The best restaurants in United Kingdom serving Italian food

We had quite a mixed experience at Al Bivio, where we had to eat as the neighbouring Premier Inn had made a hash of their evening meal provision. We went on two occasions: an excellent pizza, with a generous home-made base, and a delicious pasta dish with chicken and white wine. However, from the Specials lists, a lasagne was quite tough, and my seafood risotto over-salty, though I would add that it was generously filled. A pet theme of mine: this restaurant is NOISY! Not one single absorbent surface anywhere, just a bare glass frontage and plain walls that reflect sound. Having a conversation in here feels like hard work.

Definitely the best Italian in Carlisle! Every time we go, we are never disappointed, each starter and main meal are simply divine, we’re always too full to get a pudding! Tonight we had mussels and meatballs to start, then cod risotto and sea bass. The mussels are in a large bowl and very tasty, exceptional value - I sometimes ask for these as a main meal. My husband said the meatballs were delicious. The cod risotto is an absolute treat, crispy skin, soft and tasty flesh, and the risotto compliments the cod exceptionally well. My husband had the sea bass, and again just mouth watering! Beautiful meal, excellent service and reasonable! Thank you Amatos for being so amazing, you are our favourite Italian in town and we will be back!

A lovely Italian restaurant! There’s a good selection of different dishes, including vegetarian options at really good prices. We ordered pizzas and desserts - tiramisu, lemon sorbet and panna cotta. All of the food was absolutely delicious beyond our expectations! The service was amazing as well. Would highly recommend and will be coming back!

Really lovely food, nice service, food was adapted to our needs and taste. Hubby says they were the best profiteroles he'd ever had.

Amazing! Lovely food, and really friendly staff. We had some of the seafood dishes which were great and fresh tasting. My partner had the pistachio canolo and said they were the best pudding he'd ever eaten.

Lovely Sunday lunch but would like some roast potatoes . Nice welcoming staff

Took 26 staff out for a thank you meal here recently and the food and service was excellent, they really looked after us and everyone one of the 26 people enjoyed it, all credit to them as taking on such a large booking and still serving the rest of the customers is very difficult

Wow the Cullin Skink soup was fantastic to start. We had lobster betwen us for main course, tasty delious food. Only a small place, you can't book. (I kept trying to ring) Top Tip Get of the train and get there asap as it fills up, and they only do lunch. When we arrived they had a note on the door saying full ,but my wife went round the side asked if they could fit us in. Ime so glad as he squeezed us in. (Thankyou so much) people kept coming but we were lucky. Does not disapoint.

Our daughter chose Settebello for her 21st birthday. It was an impressive storm going on outside and there were some impressive Italian offerings going on inside. Everyone really enjoyed their food. Pizzas, pasta, garlic bread, all excellent. We want to do a particular shout out to Kieya, who served us. Really nice interactions with us as a group. Some lovely witty exchanges; and we felt appreciated and looked after. Waiting staff like that can make a meal really enjoyable, and Kieya did just that. Thank you.

I looked on line for restaurants in Paignton to book up for my sons birthday. He works in Dartmouth so we bring our caravan down to visit him a few times a year. Read reviews about La Scala and booked a table. During the booking I mentioned we were coming to celebrate my sons birthday. I was asked his name and I gave it. We were surprised to find the manager or owner, Maximillian had decorated our table , put a banner in the window and a birthday card from the staff. Wonderful, warm welcome. Restaurant is not large but small and comfortable. From the reviews I had read I expected the food to be good but it far exceeded our expectations. Lots of choice for starters and main meals . Also nice that the manager took the time to chat to us. What a relaxing experience. Water and fresh bread was brought to the table whilst we perused the menu. Once decided we enjoyed the house wine which was reasonably priced and quite pleasant. We had a mixture of starters which were outstanding and decent sized portions. We tasted each others and all three were superb. Frequent visits to ensure we were satisfied were made by the Manager . If we thought the starters were good we were amazed how good the main meals were. Warm , tasty and well presented. An absolute delight. Didn't really have room for dessert but squeezed one in. Again smashing, decadent but nice !! The ambience in the restaurant was very good, we felt quite at home and relaxed throughout the evening. Even more surprised when a birthday cake with candles was brought to our table and staff and guests sang Happy Birthday. My adult son had a good laugh. All I can say is don't hesitate when you look for Italian restaurants, this is the one to go to. It looks a little small from the outside but there is enough room to be cosy and comfortable and has an expansive menu. Spoilt for choice. Will I go again. Can't wait. Thank you to Maximillian and staff for such a pleasant evening . We will certainly recommend you to friends and family especially those that come to that area with their caravans, boats etc. A visit to La Scala should be included in any visit to Paignton or surrounding areas.

We’ve been quite a few times to Primo Piano and apart from the amazing food and service from lovely staff, this restaurant really exceeds expectations. One of our group had a health episode and felt unwell. The young waitresses and the owner were absolutely amazing at helping us, calling an ambulance which later we cancelled as our friend recovered. They brought over drinks, ice and paper towel and were so attentive, caring and genuinely concerned. Also ladies on another table assisted, showing what a lovely place Leek is! Huge Thankyou to everyone concerned and can’t wait to return with no dramas next time.

Excellente adresse, une vraie cuisine italienne. Très bon accueil. C'est un restaurant que je recommande vivement. Service impeccable.

Comimos en el restaurante anoche y la comida y el servicio era excelente pasta fresca encantadora y pizzas fantásticas La única crítica, algo que nos pospondría de nuevo la visita fue la situación con el cargo del 10% por servicio que estaba claramente establecido en el menú. Después de la comida preguntamos si este cargo se distribuiría entre los servidores y nos dijeron que no, el cargo va al restaurante, que fue muy decepcionante .. buena comida y un gran ambiente, pero estar preparado para pagar ~ 20% encima de los precios del menú si quieres recompensar al personal por su excelente servicio ..

Not the fastest service, but a clean comfortable well laid out restaurant. The liked the atmosphere and choice of background music which presented well the Italian theme. Pity the staff don't have a uniform to match. The food was absolutely fine.

ITALIAN HEAVEN! Absolutely love the variety of Italian foods and drinks. EVERYTHING is here! Good prices and a really nice vibrant atmosphere; feels like I'm in Italy!