Rafael’o Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in England

I’d been here before early week when they were quiet and it was okay, not the best I’d had but acceptable. This visit we came on a Sunday night, quiet when we arrived but a lot of people arrive immediately after us. We were told they ‘expected to be quiet’ so only had one chef in the kitchen. It’s tourist season, why would he expect to be quiet? We arrived at 6pm, noticed people who arrived after us were being served first. Having said that one table was served the wrong starter & ended up eating by himself after the rest of the party finished. One couple left after 30 minutes without being given the opportunity to order drinks or food. We waited an hour for our starter and over an hour after that for our main. When my steak turned up I didn’t get chips, I was given a few potato skin shavings, I couldn’t call the potato skins as there was hardly any potato attached to them and not many of what looked like slugs on the plate. The steak was nice but it felt like half a meal. Also a member of our party was diabetic and it isn’t good eating that late which is why we arrived early. In La Piazza when you order steak you get onion rings, grilled tomato & mushroom with salad dressing and your choice of chips or grilled veg with potato. More of a meal. The owner who is the Chef is easily stressed. He told us as ‘regulars’, no way would I describe us as that, he left us to serve everyone else first. Also the stairs up to the restaurant are dangerous, the corner has no handrail at all which is particularly dangerous on...

Wow! What a wonderful little gem of a find. Stayed in Richmond for the weekend and ate here both nights. The staff go above and beyond to make you feel so welcome. The chef came out to see us on both nights to check everything was OK. It was more than OK, the food was absolutely beautiful. Real hearty Italian food made with love. With very reasonable prices too!! We had the lobster and it was utterly delicious!! The starters were also very tasty and presentation was on point. Can highly recommend the baked feta, brushetta and scallops! They serve big portions and the sides are equally cared for in that the veg are seasoned well and cooked perfectly. The puddings are also amazing! We had the tiramisu and banoffee cheesecake and a lovely Italian coffee. The 2nd night my partner asked if we could be seated upstairs in the private dining area. The staff made the table up with such care, candles, roses and rose petals!! It was so perfect!! You can see this family run business loves doing what it does. The Chef Daniel really cared about his food and it didn't disapoint! Such a wonderful place and we will definitely be back to sample all the other delights on the vast menu. Thank you for the best food experience...

Both my wife & myself, have been to Rafael'o Italian Restaurant tonight, we didn’t book in advance, but the staff greeted us both, with a very warm welcome. The atmosphere was relaxed, with soft Italian music playing in the background, The Restaurant is very well kept, with the tables being cleaned & re-laid, as soon as the customers have left. There was plenty of choice on the menu. We ordered a starter between us (hoping to have room for a dessert, after our main course). The food was hot when it arrived, with good sized portions and tasted like authentic Italian food (beautiful). Sadly, we did not have room for dessert, but the friendly, helpful staff, plus the lovely atmosphere, more than made up for it. Rafael'o is a family ran restaurant & it shows, how proud they are of the business they run. We highly recommend a visit here & we will definitely return when we're back...