Rustico Eastbourne in Mendip

Let's start with the positives. The staff are friendly and attentive. The positives end there. If you don't fancy reading on - save yourself a disappointing experience and find somewhere else to go. The Arancini was pathetic, tasteless and overcooked. Bruschetta was tasteless with the exception of tomatoes which I'm fairly sure came out of a jar. Calzone were the biggest disappointment. No exaggeration - 80% dough, and what little fillings there were tasted of nothing. Plasticky cheese, processed 'meat balls' and the most tasteless pepperoni I've ever had the misfortune to eat. They didn't even pretend that the Parmesan was proper parmesan - it came in the supermarket style shaker, only with the label ripped off. Basically we paid £50 for a meal that was almost entirely dough, - and I'm pretty sure that dough would have come premade on the bake of a Brakes Bros lorry - just like the other ingredients. I can't remember the last time I ate a meal that was so devoid of flavor and nutritional value. Tasteless, low quality rubbish. Wonder why the high street is struggling? Because too many places openly rip off their customers, just like these guys. Pathetic.

The place itself is actually pretty nice for eating in. Service was a bit surly and the food was just about scraping an average, pizza was edible but pretty bland, no bursting with flavours and even the chilli oil provided was just a weird yellow liquid, I've definitely had better at national chain restaurants.

I didn't visit the restaurant I ordered through Uber Eats because I am in a hotel between jobs, and due to the awful weather, I didn't want to venture out into an area I don't know. For some reason they decided to send my order with a driver who had other stops to make. By the time the food arrived it was ICE cold - it is obvious I am in a hotel and do not have heating appliances. Not only was the pizza ice cold, but it was not cooked properly - the cheese was not melted at all - it was cold, hard shredded cheese lying on top of the pizza. The base was undercooked and though I tried my hardest, I couldn't even finish 2 slices. They also failed to provide the drink that I ordered. Now the problem is that all complaints have to go through Uber Eats so the restaurant is no doubt not aware of this. UE of course are totally unhelpful and keep telling me that they have adjusted the price to remove the drink - not true, I have been charged full price PLUS I should be reimbursed for the inedible pizza which I provided photos of before I binned it. On top of this, I woke in the middle of the night with a screaming migraine which tells me that the cheese was not the VEGAN cheese I asked for. Fortunately I am not allergic to dairy, I am simply intolerant but the migraine is a definite sign that this was a dairy based cheese. Uber Eats is not interested but I do think the restaurant needs to know that someone was not careful enough with this order, did not cook it thoroughly and used the wrong cheese - a very expensive mistake for me, a carer on minimum wage and already having to fork out for an hotel to avoid driving a round trip of 600 miles home and back to a patient.

We booked a ‘make your own pizza’ party for our 5 year old twins and it was fantastic from start to finish. The staff were welcoming, helpful and kind with all the children (and us) and our girls and their guests enjoyed every bit. It was a really affordable package for the 10 guests and extra bits for the parents, making it a very affordable party option. Can’t recommend it enough. We will back for more family dinners soon. Many thanks.

1st time to Eastbourne rustico and will be my last. 0 for hygiene and atmosphere. Monday 28th lunchtime around 1.40 the place was empty. 1 chef 1 waitress, which is more than enough when empty. Chef kept going out the back in the car park on his phone and kept rubbing his face mouth as if he was tired. As soon as starters were made, he was back outside on his phone again, rubbing his face and hands through his hair. Then, back in and made our pizzas without washing his hands. Luckily, my daughter had her back to him, and i didn't want to make a fuss. Waitress very soulless, absolutely nothing. Just basic hello, what would you like. No asking was everything ok. We will stick with the Bexhill branch as so much better. My daughter stated that the toilets were filthy, no sanity bin, just an open bin, and toilet rolls dumped in a basket.

Came for anniversary meal the staff were so nice to us ,food was amazing could not have wished for better ,Thankyou all staff and chef will be back

I went here on 5th October 2023 to celebrate my 40th birthday with extended family, and have to say the food was delicious, the service was absolutely fantastic and I would highly recommend this restaurant if you are a fan of Italian food :-)