Montalbano in Ashford

We went for new year's eve and it was great. You could not fault it in any way. I am gluten free and they accommodated for me even though the restaurant was full. It was a throughly enjoyable night with entertainmentas well. Well done to the owners and staff.

Great food, lovely atmosphere, fantastic service. Overall a definite 5* restaurant!

I celebrated my daughter's birthday, excellent and plentiful food, exceptional arancini, better than in Italy. Equipped to accommodate smaller children with child seats. The very kind and helpful owner, like all the staff, makes you feel at ease and accommodates all requests. Clean and well-kept environment as well as the bathroom. I hope to return. Definitely recommended

We dined here with friends and found the food very mediocre in-fact you wouldn't have know the difference between a tesco ready meal pasta and this place was way over priced and they treat themselves to £30.00 service charge when we asked to remove this they said they couldn't if your looking for Italian food look else where

As a local who had visited countless times over many years, I've had it with this place. Used to be so friendly. Now they appear to be driven by economics only and service is now poor, bordeline dismissive. Our latest and last booking was for 8 people, a table they required back 2.5 hours later. We had sat down for a mere 5 mins, before being hassled to order. As soon as we'd finished starters, mains were brought. We felt rushed. Food is good but not amazing. The menu hasn't changed in years. Service charge at 12.5pc automatically added. This usually creates a lazy service attitude and that is apparent here now. If there was an alternative Italian in range, this place would suffer dearly. They owners need to pull their socks up frankly.

Absolutely beautiful food. Service was perfect. Steak was the best we'd ever had. Will definitely return.

Stopped in on the off chance they had a table. We were very lucky! The food was outstanding, and every member of staff was attentive. We'll definitely be returning!

Very expensive no parking only an hour in the road outside.

10 of us had a fantastic time on 14 December and the food, service, staff and atmosphere was just perfect and the the prices very reasonable.

Staff and service is great and food is consistently delicious. Recommended

We had a last minute booking on Saturday night which they very kindly squeezed us in for. Food was amazing. Especially the Antipasti platter and Parpadelle Ragu. Lovely people serving lovely food.

Great place to meet friends for lunch

Brilliant food and service. Took my daughter there for her 18th birthday. The staff song happy birthday to her. Highly recommend.

First time visit. Would highly recommend. Hadn't booked but they found us a table, even though they were busy. Great atmosphere, food was very tasty and flavorful, staff were polite and helpful. I'll definitely be going back.

Always great food and service here. Wish it was closer to where I live as I'd visit more often. Convenient parking behind is pay and display. Have only ever had lunch here but always advisable to book as it is very popular.

Mentalbano is an authemtic Italian restaurant, clean, tidy, and the staff were helpful and knowledgeable, to say the least. They greeted us at the front door and took our coats, and presented us with our table. Good atmosphere, tasty food, and well lit. This is the second time I have visited this place, and it hasn't disappeared me. It got better. 😀👍

Just had a lovely lunch with a dear friend. Very welcoming staff, attentive and courteous. First time here, food amazing. Will definitely return.

I’m a chef, I found this restaurant on a whim for a date night with my partner, and I have to say that this may be my favourite restaurant I have ever been to. The atmosphere was amazing and made us feel very welcome, and the food was truly amazing. Will definitely be back many times.Will be our go-to date night spot.

My partner & I had Sunday Lunch today. The food was excellent as was the service.

We came here for a birthday meal and was hoping for a really lovely evening. The food was ok but not as good as I had hoped. The chicken supreme was quite bland tasting and that was the theme with some of the other dishes our friends had. Portion sizes were on the smaller side too for the price they charge. Overall it was ok but nothing amazing. Service charges are automatically added which I hate. Yes we can asked for them to be removed but we shouldn’t have to. Please stop telling people what they’ll be tipping.

Would be all 5ves but where have the smoked mushrooms gone!!!

Our 1st visit to this gorgeous restaurant. Food , service and atmosphere were great. A perfect end to our day after doing a local wine tour .

Had a great lunch, food was very good and the atmosphere was lovely

Fantastic meal we had the chicken pasta, aubergine parmigiana & prawn tortellini all absolutely delicious not a scrap left on our plates. The staff were perfect and the atmosphere was great would give more stars if I could.

Fabulous. Been 3 times now and it never fails. The bruschetta is amazing but the best is the fish, always perfect 👌

We have visited this restaurant on many occasions and have found it very good. However on this occasion we were very disappointed.We both started with the Frito Misto which we found quite dry.We asked and paid for extra prawns but still only got two but there was an extra head on each plate.The dish was mainly fried squid and lacked variety. My wife had a main course Halibut which was the special but again wasn’t that fresh.I had the Tortellini which had an excellent taste but frankly was quite small. We will visit again and hopefully this was a one off experience

We had yet another fabulous experience at Montolbano. Absolutely delicious food and excellent service. All the staff are very welcoming and the restaurant was buzzing. A must to visit if you're in Tenterden or further afield. Thank you all x

Very professional but friendly and welcoming.

Went for a family reunion dinner and was not disappointed the restaurant was easy to find and access for a disabled member of our party staff was very responsive and came to the table immediately our orders were taken by a fantastic waitress food was served hot and correct waitress checked on every plate food was perfect start to finish only regret was not getting the the name of our Polish waitress she was amazing very highly recommend this restaurant

Nice restaurant, quite busy, but the service was still efficient. The food was really good. The red wine we chose was a Nero D'avola—unfortunately, not great value for money, but that's the case everywhere. The restroom was clean, which gives a good indication of hygiene in the kitchen too! ____________ Nice restaurant, quite busy, but the service was still efficient. The food was really good. The red wine we chose was a Nero D'Avola—unfortunately, not great value for money, but that's the case everywhere. The bathroom was clean which gives a good idea of ​​the hygiene in the kitchen!

It was very delicious and friendly visit☺️ Desserts were fantastic! The service was excellent which made the atmosphere even more enjoyable. I definitely recommend this place and will visit again✨👌🏻

Best Italian I’ve had in ages. Lovely staff specially Omar he really looked after us and so friendly. Thank you and we will be back.. often! Highly recommend 👍

Excellent food. Lovely location in Tenterden .highly recommend

Very nice Sunday lunch (seafood pasta)

Excellent service, great atmosphere, good value for money and the best crab ravioli with mussels that I have ever tasted. Thankyou.

Fantastic place, food amazing and service exceptional! Made my mother -in-laws 90th birthday very special, highly recommended 👌

What a great restaurant. Quality throughout, it never disappoints. Fabulous food, amazing staff. Well done a true gem in Tenterden.

My husband booked a table at lunchtime this week to celebrate my 70th birthday with some friends. We had a great time and enjoyed a delicious meal. The service was excellent and I would thoroughly recommend this restaurant for any occasion. The amazing chocolate Black Forest gateaux birthday cake was out of this world! Thank you to all the staff for making this such a special occasion.

Loved this restaurant! It was our first time and the staff were amazing - very friendly and fun - and we felt welcome and at home. The food was delicious and the setting was very nice. We will definitely be coming again.

Wonderful service and lovely restaurant The food is exceptional! No regrets whatsoever. Don’t think twice.

This was without doubt, the most amazing meal I've ever had at a restaurant. The staff were so nice and helpful and the food just melted in our mouths. Not only was the taste spectacular, the presentation was stunning. It was that good that I forgot to take photos of the food. Only photos of empty plates.😥. The next time we go there, very soon, I'll take some great photos. If you love Italian food with the ambience of little Italy, them please go. The prices are very good for the quality of food and the service was with a genuine heartfelt family smile. Love this place. Thank you so much.

Really confused about the high stars / good reviews. Went on last night of a break and left disappointed. The restaurant is plain and non-descript inside. The menu is good but food was 80% awful. The starter Misto Fritto was terrible. It was cold, rubbery and tasteless, frozen food. The mayo was the most disgusting slime. Main course of crab ravioli was fine. Main course of fillet steak for the price was average with frozen cold hard chips and rubber mushrooms. Have travelled in Italy and had fabulous Italian food there and in Soho and Clerkenwell. Very disappointing.

Lovely evening spent dining with my husband, great food and service that was friendly and welcoming. Will definitely be returning with family.

Absolutely amazing place. Best restaurant in the area by far and it shows! Food is perfect and a great verity of food to choose from. Service is brilliant, all of the staff are appropriately dressed and very kind. Overall a clean and a very positive environment to be in. Definitely would recommend, definitely one of my favourite restaurants. Would 100% come again if I’m in the area. Thanks for the great experience!!!

Well, the reviews are spot on. Booked this restaurant a bit randomly as we are on holiday nearby, the food was absolutely delicious. My partner said it was the best Ragu he's had (you actually get big chunk of melt in the mouth meat in the sauce) Generous portions, very tasty, felt authentic. Service was lovely, very accommodating of children. Good wine list. It's a shame we don't live closer or we'd be back. A meal worthy of a 40th birthday.

Really nice experience, great food, wine and service. Good value.

What a gem of a place!! First time I have visited and certainly was not disappointed. Very attentive staff and the food was absolutely delicious. It is pricey but then you get what you pay for and can't understand the negative comments on here but there was nothing negative on my visit. We sat on the terrace and felt very relaxed and totally chilled. Will definitely come again

delicious meal starting with Arancini then fillet steak cooked to perfection. Service was good and we will definitely return soon.

Amazing good food. Everything was just perfect. Kid friendly and pet friendly.

My partner and I ate here for the first time, and found the food and service to be exceptional. The restaurant was at capacity and had a lovely buzz about the place. The staff were excellent, super polite, helpful and informative. The restaurant is quite compact which is quaint. However, the closeness of the tables meant that for the first hour of our visit, we had the displeasure of being downwind of the neighbouring table's large smelly hound that had come to dinner with them and had taken a liking to sitting under my chair. The dog was very sweet and well-behaved, just in desperate need of a bath! As the table changed covers the air cleared. We will definitely be returning as we had a wonderful time, but we will be more direct about where we're happy to be seated.

We had a wonderful evening. Food, service and ambience were excellent. We would highly recommend Montalbano to anyone visiting the area. Thanks to Anna for literally going the extra mile for us.

Amazing gelato and a pleasant outdoor space. Service great. My son dropped his ice cream on the ground and they gave him a replacement for free. We’ll be coming back.

Very nice Italian food, served in a pleasant atmosphere. Highly recommended!

Very delicious food and drinks. Fast service. Highly recommended!

What a beautiful place this is. Can be quite busy but staff and kitchen handled it like a pro. We were graciously welcomed and staff was super friendly and attentive to all. As they had a lot of customers on the night, they never lost their cool and made the experience extremely pleasant. The liver was a bit under cooked so ended up with pink, bloody mash BUT was still tasty. Aranchini was cooked brilliantly but the sauce was too tomatoey for me as it over powered the taste of the aranchini. The olives & bread is sooooo good. The Black Shadow cocktail was so tasty and tiramisu also delicious. Nothing like a little Grappa to end the evening off. Overall an amazing experience and will definitely be back.

Believe the reviews – it is as fantastic as everyone says! We were a large party – 27 of us who booked a birthday celebration lunch following a wine tour at Chapel Down. The restaurant staff were friendly, polite and very helpful/accommodating. We had the set menu which offered a lot of choice and something for everyone in our party. Everyone commented on how great the food was. The kitchen staff were very efficient – our food arrived quickly and all together which was no small feat when catering for a large group. I really cannot fault Montalbano. I wished I lived closer as I’d be going back on a regular basis. Thank you!

We found Montalbano after having been recommended The Vine, across the road. The menu at The Vine was somewhat uninspiring, but the exterior of Montalbano caught our eye. Its Sunday night, so was quiet and we easily got a table for two, outside on a lovely evening. Opted for Antipasto to start, great portion, fabulous selection - good value. Then, rigatoni arribiata and mushroom risotto. And a shared Tiramisu for dessert. All outstanding. Wine list included some Sicilian gems - briliant. Wait staff were awesome, organised a Taxi for us, on a Sunday (we knew it was going to be a stretch!) Highly recommend. Its hard to find authentic Italian in the Uk but Montalbano hit the spot!

Lovely meal, fantastic service. Tables are a little close together so it's quite noisy. Food was delicious although portion sizes are huge so won't have a starter next time. Will definitely return.

Favourite restaurant I have been to in a long time! Food was fantastic and service was great.

Always a great place to eat and great service

Great ambiance, friendly service (special thanks to PJ) and most importantly great food.

Lovely place. Great food great service

What an amazing find! Tried this lovely Italian restaurant for the first time for lunch,the reviews were spot on,fabulous experience all round.the food all home made and delicious,the staff and owners couldn't do enough...even reserved dressed crab special starter because we came back following day as it was so good.will definitely be booking again.

Delicious food, good service first time visiting after friends recommend it to us yes we will be back.

Simply wonderful, great food, great service, good ambience and would definitely visit again when next in the area. Highly recommend.

We had a wonderful evening here, A George Michael Tribute evening, which included a 3 course meal, all staff were very friendly and helpful, the music was excellent the food was wonderful as usual, we've never had a bad meal there yet. Everywhere was very clean including the toilets. A great evening was had by one and all. Thank you x

One of the best Italian meals I’ve tasted outside of italy!

What a great day ,great food all round excellant experience

Excellent place to eat the service is fantastic and the people nice. Return

We have been several times to one of my favourite restaurants, The Montalbano in Tenterden. We decided to go after a period away, and we were not disappointed with the service, and the food was superb. Again, the waitress service was excellent. I would highly recommend Montalbano to anyone who has never been. Thank you Montalbano for a really enjoyable evening, see you again soon.

Atmosphere: vibrant, welcoming Service: friendly, good Food: gluten free pasta needed more cooking and recipe didn't taste like the traditional egg based Italian recipe , so I was disappointed as thought Italian restaurant would have nailed it. Starter was delicious.

Absolutely incredible, best spaghetti and desert I've had in the UK with top notch service all throughout

Very comfortable, well decorated restaurant with friendly staff. The food was excellent, as was the selection of wine. Highly recommended.

A lively encounter with Italy in the little kentish town of Tenterden, with mixed emotions. Were given our menus by a tall englishman on the terrace, he never returned, but 15 mins later what appeared to be the Italian owner was outside, noticed us and took our order, the classic starter of prawn cocktail was delicious as was the Italian white wine that accompanied it. However whilst my main course was also delicious, my partners carbonara was dry and the pasta (penne) was hard and disappointing, an italian waitress was very sympathetic and removed the dish from the bill, but no visit from the italian man who took the order and no digestiv lemoncello to soothe our pain!!! Nevertheless i can see the appeal of the restaurant and put to error down to the fact that my partner is gluten-free and the chef cooked the pasta as if it were durum wheat for 12 minutes and gf pasta needs a little longer, the next day i cooked her gf spaghetti carbonara to the traditional Roman recipe smooth silky and unctuous to cheer her up

Terrible food. I wouldn’t call that Italian. I had sever case of food poisoning there. Wouldn’t go back if you paid me

Had a very simple but delicious lunch today but my hosts were stressed out after a traumatic incident involving two shredded car tyres. Helpful staff and a quick phone call sorted it out. Thank you I will return hopefully on a calmer day having driven all round the houses from Folkestone due to a bad accident just outside Ashford. My hosts had travelled from Bexhill.

Excellent service. Food superb. Quality and presentation are great. Great value. Won't leave it so long until the next time.

Visited for lunch today and sat outside. Really lovely food and pasta would highly recommend

Food was good; well presented, well cooked and tasty. Coffee was awful - cups too small for the price one paid and also not hot!

Absolutely lovely best restaurant in England and the world every dish is a pleasure. BTW the one star reviews are all A SCAM

Best Italian restaurant I’ve been to, service perfect, food brilliant and manager is the best. I recommend the pesto pasta which is delicious.

Fantastic range of food from the starters to the pasta Came for a friends birthday and the entire restaurant sang for him

Superb meals and great service.

Superb restaurant, greatly recommended.

After a nice evening in the company of friends, celebrating a birthday, the evening was brought to an awkward end by a waiter asking for a cash tip, telling us he would have to wait 4 months to get a tip if we paid via card! Put us in a really awkward position as we didn’t have cash for a tip - one of our party felt so awkward he ended up giving the waiter the £10 that he had got out for a taxi home! I explained to the waiter that he had put us in an awkward position and that we were planning on leaving a 20% tip via card payment along with the bill. He couldn’t care less and literally snatched the £10! Cash is rare these days - I never carry cash! And I’ve never been asked by anyone to leave a cash tip! I felt this was rude, and created an awkwardness The food was ok, nothing amazing, the service was ok, nothing amazing, the ambience was lacking - it was just noisy, and no background music Having previously been to the little cafe behind the restaurant, and enjoyed a lovely lunch there (Arancini was delicious) I was really disappointed by this experience and won’t be returning

Not our 1st time and certainly not our last. Whenever we are in the area we will always come here (we live in Norfolk). The best Italian I have eaten in this country. Everything is perfect, all served up with the nicest of staff.

We ate here today on a visit to Tenterden. We both had a still Lemonade and I had the Aranchini which was a bit too tomatoey for me and Potato and Leek soup which was not much of it. We had the Olives and Bread which was okay and the Sea Bass and Broccoli with Boiled Potatoes which was over done in oil but the Sea Bass was nice. The service was good. The atmosphere was good. The food was not outstanding but it was good. Would eat here again if I visit Tenterden.

What can I say but it's the best Italian I have been too,the quality,the taste, the presentation is amazing. When you go you feel your on holiday. The service is the best and such friendly people too. We always leave with a smile. Always try go to one of their music events night as their set menu is always great too.

What can I say. This is our new favourite Italian restaurant. Everything about our evening was A1. A big special mention must go to Charlie our waitress She is an absolute angel. She went above and beyond to make our celebratory dinner extra special. 😋. Although we live in Essex we will most definitely be back.

We travel for at least 50 minutes to get to this wonderful restaurant and it never disappoints. Wonderful welcome. Wonderful staff. Wonderful food every time.

Excellent food, excellent service. Highly recommended.

Ordered pizzas to take away, if I could leave 0 stars I would. Frozen pizzas from Sainsbury’s are the best I could compare them to

Finally went here for a special occasion after hearing good things for years and it was... okay. Service was fine but the atmosphere feels (for better or worse) like you're in a slightly cheesy/touristy restaurant in Italy. The food ranged from decent to poor - the tuna was good, calves liver was ok but rather drowned in sauce, the ragú consisted of large chunks of chewy beef and overcooked pappardelle, and the chicken with nduja contained no nduja and little flavour. Overall the ingredients tasted cheap and lacked the freshness I'd associate with Italian food. The tiramisu was very good though! Finally, when I asked to add the service on my card, our waiter requested that cash would be better - presumably hoping to pocket it himself or avoid the tax implications - either way, it was a bit odd. We really expected more based on the numerous glowing reviews, but we were left wondering what all the fuss is about.

We had an incredible dinner in this beautiful restaurant! Food is superb, I had the best tuna steak ever and my husband absolutely loved the melanzane alla parmigiana! Also the tiramisu’ was 10 stars! Everything was perfect, service is excellent, professionals and friendly at the same time! We will come back soon ! Thank you Alessandra and Jonathan

This is my opinion on my visit and meal. I had the bake seabass and was very oily over cooked, meal very small 4 small cut potatoes in half bit dried out and a few French beans, the pudding I had a glorified Sunday that was meant to be cuppa amaretto. For the cost was over price and portion not a lot. The menu was not a lot of choice especially for vegetarian and for those who can not have rice and cream sauce on meals, if you wanted steak looked nice but very price but steak these days are. Service brilliant very professional and helpful, very noisy for those hard of hearing will struggle in the restaurant. Would I go back sorry no.

Very pleasant. Food was excellent.

An oasis in the sea of mediocre overpriced food that is Kent. This is the real deal, a restaurant kitchen as opposed to the many that simply reheat bought in dishes. The veal chop will be memorable both for it's execution and dimensions !! There is a lot of originality on the menu and none of the varied dishes our table chose did not fail to impress. Unfortunately I only discovered the restaurant on the last day of our vacation but when again in the area will make a point of revisiting. Outstanding, would highly recommend.

My husband and I went for lunch today and my socks were blown off by this place. All of the food was absolutely perfect but I have to give special mention to the carbonara as it was the most perfectly cooked pasta dish I’ve had in a really long time. Despite the fact it was a damp Thursday lunch time it was busy but this did not mean our service was anything less than first rate. The entire team were skilled in being there exactly when we needed them but not a second too soon meaning despite the fact we were there not long before they closed we didn’t feel rushed. Would definitely recommend this place and can’t wait for hubby to take me there again.

Loved it. Thank you for making my daughters birthday special

Best Italian restaurant in Kent by far