the experience started on a good note. The staff were warm, attentive, and welcoming, adding to the overall positive first impression. For starters, I chose the stuffed mushroom, and my guest opted for the soup of the day: a pea and pancetta soup. The soup had a delightful, fresh flavor, though the bread served alongside was disappointingly stale. My stuffed mushroom, on the other hand, delivered with an enjoyable depth of flavor. Moving to the mains, however, the experience began to falter. I ordered the chicken Milanese, which arrived with a side of tomato pasta. Unfortunately, the Milanese resembled a breaded chicken you might find prepackaged at the supermarket, lacking the crisp freshness one expects. The pasta was overcooked, and the sauce tasted unexpectedly sweet and bland, like a store-bought jar of sauce rather than a house-made Italian tomato sauce. My guest’s Bolognese, which I sampled, was similarly lacking in complexity—a one-note sauce without the hearty, rich flavors typical of a good Bolognese. While the price point was indeed budget-friendly, the quality of the dishes left us underwhelmed. With some improvements, La Dolce Vita has the potential to create meals as delightful as its atmosphere, but until then, it’s a thumbs down from me.

Great eatery, food was lovely and the staff were very attentive and polite.

Very nice and friendly staff. Super delicious food. Price-performance is good for Scottish standards.

Thoroughly enjoyed, will be back!

Lovely food including a great gluten free menu. Cosy setting with some above-par Italian choices.

A real treasure and asset to Dumfries. The Food and service is superb.

Great service but not so great food. My pizza was pretty boring and very difficult to cut as rather overdone. Shame. Wouldn't go again.

Always an enjoyable meal at La Dolce Vita. There's plenty to choose from on the menu and a separate vegan menu with 4 or 5 choices for starters, mains and even desserts. Service is friendly and there isn't usually too much of a wait before the food arrives. The fact that it's always busy speaks volumes too.

Great food and terrific service.

We called in here for lunch and we're lucky to get a table without booking as it was quite busy. We both chose pizzas which didn't take long to arrive and were delicious. Definitely worth another visit but probably best to book beforehand to avoid disappointment

Nice Italian restaurant with good coeliac safe options. It's a pity there's an extra charge for gluten-free pizza dough.

Great wee find Visited twice in a week Would return if in Dumfries

Delicious food, I had the funghi ripieno and the pollo parmigiano.

Food was amazing, we ordered margarita pizza, crème brûlée and chocolate brownie. I'll be dreaming of the food for a while. Definitely will be back. The staff were really friendly and it had a good selection of vegetarian options.

We were in the back room and it was too noisy.

Went out of their way to find me a table on Tuesday night when they were really busy. Great food, great atmosphere, great service.

Whent yesterday.The meal lovely and the staff are very friendly and helpful. We would thoroughly recommend it 👌

Lovely meal well presented and attentive waiting staff. Found it very noisy I was finding it hard to hear the conversation with everyone at our table.

Went here with my colleagues for dinner! Really affordable menu 2 course + drink for 15£ from Monday - Thursday. Staff were friendly, food was good portion and tastes decent. Definitely worth my money for what I was paying for. Would have come back here if I knew about this place earlier but sadly leaving Dumfries soon.

Excellent food for a fair price and a great ambience! The service was also great, very friendly and patient with all our questions.

Food Excellent. Staff friendly and attentive. Reasonably priced. A shame it was so noisy. Like being at a 5 year olds birthday party. I won't be rushing back.

Lovely little Italian restaurant with a great menu, friendly staff and beautiful food.

Absolutely outstanding meal. Good portions and very high quality. Service was speedy and friendly (especially Holly who was absolutely lovely) If you are anywhere nearby don't even think about missing out!

Return visit after some time as in the area and wanted to enjoy a nice lunch here. Really very disappointed this time. First time round all good, bordering on great, wouldn’t go back after this experience. Prawn starter okay, pizzas tougher than a pair of old boots, charged and extra £4 for one which had a minor addition of prosciutto which was not that nice anyway. Bases tasted a bit raw but were burnt. Also just so amazingly salty it was untrue! Not a great atmosphere, very noisy and echoing. Had to ask 3 times for water just to be refilled as we had to continually drink the contents due to salty food. Would have thought that a larger one would have been provided, the same as every other table but no, same very small size was being brought to us again and again. Was ask at the end of the meal if all was okay, I replied, ‘It was okay’. Opportunity for the waiting staff to ask was there any problems, not a word from them! Do they actually listen to customers. I think definitely NOT.

Lovely flavours to the vegetable pasta, and pasta well cooked but not overcooked. Food came out hot enough to stay hot until finished. Staff were polite and friendly. Food served quickly but not rushed.

Good food and drink, attentive service. Early bird menu gives good value for money

There are pizzas and pizzas, the one from this restaurant did not convince us.

Great vegan options, they have a whole vegan menu.

Was there for a family meal, food was very good, despite a member of our party finding a slater in their food. Staff were very apologetic and offered that meal free.

I had a birthday party at La Dolce Vita and all my friends loved it we had pizza and ice cream staff are brilliant people and the toilets are clean also I would highly recommend La Dolce Vita

First visit to the restaurant. Easy access close to public parking. Restaurant has good pricing for 1 2 or 3 courses. My wife and I had a 2 course meal, starters and mains..all courses were excellent and service attentive and efficient. We will return soon

A fantastic find. Had the Spaghetti Fantasia.

WOW,went here today for lunch with my wife,baby and my mother. We all got the starter, main course plus drinks the food was fantastic, delicious and really great size portions they really didn't hold back with the fresh ingredients and the quality of meat and seafood was amazing. We went to Bruno's at the weekend and I can say the food was on par but the price at La Dolce Vita was way Unfortunately I only took pictures of my main meal which was called MARE which was a seafood pizza it has fresh mussels, Callie mare,king prawns and king scallops on it with extra olives which I ordered. I couldn't believe the size of the king scallops and king prawns they were massive and so delicious,got to be one the best sea food pizzas I have ever had and I have traveled and eaten seafood all over the world and to get this dish here in Dumfries is outstanding. Well done La Dolce Vita ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐👍

Really nice food and great service visited twice this year already. cant knock the staff at all.. a table for 2 can be a bit uncomfortable with water 2 plates drinks etc.. also need to bring the loo's up to the standard of the restaurant area.. so 4*

Fantastic food. I had the mussels to start and the duck to follow. Both full of flavour, perfectly cooked and generous portions. Never knew you could get food of this quality in Dumfries. Better book early as they are often busy.

It was fortunate that we arrived early and so were offered a table on the understanding that we would relinquish it before 7pm. The restaurant was evidently well-patronised and was recommended to me by tourist information just round the corner. Excellent food at a reasonable price.

Food was excellent and the young girl who served us was well presented, and very attentive to our needs

Have been a couple of times recently and can’t fault the food as it’s lovely. Reasonable prices apart from the draught beer which is a bit high but this is offset by the early doors menu which is very keenly priced…

Spag ball was just like tomato purée and spaghetti

Lovely place,the staff were lovely and attentive. The food was absolutely delicious. Xx

Above average Italian restaurant, friendly staff.

Excellent pizza Very good service

Lovely time, our dinner was fantastic.

We where there for a cuppa and the staff are amazing

This place is amazing and must try. Will I revisit this place? Hell yes!!! It's reasonable price wise. It's was a great experience.

Extremely disappointed to be told..."sorry we are too busy to take your "take away" food order " .... not a good way to treat customers. Time to look for a different Italian restaurant in Dumfries.

Best Italian in Scotland! Great service, good prices, lots of choice on menu.

Visited tonight to try out the Burns Night Specials. Food was lovely and as always, spoiled for choice of gluten free options 😁.

A very strangely shaped but tasty pizza. The tables are a bit cramped.

Best pizza ever Highly recommended

I ordered two course meal for over 14 pounds which is a good value for your money. The tomato sauce they use for the pizza is sweet, it's weird but not bad. I think they use tomato sauce with lots of sweet peppers for their pasta and pizza dishes.

What a grand old building and an amazing restaurant inside. Love the high ceilings and period features throughout. The staff were very friendly and polite and the food..... Well Ama-zing! We both had the Pollo Dolce Vita and asked for it to be extra spicy and it was perfect. Nice tingle, full of flavour and we loved the potato loaf thingy whatever it's called? Totally loved it and definitely recommend 💯

Food was just mediocre. Service was ok but the waitresses could perhaps smile now and again.

We had two pasta’s and to be brutally honest; I don’t think I’ve had a worst pasta in my life. The carbonara my husband had didn’t seem to contain any eggs; it was all cream. The pasta itself was terribly overdone, and clotted together like a big dough ball. The girls serving us were really nice and competent.

Great atmosphere, attentive staff, quality food and good value.

Food was great , large portion, s good service , great price 👍

Well, I have never been in here. Deffo recommend booking. Seems very popular. The food was amazing. Staff were great

It's always busy with great atmosphere. Always wise to book a table though. Food excellent, couldn't fault it and prices competitive. Great meal out. We will be back

Excellent service food and atmosphere- couldn’t have done anymore

Dry chicken, salty cabbage, hard carrots but broccoli was good. My red wine was warm and I had creme brulee which was still liquid on top no crack at all. The staff didn't ask if we enjoyed the meal or why we left so much on our plates. First time we didn't leave a tip, it was a birthday gift and it was a disaster.

A great experience with great service Pizza was slightly burnt 1 side (hard to cut) and excellent other side Very happy with the duck, a good chef and brilliant sides. Very thoughtful touches. House red was well recommended for the duck. Well done

Really enjoyed my dinner here. Went with my other half. We had a reservation and we're served fairly quickly. Duck fish was lovely and I really enjoyed the house red. Staff were very professional and accomodating. Will definitely be going back when im next in the area

Fantastic wedding anniversary meal staff great food fantastic 😍

I'm curious about AI taking over. I found my answer at a restaurant. The staff seemed confused and unorganized. We ordered one pizza but got two with the wrong toppings, leading to a large bill 😡. A waitress dropped a pizza on a customer, and they were careless while clearing tables, dropping utensils on diners. Awful experience.

Great location, great food, reasonable price and fantastic service.

(UPDATED REVIEW AT THE END) Can't fault La Dolce Vita. There's plenty of choice on the menu, the food is delicious & the staff are really helpful, courteous & friendly. The service is excellent too. Glad to say since taking this restaurant over from The Old Bank restaurant, La Dolce Vita have invested in new chairs which are comfortable to sit on. Will definitely be back here for another tasty meal in the not too distant future. Updated review - I've been really disappointed with the food on my last 2 visits - on one occasion in particular - I had the Vesuvio (half pizza, half calzone) with added capers. The steak knife supplied didn't cut the dough easily - due to the pressure I had to use on the (steak) knife this resulted in aggravating the slight arthritis I have in the joint in my index finger - a pizza cutter would've been much better/easier to use. Also the pepperoni & capers weren't placed all over the pizza, they were all clumped together along the fold of the calzone part which meant the rest of the pizza only had cheese on it making it pretty tasteless. Finally, part of the dough was still raw. I ended up eating less than a quarter of the dough & just eating the filling - extremely disappointing & a complete waste of money. The knife & raw dough were highlighted to staff before leaving, they did apologise but that was all. Extremely sad to have had this poor experience as La Dolce Vita WAS my absolute favourite restaurant in Dumfries for a number of years.

My husband and I have visited this restaurant on numerous occasions but tonight the food was poor in comparison to what we previously have enjoyed. The bruschetta came and the tomatoes were served on fresh bread which was really disappointing, pizza also not great! The ambience/atmosphere in general was poor and overall experience poor!

Sehr netter Service. Essen und Trinken waren sehr gut. Sehr empfehlenswert.

Very nice restaurant with a good atmosphere and a helpful and friendly staf. Food is nice and fresh cooked and they really try to serve a good quality plate of food. But, why is everything so salted that it really almost ruined the good and fresh food? Even the deserts are too salty....... Please keep up the good quality but please, use less salt !?

Food has been good every time we have Eaten here. Review is not about food. I know it gets very noisy in the main dining area here so I booked a table for 2 in the private dining area which is usually quieter, requesting a quiet table. This was for our wedding anniversary. Despite there being an empty table in the area we booked for, we were stuck in a very noisy part of the main dining area and then given the wrong menus. We didn’t stay. Staff and manager totally uninterested. Why, if you knew you didn’t want to give us a table in the quieter area as booked, did you not contact me and say you couldn’t fulfil the booking you accepted. It would have have been ok and I could have found somewhere else to eat. Ruined a very special day.

Lovely meal at a very reasonable price..Served by great staff..Certainly be back.

Went on a Monday lunch time and it was buzzing! Lovely ambiance. Food was brilliant and excellent value for money- unbeatable really. Portions are generous and presented beautifully. Freshly done pizza out of the stone oven was 👍🏻 Staff friendly and efficient. Total gem!

Lunchtime service was very good and food and choices were excellent and great value.

Superb food reasonably priced. Portions are hefty so you will not leave the restaurant hungry! 10/10.

Gluten free pizza great. Waitress was very helpful, even though we were late in. Food was on the table in no time

Great service and lovely food 😋

The place has a nice lively feel to it but the food is very average. The soup was bland, and the Pollo Dolce Vita could have been anything under a blanket of tomato sauce. Potato side was over-cooked, the chicken tough and rubbery, and 3 pieces of very hard chorizo constituted the main course. Disappointing.

Very good Italian food with nice Vegan options, and with amazing and inviting service

Really nice restaurant, good food and good service, even though the portion sizes were a little smaller than expected

Very quick service, friendly staff but unfortunately the carbonara ham was very tuff to eat

It's always a great experience everything was perfect as always.

Great restaurant, located in an Old bank, tge original vault is still there. Great food, staff are fabulous and are very good at playing, Rock, Paper, scissors. We will return, next time we are in town

9 of us went for and evening meal. 2 courses. For a birthday celebration. Food was authentic and first class. Great selection to suit all, including those with dietary requirements. We had the Scallops, Mushrooms, Bruchetta, Prawns, Selecton of pastas (incl a gluten free) and pizzas. All spot on. Restaurant was busy but service was still excellent. Drinks selection was broad. We settled for the draft Moretti and Merlot. Fab. Lovely atmosphere and good value for money. Early evening deal available too. Happily recommend, do book well in advance to save disappointment. Xx

Went for my sisters birthday lunch Great as usual

Nice meal of tasty food, with good service from the staff. However, although the pollo alla brace was really good, we would not recommend the pollo parmigiana regianna. Both meals came with the chicken smothered under a thicket of leaves. Once uncovered, the meat was very tasty. The pollo parmigiana regianna was served with what appeared to be a quarter of braised cabbage, which was very difficult to cut to eat. A large square block of potato layers also came with both meals and proved to be rather dry towards the bottom. The overall impression was having to fight with your dinner to eat it. No mention was made on the menu of pepper on the food and it was disconcerting to find it sprinkled liberally as I prefer to add seasoning myself. The dessert of semifreddo with raspberry ripple ice cream was bursting with raspberry flavour and delicious, but could have done with a fork to hold the frozen block while cutting with the spoon. All in all, enjoyable taste, but slightly disappointing. The pasta and spaghetti is probably more consistently high standard, but more thought is needed on these 2 main dishes that we chose.

A very busy afternoon but a small table was found for us in a good spot. Service was excellent despite being very busy. Lunch menu was varied and good value. Large portions for a lunch menu.

Very loud early on when it was busy but food was great as was the service.

Had a really lovely meal, everything was freshly prepared and very tasty. Good wine and spirits selection.

Fantastic food, excellent value, the staff were attentive and professional without being overbearing.

Amazing! Lunch deal 2 courses for 12, got a gigantic portion of mussels and the best pizza I’ve had in ages. Super quick and friendly service

Treatment towards staff from the boss is absolutely disgusting. not training new staff to learn and build up skills

Food and service were excellent, just a bit dark when trying to read the menu had to use the torch on my phone.

Delicious food and fairly priced. Would go again

Excellent customer service, good food, lots of options and all well prepared, midweek meal good value, we really like this restaurant, and would always recommend.

For £12 THEEEEEE best food I've ever tasted.. The sauce with the spaghetti accompanying the chicken was the best I've ever tasted

Staff and service very good, food always good. Reasonably priced

Whenever I was delivering wine, I would always get a pizza as it is that good.

One of the main courses has cooled down (ready first?) Mushrooms were cut quite large.

Tried to walk in first night and it was completely full and very busy. Went next night and it was relatively quiet. Great food and service. Had lots of different options of food to serve. Had really nice pasta dishes and a really nice garlic bread to share to start. Was very good prices for two of us. It seems to be a very popular restaurant in Dumfries and a bit hit and miss if you can get a table - would recommend booking in advance. Had really tasty dessert options too. I would go again when visiting family in Dumfries. The staff were all very friendly. Can't fault the food or service in any way. 5*. Had a lovely ambient atmosphere. Not sure if they do deliveries or not. We had dinner there. Prices were very reasonable for what you got.

It was a freezing day(12/12) and despite our table being next to a radiator every time anyone came in or went out, we were frozen. My food was lovely and the waitres was great.