La Dolce Italia — Restaurant in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown

We've only been there for dinner once but La Dolce Italia is already a great candidate to be the best Italian restaurant in Dublin.

The fact that it's not exactly in Dublin makes it even more interesting.

I had been there once 2 years ago to grab a dessert before heading to a concert. I was impressed by how they prepared us cannoli. Fresh, in the moment, asking us what topping we wanted and taking it from the same containers a grandma would use (to me, one of the highest compliments when it comes to Italian cuisine).

While we were waiting for the cannoli to be made, someone took a big loaf of bread out of the oven and greeted it with "Vieni qui bello di papà" (which roughly translates to "come here, my dear sweet boy"). I knew that I was in a magical place.

It took us a long time to go back there for dinner and we did it with the same friends we ordered cannoli with.

The staff was very gentle already over the phone while we were booking. They then welcomed us on the day and gave us a spacious table.

The starter of charcuterie was good but the artichokes with Parmesan were super.

All the pasta mains sounded interesting and I couldn't choose what to order. As I finally managed to shortlist 2 options, I asked without much hope if they could have prepared me a bis (something quite common in Italy) and give me 2 half portions in the same plate. They immediately said "no problem"! One of the few times in 10 years in Ireland that I am told so!!

I had therefore a chance to try 4 mains (2 from me and 2 from the other guests) and they were all really real good.

I admit I didn't dare try the tiramisu as I had literally prepared it the night before (and I am quite proud of my own recipe) but the one they served to our friends looked very interesting.

I loved that they had sweet wine, one of my favorite ways to...

Dolce is as much an experience for its intimacy and homeliness as it is for its delicious food. After traveling all over Europe I was blown away that one of my favorite restaurants in all the world is just a few streets away.

The chef was sure to check on us and talk to us about the meals we ordered and how he became a chef over 20 years ago in Italy. We always feel like we have been invited over like good friends rather than guests from the moment we step inside. It appears small from the entrance but it really opens up into lovely dining in the backroom and garden just adding to it's homely charm.

Each meal we have ordered has been better than the last. The starters, mains, desserts, and wines are picked with just such high standards for taste and quality. The homemade pasta in every dish shows how much effort they commit to each meal.

We've made this our little stop for desserts and coffee just for a pick-me-up and our go to date night stop to reconnect and relax. I cannot put into words how lovely these people and...

Myself and my husband have visited this restaurant many times and the food has always been excellent. However, we were booked in on the 7th September and it was one of the worst dining experiences we have had. The food was fine, not up to their usual standards but what really ruined it for us was the waitress. She was so rude. I had never seen her before, so I'm assuming she's new. She gave us dirty looks, never came to check on us, left our empty bottle of wine sitting on the table, forgot to serve our pasta with Parmesan and when we asked her to bring some to the table, she didn't even respond, she just walked away annoyed and brought it over without an apology. When we arrived we asked if we could be seated outside instead and she just said "no" and that was that. It was an awful experience and very unfortunate because it was genuinely one of my favourite...