Santini's Restaurant in Croydon

A little out of the way and not that welcoming from outside but once inside it is truly wonderful. The welcome the food and the wine , everything go well together A must visit if you are in the area

Lovely, quaint, authentic, genuine Italian restaurant. Excellent food. Reasonably priced. Would highly recommend it.

A quaint family run restaurant you have to visit. The patrons are super friendly and take time to ensure you are well informed about the menu and that you enjoy your food. Some really interesting menu choices - calamari like you have not tasted before (don't expect rubbery calamari encased in thick batter), scrumptious stuffed sardines and an amazing chicken stuffed with lobster and crab - who would have thought those all go together - to die for! Dessert highlights were the melt in the mouth creme caramel and creamy panacotta. If you haven't been, go and visit - you'll be eating love off a plate!

Our group of about 20 were treated to a wonderful evening of wine tasting and a five-course meal. Four wines were available for us to sample before our meal, after which we took our seats and the very genial proprietor talked us through the menu he had prepared for us, and the recommended wines to accompany each course. Service was prompt and unfussy, we all cleared our plates and the atmosphere was homely and friendly. Even the teenager ate most of what was presented - courgette fritters, pasta with duck and porcini sauce, sea bass, chicken thighs in beer and bacon and a chocolate & Baileys mousse. We have booked a return visit and would definitely recommend this small establishment.

Thanks Renzol for a lovely meal last night. Excellent food as usual especially my favourite calamari.

Have been going here for many years and the owner Renzo never lets us down, whether it is a meal for two, a family meal, or a bigger organised occasion he always turns up trumps with the food and the wine, and always comes upstairs from the kitchen for a chat. A great little place!

We called ahead a few weeks in advance. When we turned up on time, they were very welcoming ! The full menu was explained including the Specials menu and nothing was a problem. So friengly, so hospitable !. The Fish Dishes & Sauces for Main Course are Top Drawer and a delicasey !. Very reasonsible in price and a excellent evening at this Trattoria ! Thank You ! PS The Venison was excellent ! x

We always enjoy Santinis. The food is fresh, well prepared/presented and so delicious to eat. As a family we have been many times of the years - the kids love the food and the menu specials are enjoyed by the grownups. The wine list is good, my top tip is ask his advice, the off list wines are scrumptious. Don’t be in a hurry here, it’s worth taking time to enjoy every morsel of food. Save room for pudding - so yummy!

We read a review that said “Hidden Gem” so booked a table for two on a Saturday night How wrong that review title was, after walking in we thought uh oh, but then we decided not to judge until we tasted the food. I ordered Gambironi they were swimming in a watery breadcrumb garlic mix and were terrible, followed by the worst calves liver ever, it was submerged in butter and dusted with flower and really not nice. The veg comprised of new potatoes, (frozen) spinach and chanteney carrots. My wife had Aubergine with cheese, and medallions of over cooked beef with a mushroom sauce. She liked her food. The wine list is limited but the owner recommended the Amicone which was ok. Desert was poor. It’s a small family run business and I don’t want to be too harsh But anyone that’s been cooking for as long as this guy should be able to get basic Italian food right and it wasn’t which is a real shame as it has character and the couple that run it are lovely

Had a truly surprising dinner at this family run Italian restaurant. Dont be fooled by the bland exterior. Beautifully cooked liver and fish dishes. The recommended red win 2012 Amicone was 1st class. The homemade lemoncello finished the night on a high. Will be back for sure.

Great food in informal family restaurant. Chef came out to discuss wine choice with us. Minestrone was excellent and fegato sublime: melted in mouth. Finished with lemon/ lime sorbet and limoncello, both homemade Strongly recommended and a hidden little gem

Be prepared to wait for fresh food freshly cooked but well worth it. It was like eating at a friend's house. Very friendly and welcoming and excellent value for really superb Italian food. We will most definitely return for more of what Renzo's has to offer.

From the outside it almost looks like someone's private house but inside it is warm and friendly with a charm all of its own. This lovely real Italian restaurant is a refreshing change from the Italian chain restaurants throughout the country. The food is fabulous - freshly cooked, tasty, served hot and quickly. We were a private party of 30 but still the staff coped really well and got all the food out efficiently and were very friendly too. I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone wanting a genuine Italian meal in authentic surroundings.

This restaurant is wonderful, its appearance is very deceiving..the owner and chef is extremely nice, the Italian food is amazing, they are very good with children too. Our most recent visit was for a gourmet evening - 5 delicious courses with matching gorgeous wines for a very reasonable price..I think these evenings happen on the last Friday of each month other than December. This isn’t somewhere to come when you’re in a massive hurry, but it is definitely somewhere to visit if you love great Italian food and have a little bit of time to relax...I also wish I’d found this restaurant years earlier..

If you want authentic italian food served by an authentic italian in a homely intimate atmosphere then this lil gem is totally worth a visit. Renzo, the owner/chef/wine expert is warm and friendly and will advise you on wines to accompany your delicious food (I had the medallions of beef in a porcini and white wine sauce and for someone who's not a fan of mushrooms or white wine I ate the lot) Would definitely recommend it :)

Have been here a few times and it has a certain charm but the quality of food has fallen off recently.

Un interesante y pequeño restaurante, éramos un grupo de 8, que era un poco pequeña, ya que el restaurante es pequeño.

I had never been here before and went for a friend's birthday. The food was outstanding and the chef was a trained semeillier so he knew loads about wine and was able to reccomend some lovely wine to go with our meal. Will definitely be...

No juzgues un libro por su cubierta. . . . Nadie jamás dijo para mí así que no puedo agradecer a nadie por este anécdota útil. Sin embargo esto es particularmente aplicable aquí. La decoración es exagerado, con una mezcla de fotos y mapas de máscaras. Como bits han sido añadidos a lo largo del año para crear este jaleo de sabor! Es culpa de los propietarios. Pero cuando te gusto la comida cocineros renzo podrá excusar su mal gusto en la decoración

Un pequeño restaurante en un desfile en Godstone Road, Kenley. Nuestro grupo de cuatro estaban allí a la mejor parte de la noche. Sólo otro comedor de par en ese momento.

Visité anoche por primera vez, simplemente porque el restaurante gourmet la sociedad toma mi tarjeta. Cuando me llamó para reservar hablé con el propietario que habían aceptado la reserva, pero advirtió que el servicio sería lento como su camarero era único en vacaciones, bien.

Mucho como han descrito otros, pequeño y acogedor. La decoración es un poco vieja, pero buena comida si no tienes prisa.

Booked this restaurant as it was on the gourmet society list.The menu had most of the normal italian dishes but there were some that were a lot different but very very tasty. The service was very good although a little longer between courses as it was all cooked fresh . Not straight the freezer except for the fantastic Bellini sorbet.will go again . Highly recommded

We went to Santini's twice in one week during our recent visit to England.The first time was a special Sunday night featuring Cajun music. A mushroom risottoset the bar very high . (Heavenly!) I chose the fish with prawns served in a delicious sauce. The dessert was a melt in your mouth velvety blackberry chocolate mousse.A few days later we went to celebrate our host's birthday. My mother made the best spaghetti and meatballs I have ever tasted. I've had it every year of my life as my birthday meal. I quit ordering spaghetti in restaurants years ago because no one's could compare - until now.Renzo's Spaghetti Bolognese was delicious. It's different than Mom's, but I couldn't quit eating the large serving of pasta until just a spoonful of the tasty sauce remained. I chose Blood Orange Sorbet for dessert . Amazing! Renzo is a gifted chef who is the sole food artist but he somehow makes time to visit each table, present wine suggestions or help any way he can. He loves people and it shows. The empty plates at our table was a testament to his talent.. It can get hot in the restaurant so please order water. I'm home again and just thinking about Renzo's cooking is bringing happy memories. Thank you Renzo.

We dine at Santini's two or three times a year and it is always great value for the price, especially when using a Gourmet Card (around £25 per person with wine). The owner Ricardo? always gives you a warm welcome and is an excellent cook. The location of the restaurant is perhaps not the most appealing and whilst comfortable looks a little tied round the edges but it's the food you go for not the décor. I know it can get packed but on this occasion we had the place to ourselves so was able to linger happily for nearly 3 hours over the meal which was no problem. The menu is varied but because the turn over is quite small some dishes are not always available and some might say that the desserts are not that adventurous for a Italian based restaurant. Will certainly be visiting again later in the year.

We have been going to Santinis for a fair few months now, firstly when the goldstone road was closed due to the river Bourne flooding and we wanted to support local business.As others have said the outside of the restaurant is quite tatty but venture inside and you will get freshly cooked Italian food prepared by a very passionate chef . Never had bad food, always tasty and fantastic value. The wine list changes regularly and Renzo has the odd special up his sleeve.Again as others have said sometimes it can be quiet but the food makes up for it.

The morning after the night before, if you like quality food a nice friendly atmosphere this could be for you. Went there for my partners birthday as having been ther before we knew it would be nice and cosy as she has been a bit unwell due to a berivement there were five of us and all the food was spot on ( very old Italy style) it is like eating in someone's front room but that is part of the charm. All the food seems to be cooked to order as there is a nice gap between each course, nice wines and home made deserts.The mains were all lovely inc veal saltembuca, venison in choc sauce, and my partner said her duck was amazing. At about £30 a head for 3 couses with wine and beers very good standard all round. Would recomend booking as is quite small but well worth a visit. WE SHALL RETURN

We have been customers for the best part of 18 years, but tonight was a total disaster - and one I am not prepared to be kind about, as if it was an "accident": accidents happen, but not to that extent. Over one hour waiting for "tagliatelle al salmone" - which were just decent, although they were linguini, and not tagliatelle, four slices of chep-bought supermarket dry cured ham, a minestrone out of a packet, this is altogether unacceptable. It is taking the customer for granted, if not for a ride... My eight year-old youngest granddaughter can cook better than that, or at least serve better food than that since there was, in this instance, hardly any "cooking" involved. with great sadness, my recommendation is : STAY AWAY !

Beautiful Italian food, great wine choices, charming chef, I'll recommend this to family and friends!

As others have said, this restaurant is not as well patronised as it should be. The food is excellent, and the owner can be relied upon to suggest appropriate wine to go with the food you've chosen. It feels a bit like eating in someone's front room, but is none the worse for that. The owner is also the chef, and he is interested in finding out how you've enjoyed your meal (I don't imagine he gets many negative responses!) and in answering your questions about the food.

When you are there you feel like you are visiting someones house, rather than sitting in a restaurant. The owner is incredibly passionate about food and wine, and everything is cooked fresh. The food is pretty much the best I have ever had.The only catch is that it does lack atmosphere, it tends to be empty. This does allow everything to be cooked especially for you. Though can make the experience a tad strange. With the food as good as it is, it definitely should be busier.

There are a few things that make this establishment stand out from the crowd but I will start with the main one that you look for in a restaurant which is the food! The only way I can describe it is a multi-sensual experience, it looks great, smells wonderful and the flavours and textures leave your mouth watering for days afterwards. This taste sensation is complimented by a fantastic wine list hand picked by the chef and owner who will recommend the best combination for you to add even more joy to your pallet. One thing that always seems to be missing when you go to a restaurant is personality. Here the chef and owner makes sure that he comes up to see how your meal was and is very passionate about the art of a good meal and will relish the feedback from you. It is a pleasant touch to experience that level of care and consideration from your chef in regards to your meal and I am yet to find a restaurant that matches it.Service with a smile and a lovely warm atmosphere make this an excellent choice for a meal out.

Very lovely food, wonderful staff, great atmosphere. Everything I've had there has been utterly delicious.

My wife and I visit this excellent Italian Restaurant each time we visit the United KingdomIf you can book in to one of their Gourmet nights you are in for a real treatThe owner/chef explains all of the dishes and each dish is accompanied by an appropriate Italian wine

Santini's has quickly become a firm favourite of ours. I'm almost reluctant to review it enhusiastically in case it becomes too popular and we can no longer get in when we want to! Renzo Santini owns and runs this small restaurant and cooks the food, so the service can be slow. I can best describe it as being like going to Italian friends for dinner. Mr Santini will talk you through the menu and recommend the wine. If you trust him, we have found we don't go wrong - he doesn't sell you stupidly expensive wine but will provide you with a really good meal and a fun evening. He also does Friday gourmet evenings where he has about 30 customers. You sit at long tables and he provides a themed menu and wine to match for a set price. When we went we had a really fab evening and met some good people but we did get very drunk - the wine flowing all evening was too much for us!It looks from the outside like a pretty tatty, tiny place but venture in and you should have a great meal. We love the calamari (now I know what it is supposed to taste like everywhere else is poor in comparison!) and the limoncello dessert which are truly exceptional. Try it...but leave a table for us!