La Romantica Restaurant — Restaurant in Rochford

We booked a table at La Romantica Restaurant in Rayleigh High Street for our Christmas day dinner. Obviously with the popularity of this restaurant we had to book several months in advance. On entering the restaurant we were greeted with that lovely Italian warmth and hospitality, a certain something special, that only the very best restaurants seem to be able to achieve. We were shown to our table and offered drinks. Considering the fact that every table was taken, it didnt feel over occupied or claustrophobic. The food we ordered and it's arrival was amazingly quick, boiling hot and the flavour was so good I can't even put it into words. Portion sizes are extremely generous. We don't consider ourselves as food experts, but honestly the flavours in this restaurant really are magnificent, even simple vegetables seem to taste a 100 times better. There was no rushing us to order our desserts or coffees and baring in mind that all the staff were working on Christmas day, they all seemed happy, attentive and looked like they actually enjoyed what they were doing. I genuinely can't praise this place, it's staff and the chef's high enough. Thanks to all the staff, the Chefs etc for a really wonderful Christmas experience, we will definitely be back soon. I'd give this place a rating of 10 if I could but I can only give it 5 stars but it's honestly worth more. Please see my pictures, thanks for...

Booked for Valentine’s Day as had a lovely meal here once before but was disappointed to find that the set menu didn’t have any of the usual Italian favourites.

Starters were strange, my partner had a mackerel patte which arrived with bogstandard cheap as chips white toast… very strange especially for an Italian, you’d expect some nice Italian bread rather than something you’d have with a fry up! For my main I ordered a steak which turned up with two big slices of garlic butter with a sheet of ice on them (from the freezer), steak was incredibly tough and dry, came with potatoes and veg which all seemed microwaved and anaemic in colour… plates hotter than the food…

Service was fine and pleasant until requesting some Parmesan cheese for my partners monkfish and chorizo pasta (which was the only pasta on offer - a very strange choice!) The waiter simply threw the cheese onto her plate and turned away and ran off without even acknowledging her while she tried to ask for more…

Not a pleasant experience at all which is especially disappointing as we were on a set menu for Valentine’s Day which cost £45 each… was so unenjoyable that we left without desert as the evening was ruined by the poor food and service, unfortunately won’t...

What a fantastic authentic Italian restaurant this is! You won't get low quality pub grub here but a really good quality meal served up in a really comfortable friendly atmosphere. You'll need to phone in advance if you haven't booked a table as food this good and reasonably priced is popular. However if you go early you can usually get a table. The portion size is fair so you won't be disappointed here. On regular occasions they have live music so check their website for availability, these are very popular and you'll definitely have to book. Every server is friendly and knowledgeable about the menu and can advise you on any dietary needs. There's street parking outside plus a carpark a couple of minutes walk away. There is disabled parking, however there's a small step to the toilets. Overall definitely worth a visit for a good authentic Italian meal with super friendly and...