The best restaurants serving Italian food in West Dorset South West

OMG! my wife and I were in Dorchester today and decided to go for a cheeky lunch so we went to Al Molo where judge Jeffries was and OMG we were not disappointed all of the food was absolutely nothing but Amazing as was the atmosphere and service we didn’t book although I would advise you to having been there! People just didn’t stop coming in! I can honestly tell you that the food was the very very very best meal I have had out in a very long time! So listen people if you’re in Dorchester it’s a must try ! I will drive there again just to go back to Al Molo for lunch or dinner wonderful restaurant and the chef owned the food and Absolutely nailed it! Thank you for a wonderful lunch all you guys at Al Molo! We will be back! And last but not least it was excellent value for the money!! If you people don’t try it then you’re missing out!

Food no doubt ~Top Notch~ The ambiance of Basilica added to the experience — warm, inviting, and relaxed, perfect for enjoying your favourite dish. The owners were friendly and attentive, ensuring we had a great time. Definitely recommended for anyone looking for a delightful mix of authenticity, quality, and flavor. If you’re nearby, don’t miss out on this gem in this historic town.

Great food & great service (again! 😀)

I went to Ecco Gelato shop with my Mom and sister to indulge in some delicious gelato. They didn't disappoint at all! Wonderful, generous staff, cozy, relaxing ambience, delicious gelato. I ordered amerena white forest gelato and OH MY DAYS! boozy, candy like, syrupy cherries encapsulated in a milky, rich, white chocolate all in a silky smooth gelato base yummy! Please visit, you'll not be disappointed.

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.

The venue is underwhelming, it's underground and quite musty. The food can be really good, when they try.

Great setting but let down by food preparation and wooden cutlery. Yes, the setting is fab overlooking Lyme Regis beach. However, the food prep was disappointing given the high prices. I spent over £15 on 2 teas, a sausage roll and a cake. The sausage roll was good quality (award winning bought in from elsewhere) but they microwaved it to warm it up - a travesty and soggy pastry. And the soggy sausage roll was served alone with no garnish or anything else on the plate or any offer of sauces etc. The cutlery was wooden disposable which just sets my teeth on edge. The tea had too much milk put in it - no choice to do it yourself - a mug of milky tea presented, yuck, not my cup of tea! The waiting staff were pleasant enough but not exactly enthusiastic or bothering to check all was well. Give the high prices, I won’t be back. They’ve got such a fab location and have bought in higher quality food, what a shame they have ruined it with poor food prep, crap utensils and disinterested staff.

I thought we should give this place a try having read the reviews......all I can say is that we must have gone to a different place than they all did. Yes the 'owner' is a nice chap but the other two members of staff were somewhat less engaging. First of all please be advised that the novel aspect of this place is that you get to pour your own beer from taps set into the wall.....initially great fun but this soon turned to frustration as it is virtually impossible to get a full pint as the beer (when we went) was far too lively meaning that you seem to pour away more than actually goes into the glass. .....and there were no staff on hand to help out . So on the night that we went all 3 tables had folks sitting there with half full glasses, each taking turns to revisit the taps and attempting to top their glasses up. Personally I made 4 trips and am convinced I never actually got a full pint......and by the way the beer is pretty good but at £5 a pint is somewhat overpriced....presumably because most of it end up on the floor hence they have factored into the price a huge degree of spillage As regards the food we ordered 2 meals which were both supposedly based on tagliatelle pasta.....both arrived with spaghetti and no comments or excuses were provided. As spag bol goes my dish was underwhelming....cheap, yes but not what I had expected nor wanted. So if you want to pay £5 a pint and spill beer over your shoes and then pick something from the menu which might appeal but acknowledge that something different will most likely be presented then this is the place for you!

Wonderful service, lovely food. A little noisy

Best Sunday roast for miles! Amazing location and lovely staff. Already booked to come back later in the week for pizzas

Lovely food, lovely meal, but most importantly love service provided by our waiter, Ed, he provides us with a lovely experience and will most definitely recommend him and Zizzis to all of my friends and close and distant family. Ed, the skies the limit. 5 stars from me! Thank you for this experience, will be here again

Been to Lucianos (Luccios? Carluccios??) a couple of times in the last year and it's a decent place for Italian. The food has been great, with a decent pizza, fantastic beef ragu, and the best carbonara I've graced my tastebuds with the second time. I cannot stress enough, the food is FANTASTIC. Portions could do with a little more, but what I've got thus far has tasted lovely. Both times I've come in the place has been eerily quiet, so either something's up with my timing or the place is just... quiet? Regardless, the service has been timely, albeit mild-mannered, both times which isn't an issue at all. There is a 12.5% service charge stuck on as a heads-up, which you'll find in tiny text at the bottom of the menu. Not a fan of that trend as a whole, as I'd much rather tip good service and good food where it's due. My only complaints are the pricing (which is *STEEP*, especially for Dorset at £50+ for dinner for two) and the fact they took beef ragu off the menu - it was a fantastic dish and taking it off the menu is a crime against humanity. Bring it back! Either way, Luciano's food is fantastic, on the proviso that you aren't the person paying for it... But I don't know if that says more about myself or the restaurant. If the staff were a bit chattier and the British economy wasn't doing an impression of the Titanic (or things were a bit cheaper), I'd give five stars.

Having had a dreadful order in December 2024 and , giving the benefit of the doubt, I called to let them know the food was extremely late and stone cold. The manager said if I rang next time I would get the food free of charge off we had the same order. Today 1/2/2025 I rang at 5.15pm to be told I had to wait till 6pm to speak to the manager (who would be calling me) to discuss the order. I waited until 6.20pm then called myself. Order was reluctantly agreed and I was told it would be an hour. We waited 1hour 10 minutes then called to find out when our order was being delivered to be told it would be 30minutes. After 30minutes I called again, when I said where is my order I first called at 5.15pm ( considering it is now gone 8pm) the manager just hung up on me! Absolutely disgusting customer service and considering the first order was so bad it should have been exemplary to make amends.