Luigi's Al Fresco in Maldon

My wife and I decided to give Luigi's a try last night and I must say, we were extremely impressed with the food. A basic bread and oil appetizer to start with homemade bread was a great indicator that this restaurant does not simply order in the basics. Simple, yet very well done. For the main, I opted for the carbonara. This dish is the standard I judge Italian restaurants by, an extremely simple dish that when done well, is outstanding. When done poorly, it summarises all you need to know about where you're eating. Luigi's provided the best carbonara I've had in years! The homemade pasta was served al dente and the sauce was made to perfection. Glossy, creamy with an optimal salt content provided by the protein finished with a healthy helping of pecorino established this dish as an instant win. My wife chose a stone baked pizza with mushrooms and olives and vegan cheese. The dough, again, was perfection, the sauce and cheese blend couldn't have been better and the crust was soft and light yet had the perfect crisp outer layer. My only criticism would be that maybe the center of the pizza could use a little more structure as it was quite limp but that's a completely personal preference. The restaurant itself is very small and personal, the decor is reminiscent of classic Italian eateries with the red and white table layouts, old tins and trinkets surrounding the walls with a tasteful throwback to the old country. I would suggest maybe Italian music and lower light levels as my one criticism was the radio was playing upbeat almost club like music and that really did take away from the ambience that could've made this experience a solid ten. If you love Italian food, Luigi's is a must. The carbonara truly made me remember why this cuisine is my favourite and the wonderful staff made this restaurant feel like I was in a friend's home. Luigi's Al Fresco, you will see me again. And again. And again.

Luigi’s in Maldon has charm in spades and a cozy vibe that says “settle in.” The menu, though, is a touch repetitive—lots of the same ingredients reinvented, which can feel like déjà vu on a plate. The pizzas, however, are stars of the show: think authentic, crispy, and full of flavour. If it’s a pizza night with friends, Luigi’s is a solid bet! After seeing them on Channel 4’s 4 in a Bed, I’ll admit I had high hopes for a dash of creativity on the plate—some colour and flair. Sadly, it didn’t quite match the show’s sparkle. Service was friendly and attentive, though, which we always applaud! One small turbulence: there’s no parking, so prepare to hunt for a spot nearby. Four of us dined with starters, mains, and a drink each, and the bill came to £200. So, if you’re after a casual evening with good company and a pizza that won’t disappoint, Luigi’s will tick those boxes. Just don’t expect a full Italian experience.

Went for dinner with my partner for national pasta day at Luigis and didn’t stop raving about it all night! The food was absolutely incredible and the buffalo mozzerella was out of this world. I will say we arrived at 6:50 for a 6:45 booking as it was a tad confusing where to enter - you walk through the back door which feels like everyone is looking at you doing something wrong. Wasn’t a problem - we were quickly greeted and seated with a choice of table by a fab waitress who continued to multitask well the rest of the night. Tables a little close together so I can imagine if it were full it would feel crowded for the space, but the place has a authentic, intimate feel with a nice ambience. We did wait about 10minutes for a drinks order which was completely fair with the one waitress running the show, and I was only aware of the time as I was hoping to get a cocktail order in before 7pm to enjoy the happy hour 2 for £15 deal between 5-7pm. A good selection of cocktails available and the strawberry martini was delicious with just enough balance of punch and flavour - I thought it was a superb touch that the waitress waited until I’d finished the first to offer to bring out the second - absolutely first class service there with real thought gone into the customer experience. Prospective customers be aware there’s no draught beer but bottled beer still offered! After drinks we ordered & it was really telling that I didn’t feel uncomfortable discussing allergies, the waitress noted it on ordering and reassured it wouldn’t be a problem - not always the experience you receive these days and grateful I wasn’t made to feel like an inconvenience. They brought out complimentary foccacia with balsamic and oil - it was unexpected but absolutely unbelievable & I still wish I’d ordered more! Definitely smart I didn’t as the portions were plentiful and I was full after a starter & main. Will definitely be going back to try the lunch and dessert menus! My only gripe would be that cutlery wasn’t replaced between courses without asking & that the forks were ugly - nothing that would make me think twice about the experience. Overall had a wonderful night and thank you to the team - by far the nicest date night we’ve had in a while!

Delicious!! We have been here several times and always love the food! Staff are always friendly too. Fair price for what you receive. We also love the new one in Danbury too.

Have been here 3 times and every visit has been brilliant. Friendly staff who are passionate about the food, delicious food and a good atmosphere. The portions are big so I'd recommend sharing a starter between two. Seafood is always amazing here. My friends had pizza and they were some of the best wood fired pizzas they've had, huge size and interesting toppings. Already looking for an excuse to return.

I would like to put 10 stars. In this place there is an air of seriousness and friendliness, with the staff you get a feeling right away they know what is best for you. Quality food, perfectly presented, whether it's pizza or lasagna here you can find good food at fair prices. I can safely say that I have had the best pizza in the whole of the United Kingdom. Absolutely recommended

Made to feel extremely welcome and attention to detail was amazing, the food was exceptional and the presentation was eye catching. Cannot wait to go back to sample the amazing menu. The wine menu complements the meals too.

What a wonderful spot hidden from the main high street of Maldon. Staff were lovely and attentive. Food was gorgeous. Glad we didn’t have a starter as pizzas were huge. Partner had a Calzone and I had a pizza. Staff boxed pizza without asking. Shared a pistachio ice cream that was a fab end to a great anniversary dinner

I went here for the first time with my friend and we had the best time. The staff were really welcoming and took us through what was on the menu. We had starters, main and dessert and every course was delicious! Would highly recommend!

Delicious caprese, really fabulous pizzas & the best tiramisu that we’ve ever had …and Laura is a wonderful host! Thank you David & Joy ❤️

Saturday lunch. Caprese salad and tagliere were generous portions for starters, as were the pizzas for main course. Lovely food and the setting is charming. Will definitely return.

Very authentic food. Very friendly and swift service. Will definitely come again.

We had breakfast & dinner @ Luigi’s Al Fresco & I can safely say it is the best Italian food we have ever eaten! Would highly recommend and can’t wait to go back!!

Pizzas were delicious. BUT they took an hour to arrive with three other tables who arrived after us receiving their main meals before us. The strong smell of burning from the kitchen suggested our first ones were burned. In addition, they had no ham, no gorgonzola and no basil despite the pizzas having these as their toppings. They substituted with other toppings. AND we ordered olives to share and received five...an odd number for two to share..... and literally just five olives and five circular crisps......for £5. That's £1 per olive!!!!!!! Waitresses were polite and courteous.

Second time at Luigi's and been very impressed both times. Food is amazing!

Disappointing. Have previously enjoyed this place but then again have always dinned outside in nice weather. The courtyard is dark and not user friendly steps and journey to toilets if less able. The conservatory is very noisy when full. Service was fine but pizza too salty to finish. Menu limited and no salad options. Unfortunately we won't go again but might try their other place in Danbury.

Dropped into Maldon and pre- booked lunch at Luigi’s. Has to be one of the best pizzas I’ve had in a while, whilst sat in comfortable surroundings. Great service.

Nothing special, very small, quite expensive, food was OK, nothing to write home about. Won't be going again.

Such a great place. Food tasted really authentic and real homemade pasta delicious! So many places are underwhelming these days but this place Is a little gem. Fabulous lasagne and a really nice dressed side salad. So worth the money

Best Italian and best pizza in Essex

Excellent meal from the 2 courses for £18 lunch time menu.. Both service & food were very good.. Try the Salami Board starter,, great quality.. Definitely worth a visit.

Excellent experience at this lovely Italian restaurant 🌟best pizza ever ❤️

Exceptional. Food was lovely and the staff were very friendly. Can’t recommend enough.

Waited an hour for food ..one pizza was burnt one pizza had stuff missing ..lasagne had far too much salt and also had parmesan which j hate couldn't eat it the spaghetti bolognaise didn't have spaghetti it had tagliatelle

Loved this place! Will definitely go back

Food was really good and portions massive but unfortunately the place was boiling hot, no air flow even though there was a small AC unit on the wall, and service really small. We were bigger group but in first and couldn't order / get our mains for ages.

Disappointed with our visit last night. First of all being made to wait outside whilst waiting to be seated and then finding out you don’t do draught beer. The beer was £6 for a 330ml bottle and after the first one they were served up warm . Food was ok but expensive for what it is but your staff were great.

Went with friends, sadly the acoustics in a small room with 12 or so tables made it very difficult to hear what was being said. Food lovely

Cannot fault this place, except car parking wasn't easy. Won't stop us returning

A lovely find for our family day out in Maldon. Great food, attentive service and a lovely atmosphere - highly recommend.

absolutely amazing food and staff, would recommend to everyone on earth to come here and experience the 10/10 food they make here

Takeaway pizzas tonight. Absolutely amazing 10/10. Went to pick them up and had the pleasure of standing inside the busy restaurant (packed on a Tuesday) whilst I waited for them to be cooked. Good value for money too. Best pizza I’ve had for a long time. We absolutely love this place!

Delicious food! Perfect to host a party for 10 kids.

Waited over 30 minutes to reject order

Superb meal, first time visiting. Ate off the set menu which had plenty of choices, the complimentary bread was out of this world. I would buy it by the loaf if I could. Great service, lovely atmosphere, will definitely be back. Very excited to visit your new location in Dabury

Lovely cosy Italian restaurant with good food and ambience. Highly recommend!

Excellent family run restaurant with authentic Italian cuisine and decor. The minestrone is superb. Tucked away close to Maldon High Street with seating indoors and outdoors. We'll be back.

Quaint little place a true Essex gem. This family run business was a great place for our families event. The food was simply amazing and on a personal note the pistachio ice cream dessert was the best dessert I have had in years. In summary nice atmosphere friendly service fantastic food reasonable prices would highly recommend.

Well yes! An absolutely fantastic menu, brilliant service and the food was every but as good as I hoped. Thank you for a wonderful meal. We will be back. I want to try pizza next!!! Thank you Luigis

Very friendly staff. Great Italian coffee. Scrambled egg with parmesan was an unusual twist

Incredible! Good is amazing and service is great!

I think it was extremely expensive for what it was service was very slow

Was here for a 60th doo. Very good food, excellent drinks and even better service! Would highly recommended

So yummy! We came here for breakfast and was faultless! Can’t wait to come back for dinner soon!

Great food, polite but mistakes galore

The staff were amazing and best pizza in essex. Pia and Laura ever so friendly. Best pasta and pizza in england. Luigi Pistachiosa...mama mia.. Waiting on you to open in Colchester

Had our family Christmas get together here last night. Food amazing as always, staff kind, friendly and attentive. The dome was perfect for us. An amazing night. Huge thankyou to all the staff for making it a memorable night.

Lovely restaurant, amazing food . Our go to when in Maldon

Really looked forward to coming here. The venue is lovely with a real Italian feel. Service was ok, we had to catch their attention a few times. Felt like we were being ignored at some points but maybe this was because it was busy. Food was OK, but for the ££s we were hoping to be blown away. We would go again but not rushing back.

Service very good but food disappointing. Eaten there twice. First experience a pasta meal so over salty and was literally a bowl of pasta with a couple of chopped cherry tomatoes, couldnt eat much and last Thurs Risotto, the worst I've eaten in a restaurant again far too much salt and not appetising to look at. Guests at the table had burgers but could not finish their food either as whole thing was dry, scorched on top and boring. Vegetarian options poor. Over priced. We could have eaten better in a mcdonalds. Wont be eating there again!

I was really disappointed with my experience at Luigi's. I don't really understand the review score. I never write reviews for restaurants but I felt so let down I had to share so other people avoid dining here. Firstly, I especially booked an igloo weeks in advance, only to arrive and be told there was no room for us in either of them - and we were seated in the out house. The problem with this is we were often forgotten about, meaning every course and drink took forever to come. Service was painfully slow, it took half an hour for a bottle of wine to arrive. The food was so beyond average, £20 for the worst carbonara I have ever eaten - the guanciale was barely cooked when I tried it, so I left the rest and I had a terrible stomach the next day. I don't understand how you can justify your prices for the sub par food and terrible service. I would avoid here at all costs.

It's ok, very large positions, can be boxed and taken away

Extremely good Italian food. Cost us around £44 a head with service for 2 courses and some drinks.

I have eaten pizza all over the world from Italy 🇮🇹 to New York 🇺🇸 but this Pizza in Maldon is simply the best ! Congratulations to everyone involved 👏🏼👏🏼 It’s awesome

Wonderful evening, delicious food and service. Definitely a great place to have dinner.

Great boutique hotel. FABULOUS. Would recommend it. Bedroom and en-suite very very good. Breakfast was exceptional.

Nice atmosphere if you like the crowded Italian market kinda vibe. Tables packed close together so you can hear everyone's conversations. Food overpriced and not very good quality at all. They'd forgotten to wash the mussels so each bite was like crunching through sand. The calzone was pure dough with a tiny bit of cheese and no tomato sauce. Seafood linguine on a previous visit was bland and lacked any flavour. Don't waste your money!!

Excellent service and lovely food.

Amazing Italian!! Genuine homemade pasta. Lovely pizza! Very respectable price. Awesome accommodation!! Full of lovely touches in the room. Love the disaronno!! Great job guys!

I have been twice now a bit disappointed with 2nd visit unfortunately

Great meal again. And that lemon desert was amazing

Food was disgusting do not recommend 🤮🤢🤮🤢🤮

Food was fantastic but I found it really noisy

Food was good but wouldn't go again. A little expensive for what you get. Just my opinion.

We absolutely love it here and have never had a bad meal. The staff are so lovely and the food is so fresh and tasty. It feels like you are on holiday! Can’t wait to come back again!

Mussels were full of sandy grit, heard amazing things about the Pizza but found it was 90% dough, 5% tomato sauce and 5% toppings, won't be back.

Awesome authentic pizza, the best vegan pizza I have had! They do also do normal pizza that my fellow dinners said was tasty too

Once again an amazing evening with amazing food 100% recommended

Fantastic meal, the gluten free pizza was incredible, best GF pizza I’ve ever had. Will definitely be returning!

This is the second time that I've stayed at The Limes and eaten at Luigi's. I would come back again and again! The rooms are immaculate and extremely comfortable. The food at Luigi's is amazing. The staff are wonderful, the ambiance is perfect. I just wish that the pizzas were calorie free. If you're local or visiting Maldon, I couldn't recommend a place more. Grazie!!

What a little jewel. Tucked away in a place I have known for over 50 years. Highly recommended. I will certainly be going back. Particularly liked the follow up email. Nice touch. Well done guys.

Incredible pizza. Had a lovely meal here. Staff were really friendly.

Amazing breakfast this morning! It was faultless. Also very friendly staff. definitely will be returning for dinner one night! Thank you.

Lovely authentic meal with family. Friendly service only comment I would make is service was a little slow on drinks but overall thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Ambience is also lovely. Will definitely be back.

Lovely delicious, authentic Italian food. Our second visit and it didn't disappoint! Great service and atmosphere. Will be returning for sure!

Amazing meal at Luigis - Calabrian food at its best - Bellissimo 🤗 refreshing Aperol spritzers, superb starter of buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto and fresh tomato, then we had the ‘special’ 1/2 Lobster in tomato sauce on fresh linguine and it was fantastic 🙏 dining outside we could have been in southern Italy …. Keep up the good work guys - Ci vediamo presto!!!

We arrived 20minutes late and they couldn't do enough for us despite the kitchen about to close for lunch. Amazing service and food. I can't wait to return!

Fabulous home cooked Italian food . Friendly informative staff , very relaxed atmosphere.

Celebrated my birthday at Luigis today. Lobster pasta as a special was amazing and we also enjoyed Italian street food……only one criticism. Please do not charge £2.50 for extra Parmesan when our bill was £150!!! Very disappointing!

This was our first visit but definitely not our last. 10/10 for the service, food and ambiance, helped by a beautiful warm evening. Definitely one of the best pizzas we’ve ever had.

It was my first visit to Luigi's but it won't be my last. Online booking was easy and gave the option of an indoor or outdoor table. We sat outside in a pretty courtyard and, although it was quite early, it was already extremely busy. The service was quick and friendly and the food was good. I'd recommend that you give it a go.

Food was amazing, some of the best pizza I’ve had and will definitely be returning. Only issue was we were charged £3 for what I assume was tap water, could be wrong though.

This was such a great recommendation from a friend, had the pizza which was a delight and subsequently have been back and had the special of the day, lobster pasta, which didn't disappoint. Special mention of the lovely staff, very friendly and helped me with my proper Italian pronunciation!

Beautiful food, lovely setting, wonderful staff. Some of the best food I've ever had

A taste of Italy is what you get here. Beautiful food served by attentive staff in a delightful setting.

A basic meal for two. We shared a pizza with chips and a salad. With wine bill was £93. Nice meal, a little pricey for a pizza!

Excellent. The pizza was delicious, one of the best I've had. The house red was delicious, my partner had the burger and chips and raved about it. We will absolutely be back!

Great food friendly service accomadateing

Nice food and a good vibe. Staff friendly and hardworking.

Absolutely delicious food, friendly staff and lovely setting, highly recommend

Staff are so attentive and friendly. Food was amazing. A real hidden little gem and would highly recommend. Nothing is too much trouble for the staff, asked to move tables and was sorted immediately. Restaurant area is spotless. Lovely touch with blankets outside too, heaters are situated in lots of areas. Also left my phone on the table when I left 🤦🏽‍♀️ and they made contact immediately. Thank you for a lovely evening, we will be back very soon to sample your yummy breakfast menu x

What a lovely place! Such a hidden gem!

Delicious food, high quality ingredients and a great wine menu. The atmosphere is relaxing and very enjoyable.

Best place in Maldon, wonderful eat, great People

Authentic Italian food. Amazing service and beautiful presented food. Highly recommended the daily specials 👌

Firstly the lady on the phone when we rung up to order the food to collect couldn’t be more rude in the best professional way possible, after we asked a few questions about the pizzas plus a burger she decided to say half way through me taking to her to ring back once we had made our mind up… When picking the order up the staff were all moody and taking to each other not in a good way… Putting aside the above the food is more than bog standard, I’ve had real Italian pizzas many times and I can ashore you this is not the real deal… it’s basically bread, salt plus some weak covering… I also order one of their so called burgers, my god I’ve had better burgers from Iceland… Bottom line is you kind of get the feeling they have got to a level where they think they are above their station where the passion for what they do is waning, as it shows you in their service and food… Basically the food and service is sub standard putting it lightly don’t waste your hard earned money.

Great atmosphere, excellent service and food to match. What more could you ask for. This is well priced authentic Italian. You won't be disappointed. I would have taken photos but I was too busy eating and enjoying myself.

Always lovely food served with a smile

We have stayed here 4 nights and eaten here. Accommodation, food, coffees & staff are all top notch & I would highly recommend to anyone, including Italians!

Absolutely delightful experience from the moment we were welcomed to the very last bite of our delicious meal. The owner is utterly charming and the restaurant beautifully appointed. The food is excellent, as is the wine list - we loved the Nero D'Avola and over ate dangerously. Can't wait to try out the rooms.