The best restaurants serving Italian food in England

Extremely disappointing experience and below average meal. Does not live up to how it positions itself. Having only a few days in London, I tried to hit some spots that have been praised for their boldness and originality. Manteca was the biggest let down of the 7-8 restaurants I visited over my trip. We ordered a charcuterie board, fried olives, meat balls, chitarra verde, hogget, and potatoes. Less than two minutes later, the meatballs arrived and I knew then we were in for a rushed, chaotic, and uninspired dining. After that we received focaccia we never asked for, which was later included in our bill. The fried olives name is misleading: they are fried tiny meat balls which includes olives. Then the chitarra verde arrived: bland, commonplace, and the worse: lukewarm. At this point I asked the server whether we should still expect the charcuterie board, which should have come first. His response was “F***! … Do you still want it?”. After this, he checked in with us every 5 minutes, which was disruptive. So we get the charcuterie board, and given the impressive selection of meats hanging downstairs, it was again bland, basic, not beyond what one can get, flavour wise, even at grocery stores. Half of the hogget dish was pure fat and therefore inedible. The potatoes were very good but the experience was beyond saving at that point: the small dish represented what we expected from the others. With wine, £110 per person would have been reasonable if the food and service matched Manteca’s positioning, but they simply didn’t, not even close.

I had a birthday meal with 20 of my friends. The food was great and the service was friendly and welcoming. Highly reccomend.

Best place in town for ice cream and coffee. I tried the waffle and it was fab. Quirky setting, comfy booths. I recommend it to my friends.

Primera vez que visito el restaurante. Estaba bien. Encantador restaurante en sí mismo, sin embargo, la comida era mediocre. El personal era amable, pero teniendo en cuenta que no estaba ocupado, no eran demasiado atentos. Pidieron un plato de pasta que no hicieron un esfuerzo adicional para ofrecer condimentos adicionales, por ejemplo, parmesano. La comida fue servida tibia. Dicho esto, el ambiente significaba que mis amigos y yo tuvimos una tarde encantadora charlando. Decepcionado, sobre la comida y el servicio general en general. Qué pena.

A friend and I went for a meal last Monday 30th January. We arrived at 8.15pm and our order was taken very quickly, but not one thing was right. Both my friend and I ordered the vegetable and pasta soup, which on a positive note was delicious. However, my friend did not receive his at the same time. He waited patiently, then after ten minutes asked where it was. The waiter apologised, admitting he had forgotten. I had finished mine by then as my friend had asked me not to wait for him. For the main course, my friend ordered the vegan spaghetti bolognaise and I ordered pizza. My friend said his meal was tasteless and could have been hotter, and my pizza was barely warm, so I sent it back. I was promptly told that nothing could be done as the kitchen was closed (at 10 past 9?) so I mentioned that surely he still had access to a microwave. He commented that they don’t usually put pizzas in the microwave (Erm - I wanted it warmed up) but he did. For too long, though, as it was tough and inedible, so left it. We also asked for a jug of water. Along came a small jug despite there being two of us, and two dirty glasses, so we asked for two clean ones, which were then provided and should have been provided in the first place. Back to the jug, it was clearly a jug for one and not enough water for a whole glass each. For dessert, I ordered tiramisu and my friend ordered cheesecake, both of which were fine, but we had expected dessert spoons to eat with, not teaspoons… We had a 25% off voucher, which was why we chose Prezzo, but we will not be choosing the Buckhurst Hill branch again. The staff seemed in a rush to get rid of the customers who were left, so we didn’t order coffee, nor did we leave a tip, nor will we be returning, despite not being charged for the pizza I didn’t actually get to eat. Appalling service from a well-known and reputable chain.

Came for family birthday 🎂 wonderful food and service Garlic prawn starter was simply amazing best ever ! Everything was freshly cooked and beautifully presented

Having driven past Checco’s numerous times and saying we must eat there, we finally went for dinner last night with some friends. The premises are traditional Italian and quaint For starters we had deep fried Brie, meatballs, chicken livers and the salt & pepper halloumi from the specials menu. All dishes were hot, fresh and absolutely delicious. For mains we had pizza, chicken, fillet Rossini and pasta sugo from the specials. Again every dish was great. We shared some puddings (tiramisu & profiteroles) which finished off the meal perfectly. Service was polite & friendly and we were made to feel very welcome. In short, we thoroughly enjoyed our evening and will definitely be back soon!

We came to Colchester Dough & Co as we had been given a £60 gift voucher from Dough & Co headquarters for 3 absolutely disgusting takeaway meals from Maldon Dough & Co shop. Burgers not cooked properly, didn't get dirty fries we ordered, just cold chips. Maldon manager refused to deal with us, so went to headquarters instead, who were very helpful. Vowed never again to go to Dough & Co in Maldon and so we ventured to Colchester one instead. Wow, what a complete difference I am glad to say. Service was fantastic, very friendly and helpful. Food was excellent, the garlic bread was divine, soooo good. The rest of our meals were really good too. Would definitely recommend Colchester Dough & Co and will definitely go there again! But don't bother going to Maldon Dough & Co unless you want food poisoning!

Absolutely brilliant service when the wrong pizza was brought over they changed it very quickly (JACOB) Who is our waiter Very polite!!! Then a young lady called Tilly was also very polite and came and told us that all the shops and restaurants are getting shut down This place is very good at hiring staff

We went with friends on Friday afternoon to celebrate my birthday. The actual restaurant is in the process of being refurbished so at the moment they are using the function room at the back of the hotel, but it was very pleasant and welcoming. Because the weather was so nice however we decided to eat outside on the veranda. The menu had changed since the last time we visited and was probably more limited than normal, but that is understandable in the present circumstances. Everything we ordered was excellent and the service was second to none. I would particularly like to thank our waitress Madeline, who was very friendly and helpful, in fact she went out of her way to ensure we had everything we needed. All in all a very pleasant afternoon and we will definitely return once the restaurant reopens.

Me and my patenter came in last Friday as a friend recommended. Did not disappoint I could honestly say it was the best pasta dish I have ever eaten! We will be retuning frequently. Waitress was also very polite and friendly ☺️

I visited here with colleagues for a mid-week evening meal. There are some great deals on such as early bird where you get three courses for £16.95. I opted for that as the options I was going to get for starter and main were on there anyway and it worked out cheaper to do that than order them from the main menu (plus I got dessert in the early bird price too!) Starter of fried halloumi was really nicely cooked and a perfect sized portion. My colleague had calamari but they felt it was a bit soggy for their liking. For main I had penne dolca vita which was really tasty, It was nicely cooked, had a decent kick and flavour and was suitably portioned. Dessert I had ice-cream which was fine. Overall we had a good evening here and the food was a standard expected of a good Italian restaurant. Service was friendly and generally efficient. Would recommend for a good value Italian meal

Great quality food, tasty wines and the super service. We always enjoy the walk down and the lovely experience at Marco’s

Went here before a show and while it started off ok they seemed to loose our order for a pizza. This resulted in a 40 minute delay. To be fair the food was ok but the service was terrible. The restaurant was not even that packed.

Food ok but it’s the second time they’ve tried it on by adding food and drink onto the bill, first time we gave them benefit of the doubt but second time alarm bells, won’t go again, shame…