Julia & Sofia's Italian — Restaurant in England

I had starter main and desert plus 2 wines amaretto etc etc. Ate too much and drank a lot and still only 40 quid. Didn't eat off a set menu. The carbonara was the best I have ever eaten and the calamari was soooo good. I ate in another place last week and had carbonara which was like salty raw egg on pasta. This was perfect. Panchetta was delish and salty enough, the sauce was creamy and yet not too heavy, nor drenched over the pasta, but coated perfectly. I also had the pleasure of eating the tiramasu, incidentally one of my favourite deserts. I love any desert with coffee, but this was silky and subtle. Not too much coffee that if you were not a fan would be too much. The cream layers of mascapone were so succulent and felt naughty with every bite. A slimmers worst nightmare and I can feel the widening of my hips lol, but in a very satisfying way. I literally ordered the worst things for my diet, but there were plenty of less calorific options available. I will definitely be coming back. I highly recommend the tiramasu, even if you don't like coffee deserts you will be in heaven. Fantastic service from both the chef who had the food out fresh, hot and fast and the lovely waiter, who I had the pleasure of chatting to. Very very good service and food. If I could afford to, I would dine here daily. Compared to a bad review I made of a gastro pub here in sedgefield this was worlds apart. Fantastic and for the amount of food and drink I consumed, very very reasonable. Cheap and good, not cheap pub grub, bur definitely lower end prices for a good Italian and the chef knows his Italian staples. I am sure the rest of the menu is probably as good. In my opinion though to test an Italian restaurant you try the carbonara and tiramasu and if they can nail that the rest is easy. I look forward to trying the rest of the menu over time. But to the owner; well done, since covid it is practically impossible to find good Italian food in a place that is well-maintained and good service. You should give the waiter and chef a pay...

Food is acceptable, service by one of the male staff was terrible, decor quite lovely, and the gents' bathroom utterly appalling--loose toiletseat and filthy door does it no favours.

One of the male staff left a woman waiting at the entrance of the mostly empty restaurant for a good ten minutes as he walked past her. In the end she seemed to have decided to find herself a table.

It's such a shame, too--you can see this place is well-liked and is something of a local treasure. The food is well-presented, and the restaurant's name certainly evokes expectations of a traditional Italian family restaurant, but no such charm to be found on our visit.

Doubly surprising was an Italian restaurant with no sun-dried tomatoes.

Still, could be worse, and no doubt experiences might differ depending on the staff at the time.

Unfortunately, it takes just one poor experience to guarantee that we'll not revisit. Many other places to try out in future in search of that truly special Italian place with great service, authentic wood-fired pizza, and an abundance of high quality olives and sun-dried tomatoes. Or, heck,...

Came highly recommended from family. Left thoroughly disappointed. Waited 30mins before our drink order was even taken. Then waited a further hour for food. Staff seemed ignorant to customers existence, frequently walking by with zero acknowledgement.

When the food arrived the order was incorrect and the food average at best. To end the evening we were presented with the bill without being offered a desert, which ironically turned out to be a different tables bill.

After waiting a further 10mins to pay by card and having to ask ourselves again if we could pay we were told to pay at the front desk as its quicker, to which no rapport or goodbye was offered when paying for the meal and service.

Just a flat thank you and goodbye.

Overall I'd say the experience had high expectations and was let down on all fronts. Attentiveness, Quality and experience a disappointment...