The best restaurants serving Italian food in East of England

Not enough staff and food appalling. My sister and I ordered Tuscan soup to start (which I had ordered before and liked) but it was totally inedible as it tasted sour as if it was off and we had to send it back, so just had bread that came with it. My main was spaghetti bolognaise which has very little sauce and had to ask for more. The dessert I had was chocolate cake with mascapone cream. The cake itself was heavy and there was only a teaspoon of mascapone cream served with it so again had to ask for more. So the starter, main and dessert were all disappointing. They also didn't have any mash which was meant to come with my sister's main.

I used to visit this restaurant frequently prior to Covid lockdown. I’ve finally managed to come back again as I always enjoyed the food and the service. I’ve realised this was a big mistake! Poor slow service with only 3 tables that had clients. I was finally the only client but that didn’t make the service faster. I believe it’s under new management? The pizza has been watered down. No glimpse of tomato sauce on magherita pizza. I am really disappointed and I’ll be not coming back here again.

The food was very delicious! The spicy potatoes were crispy, and the chicken was cooked perfectly. The fresh salad made it even better. I really enjoyed it, and the prices are very reasonable

My daughter and I visited on a Saturday evening, Rustico was busy but the service, food and atmosphere was still great. Everyone’s food smelt and looked delicious around us and we enjoyed all our food a lot. Our waitress was friendly and helpful.

Naxos is a little gem of a place on the highstreet, as others have said it’s the right balance of cosy Mediterranean with good but not overbearing service. I’ve eaten here twice, first time we had pasta and risotto and desserts and the second time we had starters and a ribeye and the Tuscan fish stew. Both times I can find no fault with the food my husband doesn’t often order steak out as it’s usually dispointing but this one was quite the opposite. My fish stew was generously full of white fish fillet, prawns, calamari, baby octopus and mussels and delicious. We will return

Booked a table for a meeting with colleagues to turn up and find out that it was closed. Embarrassing but thankfully remedied by a neighbour restaurant.

Lovely gelato and great flavours between both shops (Letchworth and Hitchin)

I believe it has just reopened with new owners. Awful. Paid £8 for beans on toast and almost £4 for a very small bottle of coke. They had no brown bread and the white bread was a supermarket's value brand at best. And to top it off I was charged a 10% service charge (not optional). Steer clear

Fantastic restaurant, perfect ambience. Lovely welcoming staff , could not be more helpful. The food was absolutely outstanding and will be returning very soon .

It started with a guy doing balloons in the car outside and ended with a drug deal in the middle of the road as we were pulling away. Not the restaurants fault to be fair but it gives you the idea of what a sh*t hole the area is. Now the food. Carbonara was bland , beef rags over cooked and dry and pizza was average but a bit light on toppings. 1 st impressions was to leave wish we had. It was recommended by a guy I play football with. DC thanks mate it’s a carsey ! Never give me a recommendation again please.

Very nice service and gud pizza ❤️

Amazing service, great food and wonderful experience at their bottomless brunch/lunch - the 5 of us had a great time - thank you!

If you want warm white wine and lots on the menu that’s unavailable, then this is the place for you. We arrived at 6pm and the restaurant was empty but the girl pointed at a table we could have, when we could have sat anywhere! We were served white wine un-chilled / limited menu/ no chilli oil/ had to ask for cutlery and pepper, and this looked to be a hassle. The girl behind the bar seemed fed up and I asked for chilli oil 3 times and eventually she said they did not have any without telling me this. Felt bad for the boy waiter as he was apologising for all the failures that had occurred. We were also told the restaurant was busy dealing with the tables outside (there were only two covers). Can’t believe the pizzeria doesn't open until 5pm and they don’t have basic ingredients to fill the menu and the wine is not chilled. Call me old fashioned, but the customer is the customer and we are all paying a bill at the end of the night and expect good service and a smile. Food was actually nice but not an enjoyable experience. Lucy did not make us feel welcome. :-(

Well this place closed up last year 2021, so there is no food, no drinks, No menu, no phone, its been sold off and long gone, so better to go somewhere else as you can't go here

Have been a few times when in the city. Superb Pizza, and tremendous Pasta. Great authentic Italian Food. Small and informal dining.