The best restaurants serving Italian food in County Durham North East

Recently visited Perla Nera for an evening meal. The restaurant is beautifully decorated. The Christmas decorations are lovely and tasteful. We had bruschetta which was so tasty. Garlic mushroom and a black pudding and pepper sauce to start. All were cooked to perfection the pepper sauce was stunning. For main course we had a chicken in pepper sauce and a carbonara which again both were beautiful. The chips and veg with the chicken were lovely. Homemade chips and the veg was sautéed in butter and was fresh and crisp so nice. I had a coffee after which was beautiful, you can’t beat Italian coffee and my husband had sticky toffee pudding which was beautiful he said and was convinced was made fresh in the restaurant and not bought in. The staff really are attentive without being overbearing and are extremely friendly. I can’t recommend this restaurant enough and we will definitely be back. Thank you so much Eli and team keep up the fantastic work. We had heard about your reputation before we came and can 100% see why you are so highly regarded. Thank you.

The owner is very pleasant and attentive.. the meal was superb.. cracking little restaurant..definetly worth a visit.

My wife and I had the £10 meal deal, starter, main course (pasta or pizza) with tea/coffee to finish. Everything was perfectly cooked and served piping hot. Amazing value, service and meal. We will be back.

Waited 50 mins for our food ! Table was dirty . Musty smell horrible decor . Staff need some more customer service experience. Place was empty so don’t know why we had to wait 50 mins . Here in area to visit family won’t be back sorry .

Heard alot about Charltons so decided to give it a try. Best breakfast butty i've had in a long time! Beautiful food & great service 👌

We have ordered take away from Grande many times and it has never disappointed, hot, tasty and very filling. It's hard to describe how good it is! The restaurant part itself is small and is restricted to only a handful of tables so I would recommend booking beforehand but size doesn't matter when you are serving food of this quality. You will not be disappointed! Reasonably priced and serves throughout the day . I'm yet to try the breakfast menu but what from what I've seen of it, it looks delicious. If you've never tried the food, it's a must! If I could get away with it, everyday would be a Grande day.

My sister and I visited for lunch today to help them celebrate their first birthday in business. Food and service were just fantastic. We love coming up from Chester-le-Street for lunch. We’ve never been disappointed right from the word go. The food is brilliant but it’s not just that it’s the staff and the atmosphere too. And today was just tremendous. The steaks were absolutely perfect. Ariano’s is a real community asset and we look forward to many more visits. In fact I’m coming with another group of friends later next week. You just can’t keep me away. Well done to everyone. ❤️❤️❤️

We visited on a Friday evening, had some very nice cocktails especially Wallington dream their signature cocktail. After coming back from holiday this place made us feel likke we are still celebrating on holidays. Love the calzone and the seafood linguine very fresh and tasty. We'll done to the owner and the team they turned this place to a proper Restaurant

Love this place been here a number of times and never had a bad meal

Lovely restaurant with great food and excellent service

Spotlessly clean with a warm, friendly atmosphere. The service was first class throughout all the food was delicious and cooked to a high standard. Definitely worth a visit.

Visit here quite often so thought I’d do another review more recent than my other one nearly a year ago. However, the words are still the same….. Great place! Super friendly staff, delicious food every time (been at least 10 times!) and speedy service. Highly recommended to you

The food here was lovely, very vibrant flavours. Went for a meal with another couple. Would go back. Good attentive and friendly service

Superb customer service and excellent food. Never get a bad meal and always get a great experience. Plenty of choice on the menu

First time here celebrating our mother's birthday. Food was fabulous, service was excellent and the decor was wonderful. The prices are extremely competitive and great value for money. A daily set menu was available, 2 course for £15 or 3 course for £21. You can pay £3 to upgrade to the salmon dish which I would highly recommend. £5 to upgrade to the steak which I will do next time. All round an exceptional dining experience. Regards Richard