Puccini's Ristorante Italiano in South Norfolk

We wanted to eat before a show at the Corn Hall and Puccini's was very convenient. We had read a couple of the bad reviews so we where a little concerned about the service and the and quality of the food. However the service was warm and efficient. The food was delicious. Lovely pizzas, and the seafood pasta was a big hit. Four people two courses each, beer and wine. Just under £90! It made a lovely start to our evening. Thank you Puccini's

Like other reviews there is plenty wrong with this restaurant, in fact our experience was closer to a 'Fawlty Towers' episode - sadly we were in it and it wasn't very funny! No sparkling water, no salt & pepper on the table, no table numbers, no trained enthusiastic staff, no atmosphere, no background music, no communication between staff members, cold restaurant, cold Red Wine, long waits for relatively simple food and our starter went to another table and after 5 mins was redirected to us - not via the kitchen! Mains plates were stone cold, a salad seems to mean a pile of rocket leaves only and btw if you order a steak you had better tell them how you want it cooked as they won't ask and I hope you like it cool because that's how it comes out to you. We didn't make a fuss, but plenty of people did, but decided to have a discrete word with the manager after paying the bill in full (no £ tips!), however he had an excuse for everything and was particularly arrogant about it which was even more frustrating - simply trying to help a local independent business , but if you cant be bothered to listen then my friend you deserve to fail ... best of luck to you ... visit at your own risk of severe disappointment!

I’ve got about as much enthusiasm for writing this review as Puccini’s seemed to have for making Valentines night an enjoyable occasion last night. Restaurant opened at 5.30, our table booked for 7.30. On arrival no table allocated and we were told we could sit where we liked (restaurant was just over half full). There were no special table decorations or any other suggestion of it being Valentines Day, which given that Italians are supposed to be romantic, was disappointing. Ordered drinks (wine and sparkling water) - no sparkling water, although waitress said she’d try and find some. Waitress brought wine, forgot about replacement drink for sparkling water. Also forgot to bring table water. When she did bring the elderflower presse requested, she simply brought a glass of ice and unopened bottle of Bottle Green Elderflower - a case of do-it-yourself! No complimentary bread. No steaks available. One menu had specials listed and one didn’t (although we understand they had run out at this early hour). No buffalo mozzarella for the starter we tried to order. Waitress made excuse that they were really busy???? Very long wait for starter (sliced tomato and ordinary mozzarella). Even longer wait for main meal (one risotto and one pasta dish). Mixed salad side was just rocket, sliced tomato and cucumber, not even well presented. Food was average, nothing special. The pasta was actually quite dry, with not a lot of sauce. The temperature in the room was chilly - we even thought about putting our coats back on! Considering the restaurant is called Puccini’s, there was no background music and the whole atmosphere was dead. There was dust and cobwebs around our immediate area. There was no real service or attention throughout the meal. We lost any enthusiasm for even considering desserts, choosing instead to call it a night and have some ice cream at home! This was our second visit (the first was nearly 2 years ago and was very good) but we will definitely not be going back!

Horrendous avoid at all costs. Second visit having given them the benefit the first time, run out of specials by 8pm, staff have no knowledge of the menu, poor service is a complement, will never return and would advise others to go else where .

The bread was excellent, the pasta was incredibly good, and they had one of my favourite beers in stock! We will definitely be coming back 👍🏼.

Six of us went to Puccini's yesterday evening before going on to the Corn Hall for a concert. We were very warmly welcomed and the staff made every effort to ensure we didn:t miss the start of the concert. The food was excellent, pizzas pasta and risotto, all washed down with an excellent bottle of Vermentino. Would highly recommend and is very convenient if heading to the Corn Hall. Will definitely return.

We went there for a little family treat. The starter which was a sharing platter had more than enough for 3. Our pizzas were so tasty very thin stone baked crust and fresh toppings. Our 8 year old just kept going and has asked to go again. Cant comment on the rest of the menu but there was plenty to choose from.

Unfortunately, there appears to be a problem keeping ravioli warm in the short time it takes to deliver it to the table. When I mentioned this, the owner(?) came out to tell me that it was not possible to make it any hotter. I would argue that serving it on a warm plate would have done the job! He did point out that the plate was warm in the middle, but that was where the sauce had been dolloped. I do try eat all the meal, not just the middle. Also, I am still waiting for the green salad we ordered, but never arrived.

Very good if not top flight Italian restaurant in Diss, housed in a fascinating building in the middle of the town. Excellent friendly helpful service, menu interesting enough (not just pizza and pasta), food good to very good. Pleasant dining rooms. The wine list has a good range of Italian wine across a range of prices. Fascinating building, with large doors from the old boiler system (I think).

Not sure where to start here, had high hopes for this restaurant and was thoroughly disappointed. The service / front of house was bit of a let down, extremely slow while waiting for food, etc, we had asked for table water which came in a dirty jug that was covered in water marks! Asked for some more water glasses as not everyone had them and they never came. The toilets were also rather dirty with mould on the pipes and tile corners. Once the food had finally arrived, both starters and mains were caked in oil, I know it’s Italian but that was far too much oil to use. I had a pizza which was extremely burnt and with whole olives on top, which I was expecting sliced olives, which were overwhelming to the pizza and made it soggy due to the amount of oil it let out. Flavour of the Tomato base and artichoke was nice, just a shame it got ruined by the olives. My partner had the ravioli which was also swimming in oil and ruined the dish completely.

Visited here with our two teenage sons.  Lovely restaurant. Really attentive staff. Excellent meal with a good choice on the menu. The pizza and pasta meals we ordered were excellent. Nice desserts too. All in all a really good place.

We visited for the first time with friends and thoroughly enjoyed it. Relaxed welcoming and wonderful choice of menu. Staff so helpful and nothing too much trouble. Will definitely be back

My wife and I found ourselves without the kids and decided to treat ourselves. Found this little gem in a quiet corner of Diss and will definitely make it one of our go to places. Great service from friendly and attentive staff, food was excellent, from the homemade Foccacia appetiser through to a delicious Pannacotta. My steak was excellent and my wife had home made ravioli. Well done Puccinis, we will be back.

We had booked for a (birthday) meal for 4 adults on 24 May and arrived about 7pm. Sat at table at 7:10 and a very attentive and polite waitress took our drinks order. We ordered the food about 7:20. One of us didn't want a starter and just ordered her main course. After the starters had finished we ordered some more drinks and waited, and waited and waited. Requestes to the waitress(es) were politely responded and they said that the food would be out soon "the pizzas were taking some time" was the response at 9:00pm by which time our friend who hadn't ordered a starter was getting extremely hungry. At 9:10pm one of us went to the bar area and enquired again. The food arrived at 9:20. Hence, one of our party had sat there for 2 hr without food and we had waited at least one and half hours between starter and main. Considering that the main courses we had ordered were not exaclty "challenging" for an Italian restaurant (1x lasagne, 1x beef fillet, 2x 4-cheese pizza) we were rather disappointed. We had finished our main courses by 9:45 approx (we were starving after all!) but declined dessert because we thought we'd move on. The food was good - so well done to the chef(s), the waitress attention was very efficient and courteous (so, well done to them). Can only assume there had been some sort of crisis in the kitchen (perhaps a chef had run amok with a meat axe, or an oven had blown up), but we recieved no explanation. When we paid, the waitress again said she was sorry things took so long,but didn't say why, even when pressed. She was clearly a bit embarassed by the events. This was our second visit here and we proposed to make it a regular meeting point (we meet for meals evey 4 weeks). Thinking that we might try somewhere else for our regular meals out. Have given 2 stars because that should bring attention of site users to a problem - however we have drawn attention to the fact that the food was good and well presented - it just took ages to arrive!

Nice menu but lacking in atmosphere / ambience. Very pleasant staff. Generally good food but one meal was not good at all

Have been to Puccini's many times now, and this is the first time trying their pizza. was absolutely delicious couldn't fault a thing! Brilliant service as usual, new waitresses clearly a bit nervous but did a great job and was friendly. steak was perfect as usual also, will be returning asap.

Went for a spur of the moment dinner prior to a show at the corn hall. Genuinely we like to support local businesses and this has changed hands relatively recently.

Friend and I enjoyed superb meal before going to Corn Hall to see Martin Simpson. Friend ordered mushroom risotto and I had ricotta ravioli woth pork and beef ragu. All beautifully presented by very friendly and efficient staff. This is my 3rd visit, there will be more!

Went with 3 friends for the first time on a Saturday evening. Lovely little restaurant, relaxed and comfortable atmosphere and friendly staff. We all ordered various pasta dishes which were well presented and all very enjoyable. Decided to share two desserts between the four of us, the Tiramisu was sloppy and overpowering and the pannacotta was solid, with some melted chocolate poured over, none of us enjoyed either sadly. A shame as up to that point we couldn’t fault anything.

This was our first visit to this restaurant. Beautiful little place right on our door step. The staff were friendly and attentive from the moment we arrived. The service was great and the food was excellent, with a wide variety of dishes to please everyone. Will definitely be returning. Very enjoyable evening, thank you.

We were all really looking forward to a girls dinner last night. After being seated with drinks from the bar not once in the two hours did someone come and ask if we wanted another drink. We had to call a waitress to order our food. All starters were of the cold variety-a mozzarella and tomato salad with unripe tomatoes and prawn cocktails with no bread offered? We waited an HOUR for that. Second course one sea bass and 4 fillet steaks with peppercorn sauce. Another hour wait!!! The £20 steak had frozen chips which were cold and probably only about 15 on the plate-clearly the end of the bag too as they were all tiny. The sauce was awful. Reduced cream laced with mustard powder and a pile of peppercorns. Tasteless and something I’ve never seen before. The fish was ok comparatively. What a disappointment. After the meal we sat and no one cleared our plates or offered us dessert or a drink??? We are all gobsmacked. Went to the manager and explained our dissatisfaction and he said the restaurant was busy (and?) the food takes a long time as it’s cooked fresh (cold frozen chips were fresh yeah?) he’s waited that long for food before (great answer??!) and fillets are expensive and it’s not fair we didn’t want to pay the full price. What a joke. We took £40 off the bill and left.

Just got back from a meal at Puccini's and it was genuinely the worst experience I have ever had eating out. It's a shame because the food was actually not too bad, but the service was abysmal. We were a party of 10, and 9 of us ordered pizzas. When we ordered, one of the waitresses came and said to us that as there were so many pizzas and their oven was quite small, there might be a bit of a delay between the pizzas coming out. We said ok, thinking she meant they might come out 3 at a time. No. They came out on average one every 7 minutes or so. The first pizza came out at 8.20pm, and the last one did not arrive at our table until 9pm. Some of us had ordered dough balls with our mains, they didn't come out until we had pretty much finished our dinners so were no longer wanted. Also, I asked for some chilli oil to have on my pizza and the inside of the jar was really slimy - I'm not sure if that meant it was off but it certainly didn't look right.

Visited this pub with friends, and I have to say the food was lovely, very well presented, tasty and there was plenty of choice on the menu. The waiter was also very friendly and chatty. First time visiting this restaurant and I highly recommend this to anyone who hasn’t been there before or visiting the area for the first time. Will definitely be visiting again soon.

A real “Trattoria” feel in a quirky building! Staff are welcoming and friendly and the atmosphere relaxed.

Firstly - for a Saturday evening, how is this restaurant not packed?

Hadn’t booked a table but were made very welcome, considering it was a Saturday evening. Service was spot on, quick, friendly, didn’t make us feel rushed. Food was amazing. A perfect little gem in Diss, we will be visiting again!

Although the food is authentic Italian food, great interior and host, we felt it was very expensive for Diss and the menu limited.

Lovely staff. Simple Italian menu with excellently chosen ingredients. Each course was cooked fresh. Highly recommended, we’ll be back!

Just had a meal in our local Italian restaurant, (Puccinis)in Diss.what a treat,a real little piece of Italy in NORFOLK. The staff very courteous and helpfully without being obtrusive. Just a shame I can only give 5 stars.the food was to die for ,the atmosphere was exceptional. Had the sea bass for main and an exceptional sweet.over all a very pleasant evening and will certainly return.David SUFFOLK

Oh the bread! Normally something I would ignore to save room for my main, but this bread was so delicious I polished the whole basket off! Warm, fresh and soft with a scattering of salt on the crust, absolutely delicious! For the main I went for a classic ragu, tagliatelle was well cooked and the ragu was very meaty with a lovely deep flavour. Tiramisu to finish. Delicious food and well priced, I will definitely be eating here again when returning to Diss!

We kept reading good things about the new Italian, tucked away in the Yards. 9 of us had dinner here and were blown away. Quirky decor with a copper still and old machinery displayed from it's days as a brush-making factory... the food is all perfectly cooked and delicious, with an Italian mother specialising in breads and her son cooking the rest of the authentic Italian fare. A real treasure in the town.

I booked this a few hours before we arrived, I have always had reservations about Italian restaurants as most are a poor imitation serving lack lustre food, but not Puccini's.

Was here tonight for my birthday meal. The staff were great, very helpful and attentive. We ordered two antipasti toscana for 2 for all 5 of us and there was masses of food. We all had pasta - the seafood spaghetti was to die for! My daughter is quite fussy and didn't like the sound of anything on the menu and just wanted cheesy pasta - they cooked some plain pasta and brought her olive oil and cheese to add to it. Even plain pasta was delicious and perfectly cooked.

意大利饭店非常的好、服务也很好....第一次来这里感觉就是世外桃源…………………………说实话就是太贵了、面包就是上面撒的盐太多了

I have eaten here several times both lunchtimes and evenings. It is always excellent. Superb food, lots of options, wonderful ambience and top quality service and value for money.

We visited Puccini’s on a Thursday evening. Our host was extremely attentive & the food very good. The Seafood Spaghetti in particular was delicious. The wines were of good quality & competitively priced & overall we thought Puccini’s offered good value. The only disappointment was the lack of fellow diners. Puccini’s deserves support so do visit; you will not be disappointed. Thank you all!!

My husband and I enjoyed a really delicious meal here last night. The restaurant is tucked away in a small courtyard and looks quite tiny from the outside, however once inside it opens up into a very interesting and pleasant space, with plenty of character and a lovely Italian ambience. We loved love the rustic style of the handwritten menus which offer a good selection of dishes, and something a little different from the usual standard Italian fare. Some complementary bread was brought to the table while we had drinks and perused the menu and this in itself was delightful, having a delicious salted crust. To begin, I chose the Mozarella with tomatoes and basil which was light and refreshing (although I would have preferred a little more basil and for the leaves to be torn and and scattered over the top, rather than left in a sprig, but that is just personal preference); my husband had the chickpea and seafood soup which was extremely well flavoured and very satisfying. For mains, my husband has a pasta with lobster - again delicious and the pasta was just perfect, while I had swordfish with zucchini. The swordfish was beautifully cooked, with olives, tomatoes, courgette and pine nuts and came with lightly battered strips of zucchini and some really good chips. Desserts were simple - a pana cotta with dark chocolate sauce (very rich and chocolatey!) and a mascarpone and raspberry desert served on a biscuit base.

My Wife and I stumbled upon Puccini’s whilst shopping in Diss so yesterday decided to try it for my Birthday meal. I’m so glad we did!

We had the pleasure of dining here after a lovely day out. The staff are very knowledgeable and the food was fantastic. We will certainly be coming back.

Really authentic Italian restaurant with plenty of choice. Nicely decorated with friendly staff and the prices are very reasonable. Will definitely be returning here next time I am in Norfolk.

Visited here again recently and again blown away by the wonderful food and excellent service. The setting is perfect. Cant wait to visit again!

Great little authentic Italian restaurant, fabulous food and very reasonable, staff friendly and couldn’t be more helpful. A lovely evening was has by all ... thank you Puccini’s we will visit again soon I am sure.

Found this truly authentic Italian restaurant hidden away close by a couple of days ago, and wow! The food was fantastic and truly authentic Italian. It is a family establishment, very friendly owners and staff, who provided excelent service. Definitely going back with family and friends again and again. Great selection of wines, and well stocked bar. The antipasti starter is generous and amazing, mains superb, and for pudding mama's tiramisu is to die for! Finally, it is very reasonably priced.

Visited with two friends early on a Thursday evening for dinner. Great layout to the restaurant in what was the old boiler house at Cobbs Yard affords a relaxed dining atmosphere. After being shown to our table we ordered drinks with shared olives and bread to start, the artisan bread was I suspect baked in house and the olives succulent. We moved on to main courses of steak, sea bass and lasagne. All the food arrived in good time, excellently presented and most importantly proved to be delicious. We finished off with desserts again fantastic with service throughout the meal courteous and professional. Maybe not the cheapest place around Diss to dine out at but a great experience as confirmed by how quickly the restaurant filled up whist we were there. Will certainly be returning as we could not fault.

This restaurant has not been open long and this was our first experience of it - what an extremely pleasant surprise. On entering the restaurant we were most impressed by the ambience - the decor and atmosphere immediately struck us.

We found this gem of a restaurant last night. After a warm welcome we were amazed by the lovely atmospheric interior. The menu is authentic Tuscan fare so our evening choices did not include the ubiquitous pizza choice. We loved our big fat pasta tubes (pecciare I think) with the most delicious wild mushroom sauce and the gnocchi with pesto sauce. All washed down with a delicious Frascati and accompanied by tasty homemade garlic breadsticks. The puddings were equally delicious including pannacotta with chocolate sauce. Puccini's is perfectly positioned for an early supper before a Corn Hall event. It's only been open since December and deserves to be well supported as it's a rare find in Diss.

We had a lovely welcome, we were not pressured to order quickly and had good advice on the wine. It was a quiet day but we had lovely food and felt no pressure to leave quickly. Highly recommended true Italian food.

Last night we attended the lovely Italian restaurant with a group of work friends. The food was out of this world and the service and attention to detail was just amazing! I recommend the taster menu for a group of friends, it’s a chance to try so many different amazing flavours. We will be back. Thank you again, Hannah

Having just moved to the Diss area we were out for a walk around the town when we found this restaurant. We managed to get a table as we hadn't booked (I would recommend booking). We were treated to superb food and wine in a lovely setting with a great atmosphere. We very much enjoyed our evening and will definitely be returning!

Our second visit here and we enjoyed another wonderful meal. Great fresh food, attentive but not imposing service, really good value and a lovely atmosphere. I would recommend Puccini's to everyone, and we will definitely be back soon.

I went for a first visit with three friends and felt immediately comfortable and welcome. Friendly staff, nice decor, excellent authentic food. All the dishes we tried were good and my main course of beef strips with rocket and parmesan was delicious as was the panna cotta. I even like the deep fried courgettes which, with the skinny fries, accompanied the main courses - possibly the first time in my life I have ever liked courgettes We had a couple of bottles of one of the house reds - Montepulciano d'Abruzzo - which was delicious and good value.I urge the locals to support this restaurant so that it flourishes and remains for years to come.

Diss is really lucky to have an Italian restaurant as good as this. The authentic food at this newly established restaurant is well up to anything in Norwich and Ipswich..and at a decent price. The service is friendly and helpful. Worth supporting.

Came here last night with my family and honestly can not fault a single thing. The front of house/service is incredibly warm and attentive, and the food was second to none. We had the sharing platter to start which was delicious, and all mains were fresh and absolutely amazing! Sea food risotto was possibly the best I’ve ever had, and the steak was cooked perfectly. Can’t compliment the chef more, such good value for money for the quality of food and service received! Will definitely be returning and recommend to anyone in the area.

My wife and I have had two meals at Puccini’s so far and both have been wonderful. The staff is friendly and welcoming and the food excellent. The antipasto platter was generous and delicious; my seafood pasta was rich, silky and flavourful. A real taste of Tuscany in the wilds of East Anglia. Highly recommended. (They make a mean Negroni too).

Lovely restaurant with friendly staff. Food was great and the lunchtime 'deal' for three courses was an excellent price.

We were delighted to hear of the opening of this restaurant. A welcome addition to eateries in the area.

A very exciting addition to the eating options in Diss.

Visited today after discovering the centre of Diss and the brilliant Christmas Fayre, and a collection of crafts people at no 21, and You Can Brew It at no. 30 ! Came in out of the snow - warm and welcoming; simple menu of all authentic Italian dishes, freshly cooked, real Italian bread made on the premises this morning, good choice of Italian wines, and excellent service from Signor Puccini himself ! Most main course dishes between £10-£11. Open 12-14.30 and 18-21.30 but he thinks he might extend these hours when the theatre patrons discover the place ( a minute's walk away ) ! An absolute pleasure.