Pinocchio in Brighton and Hove

Absolutely must visit Italian restaurant, great food, cozy atmosphere, very friendly staff, delicious, everything was very delicious, huge dishes and portions, absolutely worth visiting, we will do it again, thank you so much for a beautiful evening.

We celebrated my twins 21st birthday here on Saturday. The food was delicious, the atmosphere was so welcoming and Rachel our waitress really made our night. She couldn’t have been more helpful and nothing was too much trouble. Thank you Rachel you made our special celebration even more memorable. Highly recommend the mussels ❤️

I have been to Pinocchios many times We went for dinner yesterday As I was finishing my meal I put the last of my salad on my plate with my pasta to find a live slug in my salad! We were not charged for our meal Someone is not doing their job properly! Serving staff very young & inexperienced. The manager was as shocked as I was I am a vegetarian, this is not acceptable I have e mailed them No response We won’t be back 😡

Our waitress (Rachel) was the loveliest and welcoming person. Massive thumbs up to her, she is Amaizing and deserves a pay rise! The kitchen unfortunately didn’t get my order correct but Rachel was there to assist without issue.

Tonight the food was ok but our waitress was exceptional and provided us the best service that we haven’t seen in a restaurant in a long time! (Rachel) you know we loved you from the off and if you book here ask for her without a doubt. You will not be disappointed. Rachel keep doing what you are doing because you are a star!

I had the lovely Rachel today very accommodating. Met our needs even though was very busy will definitely be back!!😍 thank you again

An average experience in Brighton, edible food and good portion size however it tasted very bland and cheap. One of us even got food poisoning the night after the meal…. Didn’t feel like a valued costumer and the service was lacking in comparison to other great Italian establishments nearby.

The staff was very friendly and even asked about any allergies. There's also a lovely terrace to sit on, and a nearby park is very pretty. The pizzas tasted delicious and were the perfect size—not too big, not too small.

Went for a night out, the pizzas had no test and lack of salt, spices…, one of us had pasta, he end up with food poisoning. Very sad as this place was very good few years ago.

Thank you Silvana for your attention! :)

Mediocre food and slack service

Buzzing place, good food at reasonable prices

Came here the night before the Brighton marathon and ordered 2 pasta dishes. The pasta was completely cold and tasteless. Understandably, the restaurant was very busy, but we expected the food to be really fresh and it didn’t seem to be.

Eaten here many times when visiting Brighton, mostly recently on 17/04/25. The food, service and value for money has always been excellent.

I should have written this review a long time ago. We first went to Pinocchio's in 1987 when our daughter Sophie was at Sussex Uni. Two years later our family celebrated her graduation in the restaurant. Last month we celebrated my wife's 80th birthday with a family and friends party of more than 20. Lunch lasted 3 hours and the waiters never flagged. In between we've had parties to celebrate other birthdays and my election as Mayor of the city. Good Italian food and wine. Excellent friendly service. Quite happy if children are enjoying themselves, and the staff were very kind to my father in law when he was living with dementia. It is a wonderful family friendly place to eat. Very reasonable prices. A Brighton institution.

Great tasty pastas, the sauces are delicious. Lots seafood in Marinara, and the aubergines in Siciliana are really well cooked. Highly recommend. The Italian hot chocolate with whipped cream is also a delight! The price is very reasonable and the atmosphere is nice too. We were recommended to this place by a real Italian! The only reason I did not give five star is the service. Waited quite a very long time for the food to arrive and didn't feel like we were looked after well by the waiters. A bit of a shame. Other than that, amazing food!

Always good food at reasonable prices and super friendly and attentive service.

Excellent location, good service and competitive prices.

Waitresses were very impatient. One said in regards to my starter - have you finished? I was waiting to finish my mouthful before I could reply and she repeated it after about a second. They did this with my main too. I didn't even reply and they took it away. Pasta was cold and tasted like it came out of a microwave. Other little things were they didn't let me order a desert with the meal and they got my bill wrong. They seemed rather apathetic to it all so I doubt they will really care how many stars they get. Positive was the kid's food was ok.

Visité aquí con mi familia y no me decepcionó. La comida, el valor y el servicio era increíble. Gran lugar para ir antes del teatro.

Lovely food and wonderfully friendly staff. We had a very enjoyable lunch there after the marathon. Good options for the kids, which came nice and quick. The whole place has warm and welcoming feeling.

Fantástica comida con tanta elección. Servicio atento rápido con personal muy acogedor. No podíamos creer lo álamo que era este lugar mientras la gente venía a comer.

Was a lovely meal in a lovely bustling restaurant.

Definitivamente vale la pena pasar por si usted está buscando pizzas de buena relación calidad-precio. El personal era amable, la comida era sabrosa y se sirvió rápidamente a pesar de que el restaurante estaba ocupado

Fantastic, 2nd visit , will beck shortly as its great for the theatre

Delicious muscles with garlic bread and triamasu was fabulous. Really friendly and welcoming service.

Lovely pizza. It was much better than last time.

I had an awful experience at Pinocchio, and I would not recommend it to anyone, especially people of color. When we entered, no one greeted us, and we stood at the door for several minutes before asking if there was a table for two. They handed us two menus and told us to sit anywhere, so we did. After sitting down, we waited for at least 15 minutes for someone to take our order. Despite seeing us waiting, Hugo, one of the managers and one of the two servers, completely ignored us and took orders from other customers who arrived after us and from tables around us. We felt completely ignored, and no one bothered to acknowledge us. It was frustrating and upsetting to feel like we were being treated this way, and in the end, we left without ever being served. The poor customer service felt racially motivated, and it was clear that we were being overlooked simply because of the color of our skin. This place is terrible, and I would highly advise against going here, especially if you’re a person of color.

Standard Italian restaurant. Reasonable food. Service very good.

Family atmosphere and an Italian restaurant where the pasta was delicious. We ordered mussels with a garlic and onion and white wine sauce that was also finger-licking good. And a vegetable stew soup that is also great for cold days. Attentive and very efficient service. I would definitely recommend it

So the waitress couldn't figure it out, we paid separately and then we had to wait 10 minutes until I did the calculations with her shitty calculator

We had a wonderful experience at Pinocchio in Brighton. We were greeted with a warm smile by Reshel who made us feel very welcome. She was attentive and helpful with our order, which added to the overall pleasant dining experience. The food was absolutely delicious, and we’re already looking forward to coming back. Highly recommended!

Not the best experience hair in the pasta ! Asked for extra plates and they came very dirty!

Inexpensive menu and very fast service, large selection and portions

Excellent meal with exceptional service. Fabulous atmosphere and reasonable price. We were served by Cosmim and Hiham A credit to your company

Very good food and generous servings, particularly the mussels. Great service and value. We had a Sunday lunchtime meal and were very happy.

Lovely traditional Italian lunch, perfect 👌

Favourite restaurant for family friendly meal

They gave us a table by the window because they were busy and the pizza was average. My girlfriend didn't want an alcoholic drink so we just had water which appeared to have annoyed them Later while I was still eating my pizza a waitress (probably told to by someone else) Asked me if we had finished The atmosphere was poor I would not recommend them .

Very good food, generous dishes and friendly and fast service, for a good price, quality. Josmen treated us very well and made an effort to assist us in our language. Thanks for everything.

A very nice small restaurant near the theatre. Royal Brighton. Friendly and efficient staff provided excellent service complemented by the lovely food. Will definitely visit again on my next trip to Brighton.

Friendly staff family run business amzing food very clean would recommend to anyone don't walk run there best restaurant in Brighton

So affordable and yet large portions of great food!! Quick service and piping hot! Toppings on pizza were ample as was everything in the pasta!!

We booked a table to eat dinner here, prior to seeing a show at the theatre. Thank goodness we booked well in advance as the night coincided with the Burning of the Burning of the Clocks in Brighton which meant it was exceptionally busy and no walk-ins were being allowed. Service was great, menu was fantastic and very well priced. The food was cooked to perfection and the restaurant was festively decorated which marked a great way to start the Christmas festivities.

it was a reasonably busy day at the restaurant but it took about 5 minutes for a waiter to even come and seat us, they then didn’t serve us for 45 minutes! the food portions are massive but i’m not sure that’s a good thing as the next day i was extremely sick from it.

The food is awful, i ordered a pasata all'arrabbiata and basically there was some pasta in my garlic. Too much garlic and the food made me feel sick. At least the customer service was better

Cant beat it for value... Always go there when in Brighton

Lovely food, but the room acoustics make it very noisy to chat when it's busy.

Have been before and never disappoints. 9 of us ate here and everybody’s food was exceptional, children and adults. I am in a wheelchair and staff were very speedy with a ramp and table siting superb. Most of the family had pizza and pasta which they all enjoyed. I had Sicilian chicken which was fantastic, also recommend tiramisu, best one I’ve ever eaten, Can’t wait to return, Happy new year to all staff.

Quick eats before the theatre. Awsome!

Family favourite. Generous portions and kind service. Always so friendly and accommodating!

Always a lovely meal here and never disappointing. Still good service and very friendly, even for a busy Saturday night. Thank you again!

VERY rushed throughout dinner. Poor service. Rude staff. Very average food. Two star experience.

Great service and food equals a great evening

The food was really good, but the pasta was so salty I had acid reflux for a week after. Delicious tho! Great staff also

Food was good, price was good but do expect a lot of little children shouting and throwing cutlery near you. Staff were all servicial!

Great food, great service great pricing! What more can you ask?!

Brought my dish out wrong and then upon receiving the second one it had chicken in it which I don’t eat. Unopened mussels in seafood pasta as well. Staff seemed angry at us for this

This is my go to restaurant in Brighton. Owned by an Anglo-Italian family and fusing Italian food with British taste accents, it delivers on all counts. The portions are plentiful & very reasonably priced, particularly if you choose the fixed price menu, which has bags of choice. The wine & beer options are well chosen and competitively priced & the service is fantastic. Many of the staff have been there for years, whilst many of the customers are serial diners, which perhaps should tell you all you need to know. It's a Brighton institution!

This place has definitely got better over time. Rare to find a restaurant like that in Brighton these days!

Came here yesterday lunchtime whilst going to Human League in the evening. As lovely as ever. Really friendly service, beautiful tasty food and lovely christmas decorations. We will be back next time we are in Brighton.

Donatellos directed us to this restaurant as they were full. Possibly sister restaurant as they offer same dishes and set menu deals. Great food, more intimate and quieter than Donatellos, but it's on a pretty street behind Brighton Pavilion. Definitely recommend a visit!

Great family run restaurant, tasty food at very competitive prices. Will definitely be back.

Great food.. great service...good price..will be back

No sé por dónde empezar. Llegué con colegas de trabajo en una noche de lunes no estoy muy seguro de qué esperar debido a las críticas mixtas en aquí. Para empezar elegí calamares. Estoy siendo generoso cuando digo que salió tibio. Era insípido y se acompañaba solo de un trozo de ensalada, 2 x cuñas de pepino que no estaban frescas y un cuarto de tomate. No tuvimos un gran comienzo. Se suponía que mi principal era un filete. Nadie me preguntó cómo quería que se cocinara, sin embargo, que es algo que nunca no me han preguntado cuando he pedido carne previamente en cualquier restaurante. Lo que estaba en mi plato podría haber sido camello por lo que sé, pero no era bistec estoy seguro. Ni siquiera me lo comí todo. Las papas fritas estaban secas y solo se salvaron con un charco de salsa de pimienta en la que mi comida se ahogó. La salsa tenía suficientes granos de pimienta para alimentar a todo el restaurante y yo no recibí ninguna verdura en absoluto. Mi pudín se parecía a algo que mis hijos solían armar en la máquina de helados en Pizza Hut en un fin de semana cualquiera. En general, la comida de 3 platos fue una absoluta parodia. El restaurante debe estar haciendo algo bien porque estaba bastante lleno. Dicho esto, la cena de anoche fue honestamente la peor comida de tres platos que he comido en toda mi vida en un restaurante y no exagero. 1 . 5 / 10 👎🏼

Vine aquí por un trabajo de Navidad. Deberías haberlo visto venir cuando pides un filete y no te preguntan cómo lo quieres cocinar. Llega en un plato y se parecía a algo de un congelador. La comida de algunas personas estaba fría, pero al menos salió junto. El mejor plato de los 3 fue el sorbete, pero creo que es imposible sacarlo de una bañera. Precio justo para 3 platos, pero evitaría encarecidamente, una verdadera pena Al menos la cerveza estaba fría

DO NOT GO HERE! If you want low quality food that is cold and not what you ordered then this is the place for you. Starters, I mean I can’t complain about that as it’s melon and shop brought cured meat. “Fillet Steak” is seemingly boiled with more peppercorns than meat. I have had better microwave meals that I would pick over this in the future.

Very disappointed. We had a booking for 45 people (for a Christmas party) at 19:30 on a Friday evening, which was booked with the restraunt around 6 months in advance, and deposits given. When we arrived they seated all of the party except for about 6 of us. They said the extra table wasn't ready but would be soon. There was already a party of 40 there that were halfway through their meal. Mostly children, with a few adults on their seperate table drinking alcohol and paying the 35 children no attention. We waited 45 minutes seperate from the rest of our group, with no staff asking if we'd like to order a drink. In the end after seeing the rest of our party had gotten the drinks they'd ordered, and were waiting for the mains to arrive we gave up and left. It did not help that children from the other group thought it was hilarious to attempt to break down the toilet door of one of our friends waiting with us, which greatly upset her. Even after seeing this the staff did not check we were okay, what had happened or step in at all to help. We were greatly disappointed, and felt very disrespected by the staff's attitude towards us the whole time we were waiting. It felt as if they thought they'd got the majority of the party seated, and they'd be spending money so it didn't matter about the remaining 6 of us. I would not recommend coming here in large groups, they seem to take on more than they can handle which seems they care more about getting money than providing a nice restruant experience/food/drink. Would also not recommend if you want a friendly, calm atmosphere or to be paid any timely attention by your waiter.

My friend told me she knows a place, and we went there to eat lunch. It was very nice and the waiters were cute.

Lovely family run restaurant with great food, service, and atmosphere.

I was pretty disappointed with Pinocchio’s because I had heard such good things. The staff were friendly and nice, and the service was speedy, which is why I have given it two stars instead of one. I’m vegan and they had a section on their menu called plant-based pizzas, so I ordered one. When it arrived, I had one slice and was convinced it was dairy. I asked the waiter if this was a vegan pizza and he said “yes, that is all vegan”. I said how I was really surprised as it tasted so realistic. I had another slice and started to feel really wrong, it was definitely dairy cheese. I asked the manager (who I ordered with) to come over and see the pizza and she said “you are right that pizza is not vegan”. I was really quite upset I had eaten that much cheese after such a long time. They were very nice about it and compensated the vegan pizza I later got, which wasn’t very good anyway. Overrall, a nice place but I can’t look past a mistake like that.

First off, lovely service and nice atmosphere. Portiins are very good and a nice choice on the menu. As expected, excellent value on the set menu. However just a couple of things that let it down for me. I had prawn cocktail. Plenty of prawns but it came so quickly I could tell it was pre made and had been sitting for a while. The bread was hard and the lemon was dried up. There was a pool of water at the bottom where the water had settled which meant I could not. finish fishy tasting wet lettuce. I ordered the pasta Pinocchio based on a photo I was here. It looked delicious. Mushrooms, tomato, cream, ham. However it was outrageously sweet. I struggled to finish it and they actually did themselves out of a dessert I was going to order as it was so sweet. I’d expect a tomato cream sauce to be tomatoey sharp creamy. I’ve only ever tasted it like this when I’ve made a sauce over acidic and added sugar or sugary items to counterbalance and messed it up and this is just what it tasted like. I wonder what went wrong as I was happy with most other things but when the main dish is odd from bite one it’s hard to really enjoy it.

Brilliant, such a great restaurant and fantastic food! 100% recommend!

Excelente comida, excelente servicio, precio muy razonable y estaban muy contentos de mostrarme instalaciones accesibles, etc. Lo mejor de todo es que el personal no podría haber sido más servicial.

We have walked past this packer out restaurant countless times on visits so popped in for lunch. Great value for money as the portions are massive with very little difference between kids and adults. The taste is very good and the price is realistic for a family restaurant. We will be back.

Surprise visit as where we had planned felt like too much of a walk and we were very hungry. Partner and I went in for pizza then saw the menu and ordered anything(/everything? :) ) but. Grilled fish was great as were the accompaniments. Pudding was a dream. The food wasn't cutting edge or avant-garde, but it had no pretence of being that - great. The staff were warm and welcoming and everything felt very authentic. service was prompt and everything was very reasonable in price - will definitely come back next time I'm in area and would certainly recommend . We attended just before the Friday evening rush, so it was very chilled - no idea what its like during peak times - but I would imagine super busy (rightly so) so you'll probably want to book.

My first time at the restaurant,the food was lovely. Iam gluten free,and the gluten pasta and dishes I had were very tasty 😋

Cheap and cheerful but actually pretty decent quality food too. Massive portions at a very reasonable price. Pasta was cooked well and the flavours was good. More of a 4.5 stars. This isn't the most refined place in the world but if you need something quick at a good price with some flavour that'll fill you up, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Three cold tasteless pizzas! One had a raw egg on it, as pizza too cold to cook it. How the waiting staff didnt notice i don’t know. Low grade ingredients added to the poor experience. Sue must be turning in her grave. Other reviews say similar. GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER! Show Brighton some respect.

Staff were friendly but slow with the bill. Toilets in need of cleaning. Quality of the food was below my expectations, but for the price was about right. Plenty of better restaurants in Brighton - not as good as it’s sister restaurant Donatello’s.

The food and the portions are good but the waiter’s attitude when we were paying was horrendous. Not only they put our pizza order under “2 course meal”, he would ask for us to clarify how we calculated what we were paying for, even though everything was paid for. Very bad mannered waiter…

Updating my review.... Visited for the second time. Very welcoming and friendly staff, quick service and very tasty food!

omg.twicw we've been here both times have been fantastic. the food is beyond exceptional. it's very reasonable price wise. I can understand why it's always packed .do ya self a favour go to this place .there's something seriously wrong with you if you can say you didn't like it.

Outstanding experience! Food was excellent and hot, service was prompt, atmosphere was very enjoyable.

The staff were really friendly! Great food at an affordable price! I’ll definitely recommend it to my friends!

It was the worst meal I have ever had at the restaurant. We were there as a group of work colleagues and the majority of us agreed the food was very bad. I ordered seabass and I got two pieces of deeply fried white fish with a leaf of ugly lettuce and some potatoes. It was absolutely disguising. Who fries sea bass? I went for seabass because I wanted something nice and healthy. Even the people who went for pizza or pasta said it lacked any flavor and was very bad. And it looked to them as if it was cooked from frozen. I do not recommend this place.

Nice to revisit this restaurant. Still right up there and will go again when next in area.

All round pretty poor. The glasses on the table were dirty, one had lipstick on it. The food was luke warm and clearly not fresh. The aglio e olio had pretty much a plateful of sliced chillis in it. Fortunately the spice wasn't too overwhelming as it was vastly over powered by the multiple supermarkets worth of garlic used in the dish. The pizza was decent enough to prevent this being a 1 star. Waiting staff were friendly enough. On the plus side I managed to kill multiple fruit flies, I usually struggle to swat fruit flies due to their size and erratic flight pattern. But I really nailed it this time. The first one I clipped on the wing, seeing it struggle I put it out of its misery. The second I managed to take down midway through the main, swatting it with a thunderous clap, my own mini round of applause for a job well done. Anyway when killing 2 flies was the highlight of a restaurant experience then it is probably not worth a revisit as I could just buy some bananas amd leave them to rot to gain the same feeling of achievement. Basically I wouldn't bother going here.

A Brighton institution! Excellent food and value

Nice food and staff at a very reasonable prices!

We both had the three course set menu. 2 courses £14.95 or three courses £17.95. We went for 3 courses. We both had prawn cocktail. Best ever. Plenty of prawns, lots of sauce and a small amount of lettuce with lovely granary bread and butter. Main course :, I had tagliatelle Spinaci. Huge amount in a wonderful creamy sauce. My sister had Pollo Milanese - chicken in breadcrumbs with spaghetti pomodoro. She said it was delicious. We made room for a dessert. I had Torta Al Tartufo - amazing - almost like eating solid chocolate. My sister had tiramisu which she said was delicious. We finished with a coffee. Can thoroughly recommend this restaurant

We both had the three course set menu. 2 courses £14.95 or three courses £17.95. We went for 3 courses. We both had prawn cocktail. Best ever. Plenty of prawns, lots of sauce and a small amount of lettuce with lovely granary bread and butter. Main course :, I had tagliatelle Spinaci. Huge amount in a wonderful creamy sauce. My sister had Pollo Milanese - chicken in breadcrumbs with spaghetti pomodoro. She said it was delicious. We made room for a dessert. I had Torta Al Tartufo - amazing - almost like eating solid chocolate. My sister had tiramisu which she said was delicious. We finished with a coffee. Can thoroughly recommend this restaurant

Fantastic food. Very nice staff. Very good value for money. A must.

Went today before we went to theatre , staff were so welcoming and the food was delicious and well worth the money . Will defiantly be back

We had our little pup with us and sat on a table outside, they had multiple Tables laid out and they told us we can't stay as we aren't serving outside! You can't walk 2 seconds out the door? Why have tables outside?pathetic

Refused to serve us outside, how rediculous you turned away customers as you can't be bothered to walk out the door to serve us for one minute. We have spent multiple birthdays and special occasions with you, and to be honest this amount of pettiness has put off returning

Hadn’t been for good few months. Went for dinner prior to visiting the theatre for a production of Hairspray. The restaurant was packed with a pre theatre crowd. Great atmosphere. If you are going to eat prior to the theatre allow a good hour and a half and definitely pre book. Great menu, great food and exceptional staff. Wine prices are very fair too. We chose the set menu - two courses for £14.95, excellent value for money. So glad that they still do this! We had garlic mushrooms and a prawn cocktail to start followed by a cannelloni and a pizza. All the food was delicious and very generous portions. We shared a bottle of pinot grigio. Also very good!! Highly recommended when in Brighton. Sister restaurant to the equally great Donatello. Excellent choice for a reliably good pre theatre meal, just a 2 min walk away. PS The waiters working upstairs on Thursday 3rd of October were great. It was so busy but the service was amazing!

Excellent quick service and lovely food at good prices. We arrived without reservation but they got us in if we could eat and leave within the hour, which was easy. Top marks! Update: Been back to eat here again, everything as good as before. Keep it up Pinocchio!

We booked for my daughter's wedding dinner. The 10 (9 adults, 1 toddler) were well looked after throughout our meal. We weren't rushed, service was attentive, food was plentiful..."doggy bags" available. Will be going back.

The food was good but service charge as a hidden fee