Tosca's Ristorante Italiano in Southampton

My favourite local italian. best pizzas ever. Very accomodating to kids and toddlers even if they make some mess. Good selection of vegetarian options.

Cada vez que visitamos el Reino Unido, vamos al teatro Mayflower. Siempre cenamos de antemano y siempre íbamos a Tosca, ya que la comida era increíble, el servicio excelente y la proximidad al teatro. Desde la renovación, sin embargo, la comida ha disminuido la calidad. Las ensaladas parecían cansadas, las pastas eran limitadas y las papas frías. El personal fue lento en ofrecer las carnes limitadas que estaban disponibles y la pizza que nos sirvieron estaba fría, (sabía como una pizza congelada de supermercado). Solo regresamos por Tony, el mayordomo, pero como él no estuvo en nuestra última visita, dudo que regresemos.

Me encantó este lugar como un lugar de preescolar Theatre - Tosca era precioso por la comida y el servicio. Pero luego se cambió su estilo - y, como la Casa Italia ahora es tan diferente ni de cerca tan bueno como lo había sido en términos de calidad de servicio o bien ... Una pena ... floja, reformar las ensaladas, platos de pasta seca, secos insípido carne ... Así que lo siento tener que escribir una crítica negativa, pero tengo que decir que está ... No han regresado y no tengo la intención de regresar ... A menos que rescata su anterior gloria!!

Ahora Casa Italia, esto es sólo una "ventaja carnes/pizza gourmet tipo buffet nos trajo a la mesa de un asador. La calidad de los ingredientes, especialmente la carne -parece muy pobre. La ensalada cansados con se secó carnes frías que ha visto días mejores. La crema a base pasta muy ser empalagosas, según tomate pasta muy seco. 16 libras por cabeza que ofrece un muy mediocre. Italiano sólo de nombre. Evitar! Pruebe el Cafe Xpresso en su lugar.

Si fuimos cuando era Tosca es que creo que te decepcionará con la modernización. Sólo puede ser clasificado como muy normalito ahora. Un buffet es un buffet y comida seca no importa cómo fresco es cuando ponen. No hay mucho para vegetarianos para elegir y muy poco pasta suponemos porque no "parada" muy bien como una comida de buffet. Demasiada carne y no suficiente de los sabores italianos más. No volveremos o recomendar este lugar a cualquiera.

Went here for first time. Now under another name. Buffet style with pizza and other meats brought round at intervals. This was a Sunday evening hence they closed at 9pm. We were aware of this as at 7.30pm umbrellas from outside and dishes holding all salad items, pastas, were started to be cleared away while we were still eating. The chicken drumsticks were particularly nice but the pork brought to the table on a skewer was dry and over cooked. Wasn't enthused by the place although the interior was modern and light.

Our meal at Tosca's Ristorante Italiano was very good. Service was excellent and prompt. The restaurant is modern, bright and clean with a good view of the street and passers bye.

Really enjoyed the buffet style lunch....I always want a bit if everything on the menu, so this was perfect and I could help myself as many times as I liked. A really lovely selection of salads, cold meats and hot dishes on offer at the buffet, also enjoyed the little extras such as pizza and chicken wrapped in bacon that were bought to the table by the very friendly waitress. A great start to a lovely afternoon at The Mayflower.

The food is served buffet style and the meats are served by bringing skewers to your table where they slice off a portion. Many of the buffet items were good, particularly the cold dishes such as mozzarella and tomatoes with basil. The pastas on the buffet were awful. The pasta dishes are served from warming dishes and no pasta is any good after it has sat around for an hour or more. The sauces as as ordinary as can be; nothing special. At 14.95 Pounds per person this food was badly overpriced. Nothing we were served was bad but nothing was memorable either. I cannot recommend this place.

Have been before when it was the old style of ordering from the menu and although it was good, this new buffet style is superb, great choice of food and eat as much as you like with extras such as Pizza & chicken bought to the tables until you make it clear you don't want anymore. One of our party of 4 was veggie and there was plenty of choice from stuffed peppers & pasta to salad. A very easy enjoyable lunch was enjoyed by all.

This has now changed to a buffet style restaurant and you are brought pizzas and meat on a skewer. The buffet was good and had a fair selection but the meat on the skewers was dried out and hard and they were keen to push the pizzas rather than the meat. The roasted pineapple was only brought round once and that was as we were eating our starters. We personally preferred the old system - much higher standard of cooking so we probably wont go again.

This was our first time at this restaurant before a show at the mayflower.we absolutely loved it ! The food was amazing ,with a wide choice of food at the all you can eat buffet. And impeccable friendly service bringing out a selection of pizza and meats. With a fine wine list to! No waiting and no fuss .we will definitely be returning in the near future .

We have dined in this restaurant many times as a dinner stop, prior to visiting the theatre. The food has always been excellent and Tony and his staff always served us quickly and efficiently enough to get us to the Theatre in time. What a surprise when we went last evening. The whole ambience had changed. The system had changed to a buffet type service, with waiters coming round with various skewered meats and carving/serving as much as you liked. The buffet was well stocked with hot and cold food. The waiter service was sporadic and the meat not very hot. Overall it was very good value (you could eat as much as you like) but though the staff were friendly and the restaurant had been revamped tastefully, we preferred the old system.

Have always found this restaurant excellent. The proprieter, Tony, makes you feel very welcome. There is a good choice of food and very well presented.

I used to love coming to this restaurant, and looked forward to the delicious,authentic Italian food and the excellent service. However, since the revamp, the ambience has dramatically changed. It now feels more like a motorway cafe than a restaurant. Although the food is tasty, some of it is lukewarm. The service is still warm and friendly, but that does not compensate for the lower standard of dining. I would say to the owner,'PLEASE change back again. You had a lovely restaurant but you've spoiled it!' I won't be coming back if it remains self-service.

We loved the revamped Italian restaurant. The greeting was warm and welcoming and the buffet style dining suited us precisely. We could help ourselves from a great range of starters, just enough for us and as mixed as we liked. The main course was Italian based with a good selection of favourites.The fun started when the charming smiley staff offered each table a slice of something from the rotisserie. There was a succession of sausages, pizza, pork (really delicious, with its parmesan coating), drumsticks and I remember the beautiful cinnamon coated hot pineapple. These come round on a never ending circuit until you surrender and put your coaster to "red". There were other things on offer but too many for me to try.A lovely atmosphere with good food and no constraints on the portions or choices, in my case small portions of lots of different tasty bits. To finish all I could manage was Excellent coffee and wine was the best. It is the staff and the manager that make the whole event special, entertaining and completely stress free. I hope they open one in Bournemouth soon! I loved it!

My granddaughter and I had tickets for the matinee and evening performances at the Mayflower Theatre, and need to eat between shows, we discovered a distinct lack of eating places in the near vicinity, so opted for this one as being more or less the closest. I have to say we were greeted very cordially, and shown to our table. It was explained that we could help ourselves to the hot and cold buffet as many times as we liked, and that pizzas and meats would be brought to our table. My granddaughter pointed out that it seemed quite expensive, but as I said there was little other choice. I was ok with the salads on offer, but my granddaughter had a spaghetti dish which wasn't hot (and should have been). Eventually someone did appear with some pizza, which was 2 slices of garlic bread, one slice of ham/pineapple pizza and one slice of cheese pizza, and that was that, so we settled for a slice of pizza each. after a while I did manage to attract a waiter's attention, and was able to have another slice of pizza, but we saw absolutely nothing of any other meats etc. And also it was just so noisy, I don't mind background music, but the music here was so loud you could hardly hear yourself speak. For £14.99 each, and for what we had, this is a real scam, and we would certainly not go back if in Southampton again. I would possible look to book the restaurant at the Mayflower, which was, unfortunately, fully booked this time.

Went here not knowing it had changed to buffet style. Was concerned that food quality would be poor. However, loved the choice of cold/salad and mix it with pasta classics such carbonara. It was great then to be offered food on a scuwer at the table - chicken, sausage, gammon, pizza. Eat as much as you like. I only had one serving and was stuffed. I guess the change was made to get the theatre goers in and out as quick as possible, plus offer a cheaper deal. Will miss the old Tosca but this still makes an excellent choice. NB I wasn't allowed to use the vouchercloud deal for Tosca despite it still being available on the internet, but still great value despite it.

Second time at the restaurant and both times the lunch time eat all you can buffet was excellent.As well as the buffet they bring round fresh pizza and various types of chicken.well worth the money

I had a buffet lunch here with friends and the food was really excellent, and very good value. Really nice place, and the staff are very friendly, helpful and courteous. I can't vouch for the regular menu, but at £8 for all you can eat the buffet was excellent value. Really great choice, with lots of lovely dishes. I'll definitely return.

This restaurant is so good. Now called Casa Italiano. The food is superb and the staff are welcoming and efficient. We had lunch there and the choice was great, there was a lovely smorgesboard and the spit roast meats were served to us at the table. All was mouthwatering. We would recommmend this restaurant highly

Very good and quick service prior going to concert, very good food and dealt with a big party. Good selection on the menu. Friendly cosy atmosphere

Always go there before theatre ,very busy ,you need to book,open up 5.30for shows good food served quickly.

Good venue for the Mayflower theatre. Great atmosphere and food. Always get you out in time for the theatre.

The new concept and menu is excellent value for money. The staff and management are very friendly and helpful. Outstanding customer service from the manager. The Italian rodisio is fantastic. Will definitely be back.

This used to be a brilliant restaurant with the bonus of being very close to the Mayflower Theatre: its pre-dinner service was a total joy.It is recently changed its style.It now has a small buffet (hot and cold) and various other choices (pizza segments; chicken pieces wrapped in bacon; small, spicy sausages; etc) are brought when they happen to be ready, whether or not you are ready for them. Each of the choices which we had was under-cooked. Several would arrive all together and then none would appear for ages.The atmosphere of the restaurant has also suffered.Nobody we spoke to would be returning.

Friendly and comfortable surroundings, and probably the best Arriabiata pasta sauce I have ever had. 100 metres away from the Mayflower Theatre makes this a convenient pre-theatre dinner choice.

Like other reviewers we had problems trying to use a voucher scheme. We booked and specifically stated on the phone that we planned to use the Telegraph subscriber discount card, which the Telegraph site says they participate in. When we arrived, we again stated this and the man - presumably the manager - said it was OK. But when we came to pay it turned into farce as the waitress claimed that we hadn't met the scheme's conditions; then the manager came over and said they weren't in the Telegraph scheme anyway. To avoid making a major scene we accepted a reduced discount in the end - but it does seem from our and other reviewers' experiences that they are happy to hook you in via a scheme, and then deny all knowledge. Shame, as the food itself wasn't bad.

Tosca's is a very friendly resturant, with typical Italian food off the menu or they have a specials board.You are always warmly greated by the manager Tony and his staff. The service is always first class.The added advantage is that you can ytake your own wine.If you are not going to the Mayfair to see a show book after 07.30pm

We turned up at the restaurant without booking when their was a well attended show on at the local theatre. The man in charge found us a table and the service and food that followed was exceptional. This was a very enjoyable experience and would recommend this to anyone.

Tony is always helpful and friendly. Nothing is too much trouble. Great menu choices and food excellent.

I ate at Tosca's restaurant last night with 5 friends, having been there many times before. I booked the table with the Manager, stating that I would be using my 'Gourmet' card, entitling us to 25% discount, with certain restrictions and confirmed that we would be taking our own wine and because of this, he explained, would be charged £3 per bottle drunk, for useing their glasses. At the point of asking for the bill, the Manager refused to give us any discount saying that we weren't entitled to discount because we had taken our own wine. I explained that at no time in our telephone conversation the day before did he mention that, but had agreed that he would accept use of the Goumet card and allow discount. I am absolutely apalled and disgusted at the treatment we received and embarrassed that I had suggested we visit that Restaurant.I will never frequent there again.

We've eaten here several times, and when we saw the christmas menu, talked a couple into coming with us. As always when you recommend somewhere you always cross fingers it will live up to the build up you've given it, but we needn't have worried - it was a fantastic evening.We all had different choices, and all of it was fantastic.The service was first class - we were even offered a new table as we were fairly close too a company do that was a little noisy! We've never been let down here, and find it very good value for what you get.Don't be put off by the location - give it a go.

We have been here a few times in the past before going on to a show at the Mayflower; a couple of minutes walk away. This was our first visit for a while, the menu seemed quite different to our last visit. We arrived before chef, the booking had been made for 5:15, and the restaurant does not start taking food orders until 5:30, although the bar is open. The waitress, speaking less than perfect English, handled it beautifully. She turned the language problem into a running joke, showed us to a table, took the drinks order, and when she brought the drinks, said she would be back in 15 minutes to get our food order. By 5:30, a couple of other tables were occupied, so maybe there is an issue with making table reservations, our order was taken first. The menu is standard Italian restaurant fare, with an interesting specials board. We all went for the standard menu starters, followed by my wife and daughter going for specials mains, while I stayed with the standard fare. All were very good, generous portions, and good tasty food. The ladies went for dessert, which was pronounced very good. We were at the theatre in plenty of time. Service is very good, you only have limited time if you are to catch the start of the show and here they are aware of that and serve accordingly. My only reservation is that the price of the wine seems a little high, even for this type of restaurant in this area.It will be considered favourably next time we are in the area.

When ever my husband and I fancy Italian cuisine, we make a reservation at Tosca`s, because we both know that this restaurant will not leave us wanting. The presentation and taste of the food always surpasses our expectation and the customer service is outstanding. Thank you to all of the staff that work there.

A group of us went for an early meal before going to the opera at the Mayflower theatre. The food was excellent, the service was friendly, cheerful and fast. We left in time for curtain-up, but never felt rushed.We shared a few bowls of extremely good olives, and then each had a main course, wine or beer, and coffee. I had Spaghetti Marinara, which was delicious, as good as anything I have eaten in Italy. The price was reasonable - about £20 a head, including service.Grazie a tutti - spero di tornare!

Since our last visit we again went to Tosca's for a pre show dinner (Phantom of the Opera) and it was as good as ever. The reastaurant was full and from the conversation it seems as though much of the clientel were regulars.Once again we were not disappointed.

Used this restaurant prior to a show at the Mayflower Theatre. We arrived at 6.00 as per our booking, the place was absolutely packed but our table was waiting for us. The courtesy of the staff allayed our fears that there might be some delay. The menu had changed since our last visit, with an accent on Pasta and Pizza, there were the usual starters however, and some special dishes were offered. We chose these, Salmon in Filo Pastry, Port Roulade and Beef Stew with Dumplings. The Mussles (starter) were some of the best I have ever eaten, with lashings of sauce, which nearly doubled as a bowl of soup. A wonderful meal. Would you believe it, the whole of the restaurant were paid up and left before the performance began at 7.30. Just amazing. All for about £27.00 each including drinks.

Whilst visiting the Mayflower Theatre we popped into the neighbouring pub for a quick Saturday lunch but it was heaving so we checked outside saw Tosca's and initially thought oh well it's better than nothing. Wow it was fabulous and a real find. Great food, superb service, excellent value and the loos are top notch too. I would visit Southampton just for the restaurant. Well done xx

Called in as our usual pre-theatre pub was full! Good value main courses - very tasty pasta dishes.Drinks a bit pricey.The waiting staff were friendly and very Italian!Would def go back next time we are seeing something at the Mayflower theatre.

During a recent stay in Southampton, I stumbled across this very pleasant restaurant, where even though it was busy, I was made very welcome and as a single diner was not made to feel a spare part, the food was delicious with menu and special board with excellen attentive servce, so good ate here on the following night as well. Excellent value for money and well worth it.

Very good food with quick and friendly service. I would eat here again and will recommend this Restaurant.

Poor slow waitressing, looked like they were under staffed. considering we arrived early for food as we were going to see the performance phantom of the opera at the mayflower. It took us 20mins to order drinks so we ordered our food at the same time. We were assured if we didn't order anything complicated that we would have it fairly quick... This wasn't the case, our food arrived half and hour later and was too hot to eat, the food was piping hot, but so was the bowls, I ended up burning my mouth on my pasta, which led me to suspicion that they may have microwaved it all. My other halfs pizza looked very cheesy and pale... "It was nothing special" his words. luckily we were on the ball and when our food arrived we asked for the bill aswell!The waitress looked over and said "see we did it" as if to say you have plenty of time to get to the show, (5minutes). my mum said "not really I have indigestion now from having to eat so quickly..."To be honest I have been here afew times, it seems they have far more tables in there now, and clearly can't cope with the volume... I hope they can step it up, I've had far better experiences here, it was far too stressfull, for what was suppose to be relaxing family evening out...

Opening night of Phantom of The Opera and we'd wisely booked a table for 5.30pm, by 6pm it was heaving. A small menu with pasta and Pizza, along with other traditional Italian dishes. A good specials board of main courses and starters. A desert cabinet with many tempting pudds on offer. Friendly and welcoming staff serve good honest food at very affordable prices. Will try going again, not on a show night so we have longer to enjoy a 3 course dinner.

We have been to Tosca's several times for a pre show dinner.As other reviewers have said the menu is a little limited however we have always found the food excelent and the service good. prices are reasonable tooNobody seemed unhappy with their food or the service whenever we have been there.It is great for a pre theatre meal as the Mayflower is virtually next door and you can arrive in time to make use of the Carpark next door.(free after 6.30pm)We have always been made to feel welcome and they are now offering for you to bring your own wine which helps reduce the cost.We weill be back there for our next pre theatre dinner.

For that price you would expect a nicer place, and above all a bit more elaborated food. Its the kind of place I would only go back if I had a voucher, but it would have to be a really good one

I visited Tosca 's and Toomey daughter and f future daughter in law alas a special treat. None of us could eat this food drowned in salt. Complained to the waitress who said it the chefs fault, we sent back the plates only half eaten. We preordered coffees which we thought might be complimentary as a gesture of goodwill. When paying the bill the manager was not at all apologetic. £50 for a very unpleasant experience which will definitely not be repeated. My advise is look for another Italian in Southampton !!!

All very swift and efficient for a quick lunch after shopping. So swift and efficient they were bringing the main course when we were still eating our garlic bread with mozzarella with complimentary oil 'soup'. The main course risotto and penne with meatballs were so salty they were inedible, the fettucine with prawns was again salty and swimming in oil. We didn't complain during the meal which I suppose we should have done, but we did say when asked by the waitress who proceeded to put on a wonderful act of heart felt apology, but it basically amounted to it not being her fault, but the chef's. We then ordered coffee, which we thought might have been complimentary as a gesture of goodwill ... No. When asked again, when paying, by the manager we repeated our complaint, only to be told that the chef was Excellent and they had never had a complaint before. Decide for yourself, but I would recommend staying away!

We like Italian food and have tried every Italian restaurant in Southampton, and this is the best of the bunch. Yes, it is expensive but no more than the others and at least you can be sure of good food and atmosphere.

I've used this restaurant a number of times, but noticed the price creep up and recently I made a small group booking. The menu said there is a service charge for groups of eight or more. However, with a smaller group than this we were still charged a hefty service charge. The drinks were also very expensive (even soft). The food is good but in my opinion, not worth the increased prices. Being in a hurry to get to the Mayflower we didn't have time to go through the bill and ask about the coverage charge; and we won't be asking as we won't return.

Been here several times, this time with a Travelzoo voucher. As ever, lovely quality food and attentive service. Just a little bit different. Well worth a visit.

I visited Toscas because my friend bought me a Champagne Dinner for 2 voucher from Travel Zoo. Our expectation was that we would be put on a bad table and have to make our selections from a special limited menu, (based on previous voucher experiences). How wrong were we! We were warmly greeted and shown to a lovely table. Our nicely chilled prosecco was then presented to us.We were then invited to choose 3 courses from the main Menu and specials board. The choice was fantastic and had a luxurious feel. Our starters were very generous and our mains were cooked to perfection. The sweets were really lovely and were home made. They also stuck some candles on mine, turned the lights off and sang Happy Birthday to me. That was a really nice thing to do as they had obviously noted it was a voucher for a Birthday and followed it through on the night with this unexpected surprise. Great attention to detail. The staff were all very professional and friendly. Dining @ Toscas was a really great experience and I will definitely be going back there very soon. Watch the wine prices though £25 for a bottle of House Wine. It was a nice one though!

I have always vistied here in the past and recommended this restaurant to friends, however after my visit yesterday, i would never go back again. OK, the food is expensive but the service WAS always good and the food was good. Recently when i have tried to use vouchers from Voucher Cloud or the taste card vouchers, there is always some reason why they can't be used (ie sorry you cannot use that today because today is monday...whatever). Yesterday on a visit, we were greeted by a VERY rude man, when i asked if we could use our vouchers, he mumbled something and then answered the phone and put his back to us. Needless to say, we walked out and went across the road to the Mayflower, where it is friendly and not laid out like a canteen. I won't be visiting ever again and will spend my hard earned cash elsewhere, they obviously do not want the customers!

My Wife and I have just returned home from Tosca's and to be honest this was the best Italian we have ever had. The starter, main course and sweet were all exceptional and to cap it all the staff were a credit to the restaurant trade. The sweet was a banoffee pie and it was out of this world. The starter was the smoked salmon parcel with prawn, avocado and feta cheese, gorgeous and our mains were the seafood spaghetti and the prawn tomato and courgette pasta dishes. This visit was by way of a travel zoo voucher, however our treatment was no different to full paying clients. We will be returning and paying the normal prices, would have worked out to about £24 per head.

Incredibly quick service and good food at a reasonable price. Busy pre-theatre atmosphere but still serving at 10pm. Ideally placed for the Mayflower. We would certainly go again, possibly during the day. Recommended.

Went for pre-theatre dinner on 19th October. Wine is pricey, but good quality. Starter of salmon and cray-fish is delicious. Risotto was a little dry, and we had to ask for parmesan cheese to be brought to the table when our main's were served, as it was not offerred, and they were not that busy at that stage of the evening.Deserts were excellent, coffee was average, nothing special given that this is an Italian restaurant.Most of the staff are friendly and attentive without being intrusive; one lacked "polish" - he reached across me to get the bill, rather than walking round to the other side of the table, then reached across me againt o get the card! Not impressed with that arrogant attitude.Would not go again, as food was good, but not exceptional, and overall was expensive for what it was.

I held my birthday dinner at Tosca's with my family. There were six of us. There was a little hiccup with a steak, it being slightly overcook, but they immediately got it sorted with no fuss. Overall the food was excellent, the service brilliant and the atmosphere Italian

We went on a Friday night and the restaurant was full at 7.30. No doubt much of their trade is pre-theatre or after-work because by 8.30 it was just over half-full. A large number of tables are squeezed into the available space but this was the only slight fault I noted during an excellent meal. My wife started with 'Large field mushrooms topped with a gorgonzola and honey crust with a creamy tomato sauce (£7.45)'. The mushrooms were in fact not that big, but the sauce was delicious, obviously made from fresh tomatoes. I began with 'Smoked salmon and crayfish platter, with lemon mayonnaise and brioche £8.95'. The salmon was tasty, with an oil dressing containing a touch of pesto. The crayfish had their own mayonnaise and rocket leaves completed the dish. It was an enjoyable starter. We both chose: 'Pan-fried veal escalope with sliced porcini mushrooms, marsala wine and cream sauce $16.95' as the main course. This was splendid. Plenty of delicious sauce and two generous pieces of veal. The accompanying vegetables: potato dauphinoise, saute potato, green beans, carrots and mange-touts, were served hot and cooked just the right amount. Very nice. We drank Prosecco and Tooma River Cabernet (Australia), both of which were fine and reasonably priced. We ended with a capuccino and an Americano, very well made and served in large cups. All in all, it was an excellent dining experience. The service was top-class, from a mixture of senior waiters and younger staff - very attentive and professional.

We have been to this retaurant 3 times over the past year. The food is excellent and the staff make you very welcome. We cannot fault the service or food.Vee and Brian Loveday

We went to Tosca's on Friday 14th Sept 2012.We had booked a table for 5.30 as we were seeing a show at the Mayflower.The food was execellent and the service was second to none and our waitress had a great sense of humour.We had a three course meal including drinks for just under £60.I would recommend booking a table as by 6pm Tosca's was almost full.This is not the first time we have had a meal here and won't be the last.

lovely selection, great staff. Went with a groupon voucher but would be happy with the prices and the food at whatever price. Love this place.

Went to Toscas for the first time on Friday Aug 17th 2012. The food was delicious but even better was the SERVICE. They were pretty busy with only 2 people serving food AND drinks. Our waitress was informative, attentive and made our evening special. Even though, the two people serving were rushed off their feet, our waitress made us feel as if we were the only table taken. We struggled through 3 courses, but they were too tasty to be missed. Highly recommended.

I booked this restaurant as i was travelling to Southampton to enjoy a show at the Mayflower with my partner. I pre booked because i thought it might be difficult to get a table because of the show....wow was i wrong. We arrived at 1800hrs and were the only people in the restaurant. We ordered a £20 bottle of wine, which quite frankly tasted like washing up water.We then ordered starters, a shared pizza garlic bread with tomato. THE WORST STARTER i have ever tasted! The added tomato was a simple salad tomato cut up, still with the top stalk on! The dough tasted like it had just come out of the freezer and the herbs on top were horribly burnt. Okay so maybe just a slight glitch we thought...ordering our mains.I had a 3 cheese pizza and my partner had the meat penne aubergine arabiatta-but asked for no aubergine. Now i like cheese, but the slop that i got on top of frozen dough was horrific!...i was so hungry by the point that along with the pot of salt next to it i chomped by way through about half.My partner got his and his face dropped instantly!....firstly there were huge chunks of aubergine, the meat looked like something i wouldn't feed my dog and the sauce was obviously the same they use for everything!.We ordered a side of 'HAND CUT FAT CHIPS' also, they came out so obviously frozen Aunt Bessie's!By this point we had had enough and we called for the Manager. He instantly got very defensive and started shouting, whilst we were asking HIM to calm down. We quizzed him about the chips and he said they always use frozen chips as they do not have enough time to ever cut potatoes. Come on...it takes 2 minutes to cut a kg of potatoes!After asking him to quieten down as HE was causing a scene in HIS restaurant he gave us the chips and 1 main course for free.Still i felt robbed having to pay for the rest.The single worst experience i have ever had in any restaurant.....and i am very easy to feed.Advise....don't waste your money McDonald's is just down the road.

Ten of us went and whilst the food was good it was not good that they overcharged our bill by £100. A little expensive for what it is..........and empty on a Saturday night.

Went to Toscas on 19th July Thursday evening for a friends 25th wedding anniversary. We had the three course meal with glass of Prosecco included on the travelzoo deal. First time in this restaurant and immediately we walked in the manager greeted us in a warm and friendly manner. The decor is lovely, creating a good atmosphere.We had four different starters, i had mussels in chilli and tomato sauce, gorgeous, crayfish and salmon starter was generous and lovely too. The mushrooms went down well too. For my main i had the lamb in a rosemary and redcurrant sauce. Was cooked perfect, hot and presented lovely. The pepper steak was tender and sauce was lovely.Fresh veggies and plenty of them.Desserts were huge, nearly didnt make it but dont like to leave anything!!The waitresses were friendly, efficient and the evening was a great success.We shall be back and also we will use the byo drink, which we didnt know about. A great place to eat before or after a show as theatre just minutes away by foot. Go and enjoy, absolute bargain and good quality food. Thanks Tosca

Went to Tosca's with my husband on Wednesday 19/07/2012 to use a Groupon voucher we had for a three course meal for two with wine for £24. This voucher was excellent value, we saved about £30! The restaurant was quite busy which is always a good sign. The food was amazing, one of the nicest meals I've had. I had the mussels to start, followed by crab and crayfish fettucini and lemon torte for desset and would recommend all three. Good service too and made to feel welcome.

When we visit the Mayflower theatre this is the only restaurant we'll visit. The food is superb, whether it be the salmon for starters or fish cakes or the great value mains , meat or pizza. As the deserts, world class. The service is one of the best we've ever had and nothing is too much trouble in this classy, stylish restaurant. For a terrific pre dinner meal or afterwards this has got to be the place to come. A great range of wines or just perroni if thats what you prefer. This restaurant really is the business. Highly recommended but make sure you book or you'll be disapointed.

Me and my boyfriend went to Toscas on a Saturday night using a Travel Zoo voucher. We could not fault the food or the service. Our waiter was very friendly and ensured that we were ok throughout our meal. We had 3 courses each which were all superb including the Banoffee Pie which was amazing! The wine was quite expensive, we went for the lower priced wine which was £19.50. It was very nice but if we would have not used our voucher our meal would have come close to £85. All in all a very nice meal but try and get Travel Zoo or Groupon voucher otherwise it could be quite expensive.

We eat here a lot, normally with friends who have been going longer than us, Tony and Jordon always smiling and dishing out abuse, the food and drink isn't bad either.......you can take your own wine.Always a good place to go pre show as it is very close to the Mayflower Theatre (Book First), we normally go after they have finished with the pre show bookings, so we are always well served, but then we should be..as we have been going for years. cannot fault it for the price.

I found the decor very cold and almost industrial...service was friendly, wine overpriced but as one expects in a restaurant. However the absolutely worst pizza I have ever eaten anywhere I have eaten in any country I have visited. Definitely no return visit for me!

Convenient location to eat before theatre. Food was good and service efficient. Not very Italian decor but clean and smart.

Recently went to Toscas as part of a voucher deal. It is local to me and my boyfriend and was hoping to make it a regular to go and eat. Arriving, the staff were very friendly and attentive. No complaints there. But sadly the food (and price) let them down, luckily we weren't paying the full amount. As a veggie, I was aware that choice was limited here but what they had sounded quite nice. My starters of mozzarella, avocado and tomato was very tasty however my boyfriend ordered the mushrooms. I have seen previous complaints about this starter and was hoping that the management would have taken note and actually given large field mushrooms rather than the rather small, sorry looking ones my boyfriend received. Absolutely no way that was worth £7.45 unless you like throwing your money away.Main course was pizza for both of us. It was alright but just reminded me of a pizza you can get down the road at a kebab shop. Smothered in cheese, quite salty and nothing like the quality you would expect of an authentic Italian restaurant, unless all the others are doing it wrong of course.I will say though, that I had tiramisu for dessert which was lovely and the portion size was generous. They got that bit right!I was disappointed which is a shame as I'd seen previous reviews and hoped they had sorted themselves out. But I am glad I got this through a voucher deal and not paid full price. I think it could be a great restaurant and would look forward to returning if they improved the quality of food.

The food was average, portions sizes are smaller than your average Italian restaurant.Pizza tasted OK but looked thrown together, no topping near the edges, wasn't well cooked either, came out cold in the middle. Pasta dishes were not spectacular, reheated lasagne was dry, the best part of the meal was the chips.Service was fast but hurried, only when it came to paying the bill was there any conversation, that was the first time we got a smile from the waitress!I wouldn't go again but it wasn't terrible, a little pricey for what you receive but it is right next door to the theatre so a good place to grab something quick before or after a show.

I went to Tosca's with a group of friends, as I am vegan I rang up to arrange something that I could eat in advance. When I explained to the manager that I was vegan he said 'No problem, we can do you a plain steak with vegetables'....Er....What??? Nice to know that a restaurant has no knowledge of dietary requirements!!It was arranged that I would have spaghetti with tomato sauce. I arrived for the meal and everyone else's food was brought out first, mine came last and I was presented with tomato sauce, spaghetti and MEATBALLS(!!). I stated that I had ordered plain tomato spaghetti as I was vegan, the waiter took the dish away and there was a little huddle of waiters/waitresses around it in the corner...suddenly it arrived back, with no meatballs! It was very obvious that they had just taken the meatballs out of the spaghetti and brought it back to me. I looked through my food and lo and behold I found a chunk of meatball. I called the manager over (who clearly knew what we were going to complain about, his face fell and he started muttering to the waiter next to him). When he spoke to us he was very impolite insisting that the (obvious) chunk of meat was not meat, and that the sauce was just made out of tomato. He completely evaded my question when I asked him if the meatballs had been take out of this spaghetti. He was rather rude in his manner, and not at all willing to sort out the problem or give any apology or solution until my friend stated that I would be ill had I eaten any chunk of meat. He then begrudgingly took the meal off of our bill.I am very cross with the managers attitude towards the situation and astounded that the waiters would have such a lack of respect towards people's dietary requirements. How dare they just remove the meatballs and serve the same meal as vegetarian!!

We decided to purchase a groupon voucher to try the food at Tosca's at a reduced price - boy what a mistake!!! It's true that we left it to the last minute to book, but when I called to make the reservation a very rude man said that didn't have any tables left, but then said he could just squeeze 2 people in for 9.30pm (which is later than i'd usually eat, but I accepted). We were surprised to find when we reached the restaurant that there were in fact about 6 empty tables. We were seated and the waitress told us that they'd sold out of 3 of the starters, and would therefore offer scallops (which weren't part of the original deal), should we want them. My husband and I both went for this option, and were disappointed that only 2 scallops were served - and were undercooked (still a bit slimey). My pizza was a further disppointment - I have had far, far better. The worst disappointment though was that although they prepared their own home made desserts, as each sells out, no replacement is put in their place, so as the evening goes on the dessert choice gets smaller and smaller. Seriously, with so many restuarants in Southampton, I cannot see why anyone would choose to go to Tosca and I certainly will never return!!!

We had not booked and the Manager managed to find us a table on a busy Sat afternoon. He was very friendly and attentive and the we all ordered Pizza as we thought the Italians are famous for their pizzas...wrong! They looked shop bought and over cooked and were the worst pizza in an Italian we had ever had. We mentioned to the waitress how disappointed we were, which was obvious as we had all left some, she was apologetic and told the manager who came over to our table, to apologise we assumed but no he cleared the plates and did not say one word!!! We couldn't believe it, what happened to the friendly and attentive person we had spoke to previously.When we left he did not say anything other than goodbye and we thought that was quite rude as an apology would have been appreciated so unfortuantely we would not go back or recommend to anyone to go there.

I had been to Tosca's years ago and thought it was ok then so got a groupon voucher and decided to go back again.The decor seemed nicer than I remember and when we were greeted the staff all seemed very friendly so I was pleased with my choice and thought that we would have a great meal.I enjoyed my starter of goat's cheese, beetroot and asparagus although it could have done with a little bit more beetroot, there was one tiny bit cut into four, so smaller that it hardly seemed worth mentioning. My boyfriend had smoked salmon that he said was good. We both had pizza for the main course and really enjoyed these, my four cheese pizza was nicer than the one that I had in Italy the week before. They were just a bit small, ok as we were having three courses but would have been disappointed with the size if I hadn't had a starter.And the other thing that confused me was that the manager told us that we couldn't have scallops for the starter as they had none (it wasn't stated on the voucher that they weren't included so we just assumed that they had run out) but the couple on the table next to us that started eating about an hour later had scallops for their starter and they also had a groupon voucher.The staff had served us very quickly with our starter and main and although I do like to give it plenty of time before I have my dessert, but we waited and waited.We had both run out of drinks and wanted more, we kept listening to the staff telling other tables what the dessert options were (the options were getting less and less each time as they kept running out of stuff) and kept on wondering when they would come to us. The waitresses seemed more intent on cleaning the tables and setting them for the next day's customers rather than serving us. Again we kept on trying to attract their attention but to no avail. Eventually the manager realised that we still hadn't had dessert and sent someone over to take our order, by this time they had much less choice available, I think there were about three things that they didn't have any more, no tirimasu, but they still had banoffie pie, fruits of the forest cheesecake, one piece of pecan cheesecake and some roulade. We went for the fruits of the forest cheesecake and the banoffie pie (my portion was huge and my boyfriends portion was much much smaller - I think they had only got one big slice left and cut it into two. I heard them telling another couple that they only had the roulade, ice cream or sorbet so glad that got to us when they did!The dessert was ok, my banoffie pie was mainly cream, didn't have much banana or toffee in it so not much flavour. It wasn't really worth the wait. And just after they brought the dessert out the manager came along and plonked the bill on the table for the extra glass of wine that I eventually had which I found to be a bit rude, I thought he could have at least waited until the end of the meal before giving us the bill. We might have wanted something else to drink before we went.I thought we got good value for our voucher but I would have been disappointed if I had paid £7+ for the starter as it was very small and £8+ for the pizza as it too was quite small, I would have wanted one that filled the plate.

My second visit with my daughter. Staff always friendly and welcoming, excellent service and delicious food. We will definately be returning.

Used a groupon voucher, had fabulous dinner realyy brilliant would recommend to anyone, very helpful and attentive staff, wonderful experience, my 3rd visit!

went here on friday with our daughter visiting her at uni loved the foodit was very busy but service was good,staff friendlydownside it was noisy & hot A/C, BUT NOT SWITCHED ON

We ate here Thursday evening May 24 at 7pm, the restaurant was buzzing and fully occupied. Tony and his team looked after us very well as normal. The sea bass fillets with mussels was divine, and my colleague had the monk fish which he said was also lovely. This is a terrific restaurant, serving well cooked and seasoned food and comes highly recommended.

Let me start by saying that I have visited Toscas many times over the past few years, so this review isn't based on just one visit.Tony the manager is always so welcoming, his particular type of hospitality is awe inspiring and genuine.The food has always been of a superb standard even when on our last visit we turned up with groupon vouchers.It's just a few paces from the Mayflower Theater so great for the pre or post show meal or drink.Have just read the couple of negative reviews, all I can say is they must of been in a different Toscas! Keep it up Tony and Staff, I will defo be back.Rob and Belinda ReedSouthampton.

I visited this restaurant on Saturday evening, with 5 friends. Previously to this I had never heard of it to be honest. I must admit also on arrival, I was not expecting much from the exterior of the building. We were greeted very warmly and served drinks promptly. The menu was a little different, they also had a specials board which looked very interesting. All 6 of us really enjoyed the food all three courses. The food was of a much higher standard then I was expecting when I sat down. I will be returning.

We had a voucher bought for us as a gift so we visited this restaurant for the first time and it will be our last. My initial impression was that the decor was dark and very dated with nothing Italian about it, not even an Italian inspired picture on the bare, dark walls. We were seated at our cheap, cafe style table and i started to look around properly. The decor is dreadful and in desperate need of cleaning and updating, the skirting boards were filthy. I also noticed the staff banging and clattering around behind us, they seemed to bring the food up from downstairs and then use the table beside us to remove the covers and get knives and forks etc, they were clattering around on this table all night. We ordered our starters, my husband had the mushrooms with gorgonzola. They were shrivelled and dry, tasted like they had been cooked hours ago and warmed up, with the tiniest amount of cheese on. All served on iceberg lettuce - not very Italian! They had some tomato sauce with no flavour drizzled round the plate. I had the parma ham and salami which was ok but not as good as the salami I buy from Sainsburys. For main i had spicy chicken penne in a tomato sauce with mozzarella. The chicken was chewy and dry and the tomato sauce was the same as the one on the starter, very bland, no flavour at all. I added salt but it didnt help so i didnt eat much of mine. My husband had the monkfish, one large chunk was like rubber with a strange grey skin type layer on it that he couldn't remove or get his knife into so he had to leave that. His dinner had the same tomato sauce dribbled over it again, the same sauce 3 times in 2 courses, you could forgive this if it was a fantastic sauce but its not. We both sat for ages with empty glasses before giving up waiting and asking if we could have more drinks. For dessert we both had the tiramisu which was the best of the 3 courses but again, i have had much better. I travel to Italy a lot and i don't necessarily expect the same quality here but this food wasn't even comparable. I asked if the chef was Italian and was told no, he is English!! I am not a food snob and although i have eaten in some nice restaurants i also enjoy places like Prezzo and i can honestly say the food in Prezzo's is a hundred times better than here.. I guess i just expected more from a privately owned Italian restaurant and i certainly expected the food to be better than it is in chain restaurants. Next time I will go to Prezzo's or Jamies Italian. If we hadn't had the voucher I would have left after the starters and gone somewhere else. The waiter that cleared our main meal plates did ask if the food was ok as most of mine was still there, I did say that it was bland and he apologised and very kindly didnt charge us for our round of drinks, a nice thing to do but not enough to excuse the poor food and ever tempt us back.

We really enjoyed our anniversary by having a meal at Toscas. The staff were really friendly and helpful - recommending dishes for us to try and suggesting wines. The food was freshly cooked, just the right amount and piping hot. The desserts were particularly delicious!! Prices average. Cappuccino was the best I have tasted. Modern, clean interior with a really nice buzzing atmosphere. Would definitely recommend it.

This was our first visit, we were taking advantage of a recent Travelzoo voucher offer to try out this restaurant as we had visited its sister outlets Bellinis and Reginas before. Other than being told a certain starter and main were not available as part of the deal, despite the voucher stating that ALL items on the menu were included, the service was impeccable. The starter and main course were very nice, I wasn’t so keen on the desert but that was a personal preference rather than quality. We’ll be sure to visit again in the near future.

We were staying in Southampton overnight and just wanted a quick and reasonable meal near to the station. Ordered "mushrooms" for a starter which turned out to be one mushroom each for well over £7! Unbelievable price, when I complained the manager was simply rude and said that it wasn't his problem what the chef sent out. Main course pasta at about £10 was ok, although the tomato sauce on my pasta was pretty watery and the chorizo actually tasted a little bit off. Puddings were fine. I eventually got the cost of one of the starters removed from the bill-over £15 for 2 tiny mushrooms seeming completely ridiculous, but only with a lot of shouting and rudeness from the manager. As I know a lot of great Italian restaurants serving really good food in this price bracket in the South East I was extremely unimpressed with both quality of the food and the bad attitude

Small Italian restaurant near the Mayflower Theatre. Run by Tony Annunziata who has been in the restaurant business all his life. Pre Theatre, after theatre, or just drop in for lunch. Well worth a visit.

Ate here on Saturday before the theatre and was very impressed. Considering how busy they are around the times before the shows they handled the service very well and were very pleasant and personable. The food was very tasty, although my Nan had to ask her lasagne to be reheated, but the pasta tasted very fresh and nice. I thought it was good value and the location is so convenient for the Mayflower. There was a loud hen do next to us, and their noise was unavoidable in such a small restaurant, but our waitress was apologetic and they were all friendly about it so it was fine. Would definitely make time for dinner here again before a show.

We went for a meal at Toscas after seeing a show at the Mayflower theatre. We had the Neopolitan pizza to share as a starter and then the pasta with crab and the pasta with prawns and scallops. The food was absolutely gorgeous, great flavours and generous portions. We will definitely back especially as prices are so reasonable.

i visited this locaton with a close friend of mine. the service was dreadful, an fet like no one cared they just wanted you in out an go home

We both opted for pasta dishes, and both were tasty, especially the fettuccine with seafood, quite reasonably priced. They were very busy (many were there prior to going on to The Mayflower next door for the opera), but welcoming and very efficient. We asked for bread, and it came speedily and indeed service overall was good. The manager checked that everything was ok, but then returned quite promptly with our bill (which we had not yet requested!) Maybe there was a misunderstanding, but we did feel (perhaps wrongly) that we were being asked to vacate our table - and we'd been in there less than an hour!) Prices, we felt, were very reasonable, though meat dishes were on the expensive side. Incidentally, if going for a pre-concert meal, it is best to book a table or you won't get in.

We’ve been to Toscas about 3 or 4 times in the past year, and have not yet been disappointed, it is a fantastic restaurant in Southampton which is always buzzing. We were in a group of four, my husband and I had the red mullet which was on the specials board, and our friends both had the lasagne, we all enjoyed it very much. Tony who is the owner and is Italian is very friendly and takes the time to talk to all the diners. You can bring your own wine for £2 per bottle. Would highly recommend.

After being advised that Tosca's was one of the best restaurants in Southampton, I was quite shocked after my recent experience. Our starters were fine, good sizes and very filling. Our main courses (most of us had pizza) were sloppy, very fatty and greasy tasting and the dough of our pizzas seemed a little undercooked! None of us finished our main courses - not through lack of trying though. We were sat in full view of the bar, near the toilets and front door, which normally wouldn't be a problem, but the view was hardly scenic and people kept walking past our table and it was often hard to hear one another. To give credit where credits due, the manager was fantastic, funny and welcoming as were the majority of his female staff. The man who sat us however was rude and dismissive, telling us to "hurry up" with choosing what to order. Probably wouldn't come here again. Real shame.

We were made to feel very welcome when we arrived which was great. The food was wonderful and the staff very attentive, but not overpowering! I did find the tables quite close together, but this was fine. This is a great restaurant to visit if you are going to a show at the Mayflower, Southampton as it is next door. They do stop serving at 10pm so no good if you like a meal later on.We all liked it so much that I have rebooked - yum.... another evening to look forward to.

We were eating early and did not want a large meal before going to the theatre. So two of us opted for a Buffalo Mozzarella tomato and avocado salad for £7.25 each, we ordered a portion of fries to add to this.My daughter opted for a pizza.Imagine our disappointment when our salads arrived - 2 slices of mozzarella, 2 slices of tomato and a small fan of avocado on a little bed of rocket. Very tasty, but certainly now worth anything like £7.25.However, the pizza was excellent.We will not be returning at these prices.

I am or was a big fan of this little eatery but it seems to have gone downhill? Firstly I had one of their widely advertised travel zoo vouchers. It took a bit of haggling to book a day and time (think they might have been overwhelmed with demand but not my fault). However when we arrived it took them at least 5 mins to acknowledge us waiting then had a debate as to where we would be sat - blamed it on the writing in the register! The staff appeared new and unaware if what they were supposed to be doing, disorganised would sum them up and there must have been at least 6 of them so more than usual! Our order was taken after 15 mins and we asked if we could place a drink order too as they forgot to ask! Didn't have to wait too long for our starter or main and the taste was excellent although they only provide a very small portion of veg/potatoes to the extent we asked where the other one was as there were two of us! We were told their silly little portion was for two! We asked for more and after a staff consultation more veg was produced! Portions have definitely shrunk but was that down to having a voucher? Food was tasty however. Would I go back again - not for an evening out!

Great food and service and not too expensive. Easy for parking at lunchtime, and before the theatre.

I was really looking forward to my meal at Tosca's having read the great reviews on TA. I went for a meal prior to a show at the Mayflower theatre. We shared a starter of haddock fishcakes which were delicious. For my main course I had ordered a whole plaice with crayfish and garlic topping. It looked very nice, but when I started to eat it, I discovered that there was a large amount of roe in the fish. I also felt that parts of the fish weren't quite cooked. The waitress offered to have another cooked for me but I decided to persevere with eating the white meat which was cooked as we did not have time to wait for another. Sadly when I turned the place over I found more roe and very little white meat. The manager came over and told me I could eat the roe but I'm not keen an fish roe of any kind, and I felt that if the plaice had this much in it they should have said that on the menu. I decided to have a dessert as I was still hungry and ordered a tiramisu. That was also disappointing as it did not taste of coffee at all, or marsala and was just a creamy concoction with sponge fingers. Thankfully we were not charged for the plaice. This restaurant is in no way authentic italian as many have suggested and I shall not return.

We placed our order and 45 minutes later were still waiting for our starters of garlic bread and water. When we asked what was happening the owner came and asked what our order was and retook it with no apology. Our mains then arrived followed 5 minutes later by our starter and we were informed that our order had not been misplaced and that our garlic bread had been burnt and hence the reason for the delay and I assume why it arrived after our main. The garlic bread was also not even cooked when we finally did gt it. Our desert of banaoffee as previously stated by others is fabulous. We then had the bill which had numerus crossings out and "bar £9.00" written down. We asked how this had been come to as we had had a larger shandy and 2 cokes and were told the cokes were £2 and the beer £4. When we said that it clearly wasnt £9 again no apology merely "oh they must have added it up wrong". Would rather go to Pizza Hut at half the price.