Little Italy — Restaurant in Eastbourne

We were excited to try Little Italy for my parents wedding anniversary having read mostly positive reviews and as lovers of Italian food. Sadly, the day we went (a Saturday evening) it was all the negative reviews that applied!

We’d booked a table for 4 at 7.30pm and arrived right on time. No front of house staff to greet us so we stood in the doorway and waited for at least 3 or 4 minutes (with some staff looking at us!) until eventually a waitress came round the corner and saw us. Numerous empty tables in the restaurant however we were given booth style seating on the left away from the main seating area which was nowhere near as nice (the place where people have a drink whilst waiting for a table). Felt like we’d been shoved in a bit of a corner. Prices on the menu were significantly more than the prices we’d seen on an online menu. The seats were too low for the table which made eating a meal difficult, especially for my elderly parents. The wine was served in beer glasses (we asked if they had wine glasses but they told us they were the wine glasses!!). The glasses were also warm from the dishwasher… not great for white wine. We were then incorrectly advised about the whitebait which were quite large and quite bitter in the mouth. Pasta dish was ok but we have better at home. Pizza was average. The chicken dish we had was very peppery (no mention of pepper in the menu description) and the chicken was tough and chewy. We couldn’t even eat most of it. No-one came to ask if everything was ok during the meal so we couldn’t say anything. When they eventually cleared the plates we mentioned about the chicken being tough but the waitress just smiled broadly and nodded as if we’d told her it was fantastic!?!! We were asked if we wanted dessert but we said no thank you… the waitress then went to get dessert menus!! Suffice to say we decided against dessert and coffee after such poor starters and main courses. The service was poor throughout. Eventually we managed to get the bill (approx £100). Food and service was worth nothing like that amount. We then left feeling pretty cheated by the whole evening. We even walked out past the same tables in the main seating area that were still empty!!

Having eaten out at a lot of different places over the years, this sadly ranked as one of the worst. Such a shame as we want restaurants in our local area to be great but we’ll never go back. My advice… go...

I would love to give a higher review but unfortunately many of the waiting staff bring it down.

When you first walk into the restaurant and wait to be seated, many waiting staff walk past you pretending not to see you, especially as my elderly grandma cannot stand for long periods of time without seating and we were ignored even if they saw her walker.

We’ve been before and have had decent servers who are quite nice, but it tends to be the younger and newer servers who are nicer and more useful. Unsure if tips are centralised but we gave a tip to our waitress as she was the only good one all night and the best we’ve had and another waitress came and took the tip for herself although she hadn’t served us at all.

My grandma wanted to eat here over Airbourne weekend, so we called and they told us they weren’t taking reservations over the busy period which is understandable. However, when we walked in, there was a woman before us to which the waiter told her there wouldn’t be any tables for an hour because of reservations, which confused us as they had told us they weren’t taking any. So we said to the gentleman we were denied reservation because of Airbourne and he confirmed that, despite what he had told the woman before us. We pointed at the tables that were free and had “reserved signs” on them, and he said the restaurant was fully booked. Given our experience this evening and having read other reviews about the empty tables, it seems as if they leave them “reserved” to avoid having a full restaurant to serve, which seems a bit lazy to me.

The food is alright but generally just average; the calamari was very soggy and probably the worst I’ve had and the mussels were somewhat tasteless but the sauce was good. The menu is quite restricted and also too expensive for what it is. The price doesn’t reflect the quality of our service and food, for reference we spent around £120 for 3 who had starters and mains.

Wouldn’t recommend unless you don’t mind spending extra for average food and...

Would not recommend. For the price, the quality was underwhelming. The garlic bread was soggy, not crunchy, and the pasta was mediocre at best—disappointing given the cost. I requested a half portion of pasta for my child (no kids’ menu available, which is fine) but was charged £12, with no clear indication it was a reduced portion.

Service was poorly managed. Plates were cleared while some of us were still eating, and mains were brought out immediately after the last plate was removed, making us feel rushed. After asking for the bill, staff lingered near our table, adding to the pressure, even though the restaurant wasn’t busy. It felt unnecessary and intimidating.

Cleanliness was also lacking. The toilets were dirty and clearly in need of maintenance, with an incomplete cleaning log suggesting they may not be regularly checked. Paper towels and plates left around service areas added to the impression of neglect.

Lastly, the owner’s defensive responses to other reviews reflect poorly on management. It seems unlikely these issues will be addressed, which is unfortunate given the restaurant’s good location. Hopefully, this feedback will be taken constructively, though experience...