Paolo's Restaurant in Norwich

Lovely service. Relaxed atmosphere. Good food

I went to this place 27/12/2024. Food was good. I got home, and then all night and the next day I vommitted and lay in bed. Ruined a weekend away - wouldn’t recomend if you don’t like food poisoning

Great food and fantastic services.

When you have a family of 7 all with very differing tastes, it's hard to please everyone. On dining yesterday, Paolos more than delivered. The specials were creative and delicious, the pizzas perfect and everyone loved their food. Then factor in superb attentive service from the waiting staff all in all it was a fantastic experience. Thankyou, we will be back.

Amazing restaurant. Came home after 10 years away, Paolos was just as good a I remember. Beautiful food, perfect, friendly service from Kamilija and a wonderful evening on a random Wednesday!

Excellent Food, Brilliant Service, quick and prompt even though they were very busy

Great food and friendly staff. A very pleasant venue.

We went here just before a theatre performance. We ate delicious Italian food. The service was swift though not rushed. The waitress was very appreciative that we needed to walk across the road to the theatre. Thank you so much for a lovely dinner.

Great meal in pleasant surroundings. Authentic italian food top quality

The food cooked fresh in this restaurant was delicious. A lovely clean environment with lovely staff. Highly recommend.

Brilliant little restaurant and even better food with fantastic and friendly service!

A bit disappointing... had seafood linguine.. 5 mussels and 6 piece s of calamari and some tomato sauce .

Booked a table for my 70th birthday. We chose this place because we holiday in Italy, know the food etc and read some good reviews. OK let's review and review honestly. The service was second to none. Attentive waiting on staff, so pleasant, and if you'll forgive an old man the luxury, very pleasant on the eye. But it's a restaurant and it's the food that's important. We both had risotto, mine being seafood. Now I love risotto and I have to say we were disappointed. Neither were seasoned particularly well and when I have to leave a considerable amount of squid because it was so rubbery in texture I wonder who was supervising. We went on Saturday afternoon. Perhaps the cooking was left to junior chefs because it was not the standard I would expect from your reviews. Perhaps the reviewers haven't tasted authentic Italian cuisine. In fact my companion told me that my own risotto dishes tasted better and that she was disappointed. I feel that it's an average place. Certainly overpriced for the quality of the fare and not worthy of the quality reviews it receives based on this visit.

Always great food and attentive staff

Amazing restaurant with very good service. Food is fantastic and great value for money. Highly recommend.

We were a party of 4 at a Paolo’s on Saturday night celebrating my husband’s 50th birthday. We had a great evening with excellent food and service despite a little disruption from a neighbouring table. The linguine al salmone, penne al gamberoni and Michael’s special were exceptional

Paulo’s is a delightful Italian spot with a warm, homely atmosphere and exceptional staff. Simple classic food done well, complemented by a great wine list and lovely ambience. During our visit, however, a loud and disruptive table briefly soured the atmosphere. For nearly an hour, they were complaining and fixated on how their steak was sliced. They even made the waitress stand in the middle of the restaurant while they Googled images of fillet steak, loudly declaring, “money is no object” before demanding items be removed from their bill. Despite this disruption, the staff handled the situation with remarkable patience and professionalism, which only reinforced the high standard of service at Paulo’s. Once the table left, the evening returned to being an enjoyable experience. Hats off to Paulo’s team for maintaining such a lovely dining experience for all.

We are a sensible group of over 50’s we were told to keep to keep the noise and swearing down? I do believe we were mistaken for another table by the rude waitress. When the food came it was disgusting, I ordered fillet steak which was more like an escalope of frying steak. They did know the steak off the bill but with an attitude. Never again and avoid

We all enjoyed our starters, and our waitress was lovely. As group of adults we was told to keep the noise down, when we was just out on a Saturday night enjoying ourselves, and she wasn’t even serving us. Then three of us ordered fillet steak, but it was thin more like steak medallions which left us very disappointed.

Lovely waitress, great food. Clean loo. I felt tables and seating could be less cafe, more restaurant.

Great restaurant. Fresh Italian food and amazingly crispy pizzas, would thoroughly recommend.

Great food. Friendly staff. It was exceptionally busy, with a large group. We didn't have to wait too long for our food and it was delicious and piping hot.

Food is average at best. We were treated like a fast food restaurant. I’ve been in McDonald’s waiting for food longer than I was sat at a table in this restaurant. Garlic Bread as a starter is £10 - which is a joke Used to come here often, will not come here again.

Nice little Italian in the heart of Norwich. The restaurant feels a little dated and the food can be pricey for what you get but it still makes a romantic date.

Good food but pricey, particularly the drinks! Decent Italian food (delicious sauces!) but £21 for Ravioli (albeit Scallops) and even Gnocchi at £17 is going some... No house wine under £20, so chose a nice Grillo, but at £27...! And for dessert, an Afogato (ice cream with an espresso shot) is laughably priced at over £8!! Even the Cappuccino is 5p short of £5...with no biscuit!! Delightful waitress (though did get our order wrong...a slip) You'll get a good meal, but be warned

Delicious authentic pasta dishes, cooked to order with a good selection of wines offered. All the staff were lovely; helpful and attentive. We shall definitely be going back!

A courteous welcome, again patient and courteous service. We encountered the delicious menu of Italian cuisine. Lasagna was good. Other dishes are also successful..

Beyond expectations in every way. Tried chef's specials, and they were fantastic. Then came back once again, and glad I did: the food was fantastic once again, the staff were lovely and helpful.

Friendly service. Lots of choice on the menu. Great food!

Great food, I had the salmon linguine with peppercorn, fresh, seasoned well, pasta cooked great. great atmosphere, service from waitress was fantatsic

Wow!!! Don't know what to say. Arrived ordered 30 pound bottle of wine. Waitress came to take order, very professional. I ordered as worded on menu a Fillet steak with pepper corn sauce. My wife ordered a Chicken al forno, Within 5 minutes my medium fillet steak arrived in medallions in a sauce I can only explain as Raw onions , think it was cream and wholegrain mustard, bland no taste or consistency...Not the pepper sauce l expected as per menu. My wife's food eventually arrived 9 mins later. My self being a chef may come across as judgemental, But please believe me when I say I know what I'm talking about, My fillet MEDALLIONS arrived so quickly , I can only say a disaster on a plate of so called enimic peppercorn sauce? Please tell me when a peppercorn sauce comes with raw onions, wholegrain mustard and enough salt for a person to float in the dead sea. We also ordered 2 sides of seasonal veg and saute potatoes at 5.50 each, What a joke. I'm looking at my wife going, I know , Dry ruined veg and potatoes, no butter or seasoning s, just destroyed, Gutted. But be nice.... Then my wife uncovers the ham under the mountain of tomato puree on her chicken dish, drown in tin tomatoes to find cheap 50p skinny ham, that's OK..noooo. The chef has a very big case of denial, he has clearly given up and expects people to accept bad food, especially when most people are struggling with the cost of living crisis and are paying good money for a let down treat. The restaurant is a 22 seater approximately and he can't even get the basics right. I hope it's his money, and not a poor owner. Tell you what Im more than happy to help train him, give him some passion back and go forward. Owner reach out or CALL. Good luck. My wife and I will return only to offer some help ! I did approch the pass and tried to offer my opinion to the chef which I know is a kick I the onions who ever it's from. But I'm all about helping. But his response was < 10g butter > go away what do I know. Well my my man Good luck to you and for the sake of a little personal pride and a successful business which if it is yours , change the way think, if it is not yours get Change your thought process. . A chef a takes pride, and also does not tell a co concerned customer to go away

This is our third visit to Paulo’s and it was just as good as we remembered! The food is excellent, with very generous portions (could not get through it all!) We enjoyed the shared bruschetta, the penne alla sarda (which my husband said was the best - so many different flavours) and I had the gnocchi this time. Waitress was attentive and friendly. We’ll be back next time we visit Norwich!

Pros- vast menu with lovely food, all 4 meals were really nice although mine came out 5/6 mins after everyone else as the waitress made a mistake. Great location in the city, just by the market and city hall. House wine was really good and my friend said he had a really good Irish coffee. Restaurant and loos clean. Cons- Waitress just didn’t seem very happy to be there. The music playing didn’t really give the best vibes. Signage needed to assist customers in where to go for the loos.

Superb food and service, easily one of the best Italian restaurants in Norwich.

Lovely food, very attentive staff, very well priced. We found it cheap for the quality of the freshly cooked food by authentic Italian chefs so had to give generous tip! Would definitely recommend and return next time we’re in Norwich. Thanks to the staff for making us very welcome, we only stayed for 2 nights and decided to eat here both evenings, which tells you everything considering the vast number of places to eat in the city.

This restaurant is gorgeous, the food is beautiful, the service lovely and as a solo dinner I felt completely at home and taken care of. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend or return - one of the nicest places I’ve eaten in the city

Not really my kind of place too expensive for the quality of food would have expected better.

Nice food and people. You don’t need anything else do you? :) 100% recommend

would not recommend this place at all, unless you like racism as a side to your meal

Superb, thanks for a great experience. The front of house was faultless as was the kitchen. A fine and enjoyable dinner, thank you.

Lovely authentic Italian restaurant, food is amazing

Excellent food, fair value, excellent service. Recommend.

Excellent service and lovely freshly made food. Good value lunch menu

Good food with a great value lunch and kids menu

Excellent food and friendly staff. Recommend the ravioli, the sea bass and the tiramisu.

Chef not Italian. Food microwaved & bland. Expensive disappointment.

Good food, very friendly service and nice location.

In the heart of the city. The food was delicious. Staff was very friendly and attentive. Couldn't have asked for a better spot to sit down and eat dinner.

Had the only fish dish on the menu - sea bass - it was very boring, dry and over cooked When I mentioned that I was disappointed with the meal the response that I received was - ‘so you don’t want to take any home with you’ . I was in a party of 8 and all others very enjoyable meals

Visited today for lunch. Lovely restaurant setting, fabulous food and drinks. Waitresses very special, 5 star service from the moment we arrived. Looking forward to visiting Norwich again Would definitely recommend

We came across this wonderful place last year, and were thrilled to get a table on a Saturday evening as we’d decided pretty much last minute to visit Norwich for the weekend! The food was delicious- the bruschetta starter so fresh and tasty. Seafood tagliatelle again was superb, although slightly hot with the chillies! The waitress was excellent, rushed off her feet, but still attentive- fab service.

Delicious food, amazing atmosphere, fast and professional service, 100000% RECOMMENDDDDD!!!!! They have vegan options as well and are incredibly kind and accommodating. Thank you again for a great night! 🫶🏼💗🫶🏼💗

We usually spend a day in Norwich when sailing on the Broads during our annual trip, and try to ensure that it includes lunch at this lovely restaurant. This year's visit didn't disappoint. The staff are friendly and the food is good and reasonably priced. Went for sea bass this time, which was an absolute treat.

Looking for a late lunch (14:30) and were welcomed at Paulo's. We had the special, Ravioli stuffed with Spinach & Ricotta and the Parmigiana. The Ravioli was superb. Service was perfect and ost was reasonable. Thanks so much for a delightful experience.

We had an amazing lunch with a perfect pepperoni pizza and scallops ravioli special, absolutely lovely highly recommend it. really fresh. look forward to coming again next time I am in Norwich.

Nice place nice food, just a bit disappointed that you can't bring your own birthday cake & eat like a lot of other restaurants do, even though we would have ordered coffee to go with the cake & we were a large party. So because of that we didn't have coffee there & they lost out on the custom as we went elsewhere to have coffee & cake.

Another lovely lunch at this superb restaurant. Great food and service. Well located in the centre of Norwich. Do try this restaurant as the food is cooked to order - it is authentic and wonderful tasting!

Great meal and wonderful staff.

Very good food and friendly staff. I recommend it.

Very friendly staff and food was delicious accompanied by nice background Italian music. We would definitely go there again.

I ate lunch here with a friend. She ordered a main dish from the lunchtime menu and so (as I thought) did I. Not many vegetarian options on that menu, but friendly service and delicious Melanzane Al Forno. When the bill came I discovered I'd been charged a la carte prices for my choice, even though the dish on the other menu was identical. When I questioned this I was told I hadn't made it clear I was ordering from the lunch menu. I was also charged £4.50 for one half slice of bread! The waitress was unwilling to refund the difference.... we'd enjoyed our lunch but we're left feeling ripped off. Sadly won't be eating at Paolo's again or recommending it to friends.

We went here for my father’s birthday on the 6th and it was absolutely amazing! The servers were so kind and polite, always with a smile on their face. It was such a warm and welcoming environment. Food wise, the pepperoni pizza was amazing with plenty of pepperoni, cheese and tomato sauce. It really is the best Italian restaurant in Norwich! Thank you so much!

Popped in this lunchtime on the off chance that they had a table for the two of us. Fantastic restaurant, very tasty food and the service was great. Will definitely be visiting again.

Went to this restaurant with my daughter and grandchildren. We were very excited about this place. We were waiting at the door for a seat. A very stern looking waitress came to us, gave us a very unwelcoming look. Looked us up and down and told us there was an hour wait. When clearly we could see there were tables free. I think she was Polish. I don't know how people like this can get a job in what is supposed to be a high level restaurant. I would never go there again. Very very disappointed 😞

The meals and service were fantastic! We would 100% come back

We have eaten here several times when in Norwich and can honestly say that this is a great Italian restaurant. Food is fresh and extremely tasty and the service is always excellent. I would highly recommend that if you are looking for a really relaxing meal either at lunch time or evening you won’t be disappointed. They also do a super range of lunch time specials on the menu as popular meals at a lower price.

A lovely, small modern Italian restaurant with delicious food, and good service. A real find amongst all the chain restaurants. Highly recommended.

Visiting Norwich we booked Paolos for our first visit based on Web site reviews. WOW ... couldn't fault it! Lovely atmosphere, great staff, open plan kitchen (always nice to see the meals being prepared!) and a huge menu with something for everyone !!! If Italian is your thing ... don't miss this place !!! You won't be disappointed.

A lovely restaurant, food was tasty and reasonably priced. Located in the city centre, great friendly staff - will definitely visit again

Absolutely wonderful visit to Paolo’s in Norwich while on a weekend away with my mum. We were staying in the Assembly House, just a 4 minute walk away. We visited Paolo’s on a Thursday night. The staff were so attentive, friendly and couldn’t have done any more for us. Food was piping hot and seasoned to absolute perfection. We opted for the asparagus, and mixed seafood linguine for mains, with rosemary potatoes and garlic bread. The garlic bread was to DIE for! Would love to come again on my next trip to Norwich🥰🤍✨

Lovely setting and very well laid out inside. Good service and tasty food. Good value food and plenty of choice, the seafood linguine was very good!

Went for lunch. Hardly any vegan options for savoury and none for dessert. No dairy free milk so couldn't have coffee 😔 Felt like I was back in the 90s where's is carry dairy free milk with me 😂 The blonde waitress was okay but very abrupt in her communication. There was another waitress who was possibly new and we could see her being told off from our table for something.

Good quality Pizza and Italian. With top level friendly service in an excellent location near the market.

What a great restaurant. We arrived on a Saturday evening wanting to eat before going to the theatre. The staff was very understanding and squeezed us in - and what a delicious meal we had! I have an allergy also and they made me feel like it was not a hassle, checking with the kitchen that my order was safe, and having me re-order etc. The food was absolutely delicious, the atmosphere buzzing, very family friendly and the decor clean and contemporary. Would recommend it for lunch or dinner. Fabulous place.

Absolutely incredible food, and the atmosphere is so beautiful, definitely worth visiting

We ordered one of the specials, the seabass, which did seem very simple in description. Like any good Italian dish, its simplicity was the key to success. The fish was perfectly cooked by the chef, and I could feel the full flavour. I think they use very high-quality oils, and the seabass was very fresh, too. The flavour was so right that I didn't need to 'spice it up' with pepper even. I thanked the chef in the end, in person.

City centre, Italian restaurant, not a chain, all food cooked to order - really good, tasty, and authentic, will defo go back

lovely italian food & very attentive staff! we very much enjoyed our evening

Wij hebben hier erg lekker gegeten. Goede Italiaanse keuken, wel wat kleine pizza’s. Bediening is erg vriendelijk en vlot. Er wordt goed rekening gehouden met voedsel allergieën. Panna cotta als dessert was lekker, maar leek kant en klaar…

This restaurant really was a perfect find. Could not fault the food ( excellent) and the service ( friendly and attentive). We are not local to Norwich but so wish this place was near us. Congratulations to the staff and chef. The ravioli and risotto were both fantastic.

Great food. Great service. Sea bass was cooked to perfection. We had a party of four and all thoroughly enjoyed their meals. Thank you

Had a lovely birthday lunch here yesterday with my wife. Excellent service, attentive but not over bearing, professional. Food was very nice, hot and delicious. Would visit again.

Waitress and staff very helpful checking for food allergies. Food delicious 😋

A lovely small restaurant. Great food and they could cater very well with allergies. Great location for a pre theatre trip.

What a find this restaurant is! First time visiting and we’ll definitely return when we’re next in Norwich. The restaurant is smaller than it looks from outside, but really friendly service and surprisingly comfortable seats! We had a window table and as we’d booked for an early dinner, it wasn’t very busy. The food was delicious! I’m making a really bold statement here, but that carbonara dish was the best I have EVER eaten! (Even better than when in Italy!) My husband was also really impressed with his seafood linguine. Only regret is that we couldn’t finish the generous portions! Superb!

Nice meal & very good service. Had the feel of a small family run restaurant. Will definitely be back. Also what made the evening was seeing the LUTV commentators Bryn Law & Tony Dorigo dining here. MOT

Food was very good with a good choice of Italian dishes. The only thing that spoiled it was that we were cold near to a draughty window

Wow.....fantastic freshly cooked Italian. Compliments to the chef as all meals were very tasty, well presented and arrived hot. This is in a great location being the centre of Norwich so an excellent starting point to go on and enjoy what is a great city

First visit today and very enjoyable. It was nearly full at lunchtime but nice and relaxed and although quite a small restaurant you did not feel hemmed in at all. The food was lovely, good sized portions. Friendly service and very generous with the optional parmesan! Definitely recommend and would return. Thank you Paolo's. (Some food had already been eaten on the steak plate, forgot to take a photo at the start! And forgot to take a photo of my Mum's plate which was a shame as we all chose different options)

Lovely food, relaxed atmosphere, very helpful waitress. We are all vegetarian and far from having the usual two or three choices we were advised that almost every dish on the menu could be adapted to accommodate us. Very happy indeed. We'll definitely return when we next visit Norwich.

Had an amazing meal here with friends. Good portion sizes and lovely staff.

Came here with friends for a birthday dinner for my husband. Very intimate setting and beautiful food! The staff were friendly and professional. They even brought out a surprise dessert, and everyone sang happy birthday! Highly recommend if you want quality Italian food in the heart of the city!

This authentic Italian restaurant has a good location, by The Lanes area, in the centre of town. We were attracted in by a good lunch offer, and both enjoyed a chicken pasta dish. The cooking was excellent, as was the front of house service. We...

Visited this restaurant three times for lunch during a week's holiday in Norwich. Situated on the edge of the iconic and charming Lanes area, in the City Centre but away from the busy chain restaurants outside Chantry Place Shopping Centre. Both ladies working as Front...

Excellent food, friendly and efficient service, pleasant atmosphere and value for money - not cheap but worth every penny. Glad we booked as there were plenty of people turned away at the door as all the tables were taken.

Perfect. I felt I could trust that anything I ordered would be of a high quality. Excellent risotto. The lady on front of house was very attentive and polite. The atmosphere is very calm and sophiscated with a nice view of the kitchen and ambient lighting. It is a little pricier than some Italian restaurants but for a guaranteed pleasant experience it's well worth it.

Excellent Italian restaurant. Lovely food that was just perfect, not too much oil, creamy sauce or cheese. Good value, great service, easy booking and clean vibrant environment. Great 👍

All food made à la minute by the Italian cook

What a gem!! Absolutely fantastic, freshly cooked authentic Italian food. Incredibly attentive and friendly service too. I highly recommend a visit to this delightful little restaurant.

Paolo’s has always looked worth a visit so decided to go with friends and booked ahead. It is quite small inside but the tables are nicely laid out so as not to be squeezed in. We were cheerfully greeted and offered a window seat with...