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Signor Franco's, 5a, High St Tunbridge Wells Kent TN1 1UL

Signor Franco's, 5a, High St Tunbridge Wells Kent TN1 1UL

5a, High St Tunbridge Wells Kent TN1 1UL

Signor Franco's is rather much an institution in Tunbridge Wells,with a reputation to suit and having lived in this hallowed town for so long and not sampled their culinery delights was quite simply unacceptable.

So on a delightful Monday evening we decided to pay them a visit and to say they live up to their repution would be a safe statement to make.

Even initial contact was a pleasure, with the booking procedure being nothing but a pleasant experience with a polite friendly person on the other end. My flatmate and I were greeted well and promptly taken to our table which had wonderful views of tunbridge wells and had a wonderful ambience to the whole establishment.

By elfigo at 22/04/2008 - 16:41 | 2008 | Ambience | Approved | Country | England | Italian | Kent | Review | Service | UK | Views | ££££/$$$$ | 2 comments | read more | 376 reads

Ristorante Maffei, Piazza Erbe 38, Verona, Italy.

Ristorante Maffei, Piazza Erbe 38, Verona, Italy.

Piazza Erbe 38, Verona, Italy.

I booked the Maffei some months in advance, as part of a trip to Verona to celebrate my wife’s birthday. The online booking system worked well and the web site gave a lot of information with regards to menus, wines and historic location.

The restaurant premises are quite spectacular, being housed in a magnificent palatial building. We were greeted by very friendly staff and shown to our table, as well as ourselves, there was only one other couple in the restaurant, despite this being 9pm on a Friday night. I confess that the alarm bells did start to ring.

By Uxbridgecouple at 26/03/2008 - 15:07 | 2008 | Italian | Italy | Rejected | Review | Views | ££££/$$$$ | add new comment | read more | 184 reads

Il Bacio 178-184 Blackstock Road Highbury N5 1HA

Il Bacio 178-184 Blackstock Road Highbury N5 1HA

178-184 Blackstock Road Highbury N5 1HA

Pre match Arsenal v Blackburn on Monday last, I was determined to steer clear of my usual Haddock 'n Chips or a Fat Harry's Hot Dog standing up in the street. So I opted for this rather swish and surprisingly genuine Italian 10 minutes from the Emirates Stadium. I got there about 6.45 and the place was heaving. Had I booked?''No.'' Oh dear ,not sure if we can fit you in'' said the waitress. Anyway I was seated within five minutes and was pleasantly surprised.

By m at 14/02/2008 - 11:14 | 2008 | Approved | Italian | London | North | Review | £££/$$$ | add new comment | read more | 119 reads

Simply Italian, 15-18 East Parade, Hastings, TN34 3AL

Simply Italian, 15-18 East Parade, Hastings, TN34 3AL

15-18 East Parade, Hastings, TN34 3AL

Bracing winds and intermittent rain lash the seafront at Hastings on an in-between-Christmas-and-New-Year family excursion. The crushing disappointment that the fairground rides are closed and the increasingly desperate and ultimately fruitless search for an open fish and chip shop led us to this Italian bistro on the East Parade.

We piled into a booth, kids warned to avoid the expensive chef's specials - there's seven of us for chrissakes - and a variety of pizza and pasta appeared much as we expected. My middle son kept asking for his four cheese pizza to come without mushrooms, but, you guessed it, it did. Some discussion about the desserts on the blackboard was negated because "no sir - they're all off".

By m at 08/01/2008 - 12:00 | 2008 | Approved | East Sussex | Families | Italian | Large Groups | Review | £££/$$$ | add new comment | read more | 114 reads

Nani's, 8-10 Wigmore Street, London W1H 9DA


8-10 Wigmore Street, London W1H 9DA

Slipped out of John Lewis by the Cavendish St exit and into Wigmore St today and found this gem. It's been there for 25 years, one of those long established, cheerful and reasonably priced restaurants run by generations of Italian families in London. These places are having to either adapt or die. Alfredo's in Essex Rd (est 1920) refused to adapt and we loved them for it. Until the end of 1999 you could still get excellent egg and chips for £1.85, cooked by the proprietor in exactly the same way as his father Alfredo did it. A mug of tea was 25p and neither the premises nor the menu had changed since the early fifties. If you never made it to Alfredo's, you're too late, they have sold up and retired. Nani's have adapted instead. Recently completely refurbished in an unpretentious modern style, they offer the usual list of modern coffee choices -cappuccino, espresso et al plus a good selection of breakfasts and lunches for around a fiver.

By m at 19/01/2007 - 12:41 | 2000 | Approved | Central/West End | Italian | London | Review | £/$ | add new comment | read more | 79 reads

Ned's Country Pizza, 74 Bridge Street, Benalla, NSW, Australia

Ned's Country Pizza, 74 Bridge Street, Benalla, NSW, Australia

74 Bridge Street, Benalla, NSW

Benalla is where Ned Kelly's gang hung out, and very near the town where they had their final shootout. He's celebrated as a tourist attraction in these parts, and almost every outfit refers to him in some way. Hence the name of this establishment. Everybody said Georgina's was the best food in town, but on the door were two notices. The first said "Open Seven Days" and the second said "Closed" Perhaps our visit was not on any of the seven days it was open. So we went a few doors along to Ned's, with little hope, frankly. It's run by a single mum and her teenage son - about 14 I reckon. She bought a franchise, but has also started making and selling her own range of gourmet pizzas, and we each chose one of these, with a side salad. It was one of the best pizzas we have ever eaten, great big prawns and scallops on one, lots of chicken and veg on the other, light pizza dough, crispy base. Side salad of rocket and spinach could not have been fresher. She was also dashing next door, selling take away pizzas. Forget Georgina's, if you ever visit Ned Kelly country, this woman deserves your business. And not expensive, either.

By Daisy Middleton at 03/01/2007 - 02:06 | 2006 | Approved | Australia | Families | Italian | Review | ££/$$ | add new comment | read more | 73 reads
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