Dolce Vita Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in New Forest

Lovely little restaurant, we went on a monday night, there was plenty of space with only 4 other tables being filled. The waitress kept us standing at the entrance for several minutes whilst she was dealing with a table, although she caught our glance, she didn't at all indicate or sign she was aware of us and would be over in a minute so felt awkward just standing there. Other than that, the service was OK , she didn't ask if we wanted any more drinks when delivering food and wasn't as attentive as I would have appreciated, so only 3 stars for customer service. However, what saved the review was the food! OMG, the calamari fritte was by far the best calamari I have ever tasted, in previous meals out at other restaurants i have found it normally it comes over fried and tasteless, this though was full of flavour, cooked to perfection and came with the nicest tartar sauce. My wife had the garlic bread (which I may have stole a slice) and was crisp and flavoured to perfection. We both went for pizzas for main, we both were very impressed with them, tasted like true Italian pizza. The base had the perfect crisp to it, not all soggy etc, the toppings were plentiful and flavoursome, I had the meat house special, and it hit the spot with the perfect amount of heat. If we are in the New Forest again we would certainly visit this...

Due to the current climate, and the challenges the restaurant trade have been experiencing, I’m reluctant to leave anything but a good review. My steak was very over cooked and the plate was cold which made the sauce cold. However the waiter was very friendly and the meat was tasty, so that alone wouldn’t warrant a bad review. It was my wife’s fish. We eat a lot of fish and sea bass shouldn’t have a really strong fishy smell and taste like this did. This still isn’t the reason for this review, it was the way it was dealt with... Rather than say anything at the table for other diners to hear, I quietly went up and suggested the fish wasn’t fresh. We weren’t looking for a discount and just wanted to help them. Their immediate response was to go on the defensive, and to march out the kitchen with a plate of fresh uncooked fish, to ‘prove’ the fish was fresh. We immediately backed down as felt pretty small. We continued our meal. At the end I was expecting them to say something when the bill came out. ‘Sorry you didn’t enjoy your fish’ would have sufficed, but it wasn’t mentioned at all.

I am sure this is an excellent place to eat, but if your food isn’t up to scratch, I recommend...

Fabulous little Italian restaurant in Lyndhurst with a lovely cosy atmosphere and friendly, welcoming and polite staff.

I’d booked ahead as I’d wanted to make sure we were OK to take our dog with us, and on arrival to the restaurant had been reserved a lovely table by the window with plenty of space for him. They even asked if he’d like some water, which was a nice touch.

The menu has plenty of choice, at very reasonable prices for the portion size and quality of ingredients used. Everything we ordered was delicious, and after three courses, a bottle of the house red (a very pleasant Italian Nero D’Avola), and a couple of Limoncello aperitifs, we left feeling full, very happy and content.

There was a mistake in the kitchen with my pizza order, but it was swiftly handled without any fuss, and a replacement in front of me within just 4 minutes. Bravo!

We’d very happily eat here again next time we’re in the area. Would definitely recommend booking ahead though - we went on a Tuesday evening (admittedly in the peak summer season) and every table was occupied at 7.30pm - popular little place, and...