Rafaello's in Southend-on-Sea

Found this place by accident and so glad we did. Great food and service, reasonably priced will definitely go again.

My partner and I dined here for lunch and we will absolutely be returning in the near future. The free garlic bread and drink with our lunch was a nice touch. Hands down the nicest pizza, so fresh! The young lady who waited on us was so pleasant and helpful. This place is a great find.

Really happy to find this place. Amazing food, loved everything. Lovely people and excellent service. Low prices for the high quality. We tried meat, chicken, shrimps, wraps, garlic bread, risotto. Billy was funny. Hope he does well on his job.

Really fantastic lunch in the sun! Excellent vegetarian options (and meat if u like that kinda thing). Excellent service from Victoria. A very enjoyable coupla hours with lovely food and the bill was surprisingly small for all the food and drinks that we had. I think it’s our new regular 😁

What a refreshing experience. Great food and value for money. Easy parking. Quiet cosy place. Staff and owners very friendly.

It’s a shame it’s down a side road as it’s a best kept secret. Food and service was excellent. Food refeshly cooked. Very good prices. Will definently go back. Give it a try you won’t be disappointed

This was an amazingly good lunch we had on Sunday 19th May in the late afternoon sunshine! Nas, the waitress took our order for drinks and food very quickly and efficiently and was utterly charming. She is a real ambassador for the restaurant. I had an americano coffee and the Albanian breakfast, my wife the smashed avocados and eggs, our son had the chicken wrap and Linda had a tapas dish with garlic bread and a speciality tea. Wonderfully presented food which was absolutely delicious. I cannot recommend highly enough. A 6 star experience. The owners must be praised. They have only been open for a year but they are a great SUCCESS! Well done and the coffee was súperb.

Had a great Sunday Brunch on Sunday 19th May. As a foursome we were looking for somewhere to eat and stumbled onto this Mediterranean restaurant in the Market Place. Nas, our waitress took our drinks and food orders quickly and efficiently and the food was delicious! Beautifully presented: I had the Albanian breakfast, my wife the avocado smash, our son a chicken wrap and our friend one of the tapas with garlic bread. We ate outside in the warm sunshine. I fully recommend coming to this great restaurant which was unbelievably good value : less than £32 for the 4 of us. They should increase their prices!

We had a wonderful Breakfast/Brunch today at Rafaello’s , Victoria our waitress was very friendly and efficient, even though she was working alone and was rushed off her feet, bless her, she still had time to check in on us to make sure we were happy with our meal. Will definitely be returning a lovely little gem in a side street in the main shopping area 💕

Been here a few times with my Partner and it's amazing ! Prices are very reasonable , service is amazing and the food is so delicious and fresh and very good quality ingredients! One of my fave restaurants! Cant wait to come back!

They were very nice to us and the food was really good I recommend everyone should go.

Lovely staff and food. Victoria was a pleasant waitress. Cute little cafe/restaurant. Authentic food and drink. Could do with Albanian beer!

such an amazing atmosphere. very nice food with large portions! lovely service too :) we had a great time here. the only negative is that the toilets arent accessible and hard to get down to,

Lovely food found it by chance and would highly recommend giving this place a try .. Quality good fairly priced attentive staff and all round nice experience..

From the moment we walked in we were completely taken care of and the staff were very attentive and talked us through the menu. Can honestly say some of the best food I’ve had for some time so tasty and and presented so well. A hidden gem in Southend definitely need to visit. I will be back and looking for to taking people there.

We had our annual Christmas work meal and the food was fantastic. Great options to cater for all appetites and the customer service was amazing. I would highly recommend.

Lovely food and lovely atmosphere, Victoria who served us was very friendly . Would definitely come again :)

Very nice food and very good and friendly service.

Had a fantastic Albanian lamb dish (tave dheu) with some of the tastiest bread I've ever eaten to dip in the sauce, and a trifle to finish. Warms you up perfectly on a chilly day. Friendly service from Victoria. Highly recommend.

Was gutted when Legend Deli left the premises and had held off trying Rafaello's but that was a mistake. The Albanian Lamb Tave and bread was perfect homely food for an autumn day and we had a great selection of Turshi. Service was excellent although the restaurant wasn't especially busy. Will definitely return in the future

Great food, good portions, great service, would recommend!

We tried a couple of Albanian beef main courses for lunch. Both very tasty and filling. Service from Victoria was quick and friendly and the bill was very reasonable for Southend. We'd popped in for just a coffee a few weeks ago and they were welcoming and food smelt good, so we went back. Would definitely return.

Excellent restaurant. The lovely welcoming staff served us with delicious and well-presented food for a reasonable price. The facilities were spotless. Would definitely recommend. Our waitress Victoria was amazing.

Finally came here after walking by it for months. Really very good. The Albanian lamb tave dheu with bread was superb.

Great friendly place wonderful staff. We booked for 10 of us on Sunday. All the food was great. Reasonable prices. One of the best places to eat. Thanks Vicky for taking care of us.

Wonderful food, we had starters and mains. The portion sizes were very generous. We were provided amazing service by Victoria. We will be back soon.

Came to Rafs for a business lunch. Food is more than good. It’s superb! Victoria is an A* waitress. Couldn’t recommend more!

Amazing food but not pricey. Sweet potatoes fries is so good! Lamb chop is beyond expectation too! Worth a second visit！

I've decided to leave a review after going to this restaurant a fair few times and seeing a couple of negative reviews on here. I am person who likes food. Ive had fast food and everything upto Michellin Star and spent a fair bit of my life travelling around the world. I am not a food snob. As long as its tasty and fulfills my needs at the time I don't care how much it costs or how long it takes to come out. I go to a restaurant to enjoy the food, drink and company that I'm with. I hate restaurants that give you time limits. There are few restaurants in the southend area that are my go to restaurants and can honestly say I've never had a bad meal in. Padrinos and Acropolis to name a couple. Rafaellos is also one of those. So when I see reviews saying its bad and I want to vomit, I'd say to anyone ignore this person they have obviously got an agenda of some sort. There's no mention of bringing this up to the restaurant or what action the restaurant took to rectify it. Rafaellos is a good restaurant, its clean, the staff are lovely and the food is good, plentiful and reasonably priced. You are never rushed and made to feel your time is up. I've paid a lot more for food that is nowhere near as good as they serve. I'm not saying this is the best place I've ever eaten but if you want good honest food at a good price there are very few places in Southend and the surrounding areas that will beat it. Give it a go, look at the menu online. I always do, before going to any restaurant to see if it's got what I want to eat at the time I'm thinking of going.

Very impressed with this place. A friendly welcome, interesting menu, delicious food and very reasonable prices. Will definitely be returning.

I went to eat at this place today! I don't recommend it to anyone !! Bad food ... lousy Albanian rice, tav dheu ... how disgusting, just thinking makes me vomit! If you don't want to be poisoned, don't go there!

Found this little gem by chance for lunch today. Excellent food and a very helpful waitress called Victoria. Really enjoyed the food and service, at a very reasonable rate. Would recommend a visit here, and we will definitely be back.

Wandered down a lovely side street off of the Southend high street, to find Raffaellos Mediterranean bar and bistro. It took our fancy and decided to order. The service from Victoria was fantastic, she bent over backwards for us, and nothing was too much. She...

Popped there for lunch with my sister and I must say it was lovely, the food was great and reasonably priced. I had the burger which was juicy and perfect. We shared tapas which came with olives, tatziki and spicy pepper cheese. Well worth a...

First review, even created a trip advisor account for this purpose. 12" Veggie pizza. Half the price of Dominoes & twice as fresh. Sweet potato salad as a side just for the Missus. So much it could have been a main. Only down in Southend...

Staying in central Southend for the weekend and found this little gem of a restaurant. It’s a friendly family run place hidden down a quiet pedestrianised side street so we sat outside. I had the Albanian lamb tave. The meat just fell apart. The sauce...

Found this place and it’s fantastic. Super friendly waitress (Victoria) and the food was delicious. And catered for vegans too - even brought me some vegan mayonnaise! Highly recommend

Terrible food Service was ok, was told food would be a while because they needed to turn on the oven. Very disappointing, Pizza and fries resembled a cheap supermarket meal.

Raffaello’s never fails to disappoint great service and you’re always made to feel very welcome. Most importantly the food is magnificent! Always freshly made & always consistent in quality

Found this place by accident and absolutely loved it. We were served by Victoria who was lovely. The food was so good and great value also. Will definitely return.

Had a lovely meal this evening at Rafaello's. The food was delicious, the service was friendly and efficient, I would definitely eat here again. The icing on the cake was the price, which I believed given the quality of the meal offered great value.

What a fantastic little restaurant this is. We sat outside in the lovely little pedestrian street Market Place. My dining partner went inside to use the facilities and remarked on how clean and tidy it was. We both had a glass of wine each -...

10/10 service, 10/10 food couldn’t recommend more for a meal out. Accidentally left my bag there which was kept safe for my collection.

Food was great and loads of options. Good drinks aswell. Service and staff was amazing so kind Amazing area and great indoor and outdoor seats. Only proble is the toilet is downstairs and there's no sign to show where it is

This place is lovely, great service, nice food, good price and friendly atmosphere. A brilliant place to meet up.

We spotted this place as we were walking around deciding where to eat. The menu drew us in. We had the Albanian lamb, it was absolutely delicious. We went as a couple, but plan to come back with out young kids. They do have a...

We are here for a few days and saw a sign for Mediterranean food and thought we would give it a go!! Absolutely banging, plenty of food and the service from our waitress Victoria was top notch.

This is an exceptional boutique eatery. I visited on 14/7/2023 and revisited on 16/7/2023. The quality of the food was first class and compliments to the chef. Comparatively very good value for money. The staff are attentive and pleasant. The venue has been well designed...

An outstanding boutique eatery serving first class quality food at reasonable prices. The staff are attentive and pleasant. The venue is quaint and deserves a significant high rating.

Absolutely LOVED this place! AMAZING Albanian food and decent size portions, the service was also really friendly. Great for lunch or dinner, we had lunch there, went to the sea front, then all went back for dinner it was so good. What a hidden gem in Southend, we will all be back! Recommend the stuffed peppers and lamb casserole! Others had the home made chicken soup, Margarita pizza and lamb chops. We all tasted each other’s meals as they were so delicious. HIGHLY recommend going here, you won’t be disappointed!

AMAZING food and decent size portions, the service was also really friendly. What a hidden gem in Southend, we will all be back! Recommend the stuffed peppers and lamb casserole!

Had a fabulous meal for 11 people, huge servings, great service, food super tasty. Close to the beach, Highly recommend this gorgeous restaurant!

The food and service were excellent at this lovely restaurant. Everything was fresh and tasty, and the portions were really generous.

Had lamb chops for lunch food presentation outstanding, exceptionally tasting, restaurant ambience is great and very clean, reall friendly professional service, totally recommend

Something completely different, it was delicious byrek filo with tomato and cheese speca me gjize spicy cheese. Lamb chops amazing, staff couldn't do enough highly recommended 🙂

Amazing moussaka, highly recommend

Great service and great food.They had best tzatziki I've ever had!

Delicious Mediterranean food, homely atmosphere and top servic! Would highly recommend!

Myself and my partner visited here this morning, and had a tea, coffee & some absolutely gorgeous baklava! They are very fairly priced, such a lovely setting & lovely, friendly helpful staff! We are looking forward to going back with the family for a meal & a drink. Also looking forward to expanding my cultural palette and trying some traditional Albanian food when they introduce it to their menu.

Lovely traditional Albanian food. Spotlessly clean. Very welcoming staff. Highly recommended.