Pinello Restaurant — Restaurant in Great Britain

Not what you’d expect from the reviews.

Pros: Seafront location, waiter was attentive, food looked great and was hot in temperature.

Cons: Atmosphere was non existent. The restaurant was empty which should have raised a red flag to us. We were the only table inside and one of three tables eating/drinking at this restaurant. Staff were lingering around and continuously changed the restaurant music as if you were at a disco (music did not match the vibe of the restaurant).

Food lacked flavour, we ordered a Bolognese, an Arrabbiata and a garlic pizza bread none of which tasted anything like they should have. Garlic pizza bread had no garlic flavour it was just cheesy bread. Bolognese had no sauce and no distinctive flavour; I couldn’t taste tomato, garlic or beef. Arrabbiata had lots of cherry tomatoes but lacked any spice/chilli and had a watery sauce.

We aren’t locals and unfortunately fell a victim to the good reviews. Ive honestly had better ready meals/takeaways/home cooked dinners, I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone seeking a delicious Italian...

Visited this restaurant for the first time this Sunday night. They had a good selection of food and drinks. We both ordered linguine (one with cherry tomatoes & prawns, and another with seafood) as a main and they were so beautifully cooked. Good portion, piping hot and nice kick of chilli. I really loved their olives too :)

One unfortunate point was that when we booked a table over the phone we asked the restaurant if we could use Tastecard since on the app it said the offer was available through Sun to Thu. A lady who got the phone said yes so we booked, but when it came to the payment we were told that the offer was not available on weekends. The person in charge of the restaurant at that night said that he had been told so by his manager so he wouldn't go against the manager's decision. We didn't want to argue so we just paid the full price, but the bill was around £40 per head so it would have been nice if we were able to use the discount...!

Other than that, I really enjoyed the food so I'd happily go...

The food here was very good and we were happy with the quality and taste. The service at the start was friendly and welcoming.

However, the experience at payment was very disappointing and left a bad impression. A waiter (wearing sunglasses, appearing around 40–45 years old, possibly Italian) showed poor attitude when we asked to reduce the service charge. After that, he suddenly added an extra £5 charge for “Parmigiano” that had never been mentioned in the menu and was not included in the first receipt.

What’s worse, he entered it as “MISC food” — meaning they can set any price for anything they decide, without clear explanation. In my opinion, this is very misleading and could be abused (e.g., charging extra for herbs, cheese, or anything without warning). This is not something that should happen in a UK restaurant and feels close to a scam.

We decided to pay and leave without arguing further, but I think future customers should be aware of this practice. Be careful and always check your bill...