San Paolo in Darlington

does anybody know if this place is still open? telephone number does not seem to be active. Trying to call to make a booking, email address has bounced. does anybody know ?

One of the best places in Darlington for drinks and the free tapas period is a great idea! Visit frequently and the staff are super helpful

Tried to book table at 3 in afternoon for an evening not answering phone, really, that busy? Please answer your phone, you can't be that busy at that time in the afternoon

Called for a quick tea after long day at work would have been better off going home for beans on toast.staff friendly orders taken promptly then waited over 30 minutes for garlic bread starter and had to ask of its whereabouts...front of house staff member very apologetic really friendly and attentive ...mains arrived have to say it was most uninspiring plates of food. penne ariabiata and spag bol tasteless and bland. Really wont be visiting again unless they get a new chef!

We ate here earlier today before a trip to the cinema. On arrival there were only another 4 people in the restaurant. We ordered drinks and had a look at the menu. When the waiter came to take our order he announced there were no pizzas as the oven was broken. Surely, he should have told us this when he gave the menus??? We waited ages for our food (a sandwich, lasagne and kids spaghetti Bolognese). My aperol spritz was completely flat. When our food was served, the pasta was served on a rectangular plate (which was really small, completely impractical and difficult for a child to eat spaghetti from). My lasagne was a small portion which I shared with my daughter as the kids spaghetti Bolognese was so spicy with chilli that she could not eat it! The waiter was very pleasant but it didn’t make up for half the menu not being available. The toilets were also absolutely disgusting. The food was just ‘OK’ but we won’t be back. The Italian restaurant over the road was buzzing with people and I can now see why!

Parmo the bread crumb wasn’t bread crumbed or fresh bread combed may be frozen unsure but I still ate it all & it was just ok & partners bolognese was nice she said. Toilets filthy and although quiet our table had not been cleaned.

Nothing to write home about, microwaved food, no veg only dry hard chips will not visit again.better place to eat for not much more money.

Last minute decision to eat here... it has excellent decor and traditional Italian music in the back ground, not too loud and you are able to hear the sparkling conversation you have with your dining partner. Service was good and very polite! Good menu to choose from and loved the look of the Italian tapas! As we were rushed opted for the pizza and wasn’t disappointed! It was one on the better pizza I’ve had in a while... the New York pizza was as advertised! Spicy 🌶! Not huge and not too small... Goldilocks size! The happy hour prices were very reasonable. Will eat here again!

Very tasty Sunday lunch! Excellent beef with lovely veg! Good Yorkshire puds, We paid a little extra for the cauliflower cheese and sausage stuffing! Tasty gravy too! Drinks a little expensive! Food reasonable price! Friendly staff! would certainly return....

We visited the restaurant as part of the Love Darlington restaurant week for an early evening meal. We both had the Calamari starter and thoroughly enjoyed it, the mains were tasty and the only slight criticism would be that the rare steak I ordered was “medium”, but nonetheless was still tasty and offered excellent value. Our waitress was very polite and friendly making an enjoyable dining experience.

Thought we'd try a new restaurant in town but very disappointed. Service quite good, drinks waiter very nice but food waiter ( ? manager) who took order wasn't really with us as too busy watching table next to us. Food choice good and very nice but quite different to usual Italians. House wine not the best. Also toilets terrible. Don't think we will be back.

Had an excellent meal made with fresh ingredients, the atmosphere was great the staff were very friendly

We came here spur of the moment and we really pleased we did. The waiter was attentive and charismatic but not in-your-face annoying. The food was delicious however id like to see some healthy veggie options as of course being Italian everything was laden with cheese. I had cannelloni, she had linguine – it was all great. AND PLEASE DO UP THE LOO'S Would definitely come here again.

We booked a table before we went to the ballet . we were made to feel very welcome as we walked in . We had a very nice table beside the window . We ordered our drinks and our meal they came very quickly . The meals were very nice . When we were finished they gave us some limoncello that was lovely . The staff were so lovely . the service was good . We will come again

We live in Darlington & always try to support new independent businesses, as sadly many don't survive long. So we decided to try this new place for a meal with family to celebrate my husband's 30th birthday. In summary, the whole experience was awful. There was only one other table in but service was incredibly slow & inattentive. Some drinks ordered on arrival never appeared at all, despite several requests. The food was not fresh, or authentic. Most was cold, bland and clearly frozen and reheated (especially the fish, which had an unpleasant tang to it). We had to send a chicken dish back as it was not cooked properly and pink in the middle. No apology was offered. Our order was messed up with some dishes arriving that we hadn't ordered and others missing. Unfortunately no-one enjoyed their meal. The pizza oven wasn't working that night, so I can't comment on the pizza, but to be honest I wouldn't have high hopes for it after our experience of the other 'authentic' Italian food. We weren't asked at any point how things were, or if we needed anything else, and getting more drinks was nigh on impossible. There were several waiters floating around that seemed to have little to do with it being a quiet weeknight, but it seemed they may have realised we weren't happy so just avoided us. Once we had requested the bill, we broke it down and explained we were willing to pay only for the drinks and few meals that were vaguely edible. Again, no questions were asked about what was wrong and no apology offered. The next day I received a call from the manager/owner. She wanted to understand what had gone wrong as apparently ours was the first complaint they had received since opening (which I now highly doubt, looking at other reviews). I went through all of the above and she did then apologise, explaining that she had not been there that night. She asked if we would be willing to give it another try & I said only perhaps for the pizza, which we had been unable to order on the night due to the broken oven. She asked for my address to send us some vouchers for a complimentary meal. I thought this was a nice gesture and appreciated that she seemed to at least want to make the situation right. That was at the end of November and they have never appeared. Looking at the other reviews, I doubt this place will be around long, which is in no way surprising to me after our dreadful experience. Avoid at all costs and take your money elsewhere.

As it was a friend's birthday we opted to go out of town and had previously heard good things about this restaurant... how wrong we were about booking a table here. On arrival, the table booking was incorrect, and although a drinks order was taken it was delayed in its arrival. It took nearly 45 minutes just to have our food order taken, and no apology was given, or the wait acknowledged for the current lack of service. Out with good company, generally you would forget minor discrepancies and go on enjoying your night which at first we did, but it went downhill from here massively.

We went into this restaurant as it had been recommended to us 30th December but we were severely disappointed. The service was terrible as we waited and waited when we wanted another bottle of wine and we couldnt seem to get the waiter's attention at all and wondered what I had to do to get it! I had a chicken dish where there were two pieces of chicken but did not like the taste to one of the pieces of chicken at all. The tiramasu was not very good either and I nearly always get tiramasu everywhere we go so I am used to it. We also waited ages and ages and ages, for a waiter to come to us with our bill and was beginning to wonder if it was free that we had to wait so long! Not a good experience, sorry.

Having had this restaurant recommended to us we were disappointed with both the food and service.

Popped in for lunch while in the area. Food was great but service very slow - we skipped a second course after a long wait for the dessert menus. Pasta and pizza were good and reasonably priced but we did not feel we were made very welcome!

Gosh where do I start with this one, atmosphere was lacking here, cold, no music and quite frankly no other customers when we came in, ordered mushroom risotto and it was beyond bland, I am

Great food, different menu from a lot of ltalian Restaraunts,lovely inside not expensive at all will be back soon excellent.

Went at tea time with a friend barbara (she is a top chef) the food was top notch italian cooking . From the superb thin based pizza to the quality of the tapas , we had 6 different dishes all presented beautifully . The wine was excellent to.

My first experience of Italian tapas and it was absolutely amazing! Three of us shared 12 dishes between. Generous portions imaginatively presented. I can’t pick a favourite dish as they were all wonderful. First class service and very reasonable price.