The best restaurants serving Italian food in Bargate Southampton South East

First red flag should have been the fact we were the only table from 7pm on a Friday night. Ordered arranchini to start - worst I’ve ever had. Barely any risotto rice inside, very hard on the outside and small portion size. Main of monkfish from the specials menu was nice, however so overpriced and would not have ordered it had I clocked the price. Again, Tiramisu for dessert - worst I’ve ever had. I’m not sure how you can mess up tiramisu but they have managed it, Borderline watery, no thickness to the mascarpone cream, did not finish it. This was one of the most expensive meals I have had out, and sadly the standard was sub par. So many great Italians out there, more keenly priced. Once we paid and left, within 5 minutes the doors were shut, lights out. Clearly the only table they were expecting, Note the Italian next door was very busy and this was still the case once we left at 9pm - as it should be on a Friday evening. Personally I would avoid.

Lovely little spot, sat out in the sun for breakfast and it was a delight. Staff were very welcoming and attentive. Food was first class, would love to come back.

I had an early dinner in this cosy Italian restaurant. Spaghetti Puttanesca was perfect, full of flavors. The staff was super welcoming and friendly. Many thanks!

A fantastic Xmas Party with a great twist on dining choices and great ambiance and superb service. The MediaBase Direct team had a blast and danced the evening away to the DJ classics. A superb venue and the reputation is deserving

Lovely authentic Italian restaurant with a few seats inside. Best to reserve a table to ensure you get a place. Fully recommend the handmade pasta with very delicious spices and herbs. The pizza garlic bread was also amazing, and the service is also lovely.

Great service quick and polite. Food was fast, hot and fresh and tasty. Very clean and warm, and even got a free shot at the end of our meal.

Just amazing, great food, great service and so relaxed, superb atmosphere and a highly recommended choice for any occasion

Terrible service, had to go up and get the dips we had ordered that had been forgotten after trying to flag down a server for 10 mins. While our table was being cleared, we started to tell the server that we wanted dessert. Server left our table, as I was mid sentence and left the table half cleared for 25 minutes before we finally flagged someone down to get the bill. By that time our appetite had soured completely. We were also automatically charged 10% "optional service charge" for their terrible service. While exiting the bathroom I saw the chef ringing the bell for service while the server just ignored the call. Needs more wait staff and for them to pay more attention.

Thank you from the team at Allbeauty Southampton! We had a fantastic time - staff, service and food were all amazing!

Speed of service good due to only a few tables. Food did not have much flavour, the steak had to be sent back to the kitchen as it wasn’t cooked to our request, the second steak again, not cooked to our request. Advised the waiter of this, both the waiter and the owner were very confrontational and quite frankly rude to paying customers. Would not recommend, only because of the staff, more so the owner of the restaurant. I can see from other negative reviews the replies are confrontational, so I’d expect a response in a similar nature although I am only stating my honest reviews for the overpriced food they are offering.

Our first trip to Southampton as boarding a cruise the following day. Had a stressful train journey due to trains being cancelled so arrived late and tired. We decided on Zizzi as always nice food and close to hotel. As both of us were full of cold and tired we ordered a takeaway at the restaurant and opted to wait outside due to our coughing and a full restaurant. An employee came out with the order and insisted it was on the house as we had waited longer than we should have. He wouldn't even accept a tip. After a long day this was such a lovely gesture and just shows how much the restaurant pride themselves in customer service. Beautiful pizzas hit the spot.

Very nice and comfortable place. Food is good and tasty. I used to work at this restaurant several years ago. My former colleagues are kind, friendly and hardworking individuals. It was a pleasure to work with them. I had a great time working with them at this restaurant.

Clean and tidy but had a cheap feel. Serviettes disintegrated on the first use. Penny pinching! Service was very good but the food wasn't great. The house burger was apparently good but the chicken burger was tiny. The roll was fine and nice salad filling and accompanying salsa. Side salad excellent. Chips were unseasoned and there was no salt and pepper on the table. Penny pinching again. Ketchup came in those little sachets which, even as a man, I find tricky to undo without making a mess. Didnt have brown sauce. Penny pinching. Wouldn't take much to improve to a better standard

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

I booked a table to celebrate the New Year's Eve with my other half: what a lovely evening! The food came quick, it was tasty and very generous portions. The staff was the nicest part of the evening: all the 3 people who assisted us (2 ladies and one young man) were so polite and and nice. 100% recommended from an Italian fella!