This restaurant has wonderfully friendly staff and the vibe is very family friendly…read more We shared the Margherita pizza, Spaghetti Bolognese, Spaghetti Frutta di Mare and Calamari. Everything came out quickly and nice and hot. The pizza was great, I really loved their bread. The pastas were very typical from any big Italian restaurant but nothing spectacular. The calamari was a little chewy but the batter was nice and crispy. All in all I'd say this place is a decent family restaurant where you can get average flavored Italian food with excellent service. A little expensive for what you get, but it's clean, lively and you'll know what you're in for.

At long last, Celino's west end finally opens its doors! People all over town have been waiting…read moreanxiously for this to happen, and it seems to have taken months. Was it worth the wait? Hell yes! Celino's have another branch in Alexandra Parade, so this venture into the West End is a welcome addition. Not that we are starved of good Italian food out here - there are plenty of Italian eateries on and around Byres Road - but Celino's have bagged a prime spot of their own on Dumbarton Road opposite Hyndland Street, occupying the ground floor of the student flats building, the site of the old Comet store. The interior space is vast enough to enclose not just the restaurant at the rear, but a sizeable delicatessen and coffee bar at the front. It's a lot of space to fill, but on our visit early on a Thursday evening, they certainly seemed to have no trouble doing so. Although it was busy, the staff were extremely attentive and chatty, and I liked the way that your serving staff (all three of them!) were mentioned by name on the bill at the end. For starters, I had the calamari fritti (always a regular standby); Herself had the gamberini alla Siciliana. The calamari was OK but not particularly outstanding, I would even say just verging on the overdone. However the prawns were a different story; succulent and with just the right amount of chilli to avoid being overpowering. For mains, we both went for the pizza frutti di mare. I can't tell you how long it's been since I had a pizza, it's a rare treat for me as I can't handle cheese. To find this pizza on the menu without any cheese was a beacon in the darkness for me. And it was delicious to boot; lovely soft crust and plenty of seafood yumminess. The scallops in particular deserve a special mention. We were both too stuffed for dessert but opted to try an espresso as I was keen to sample the coffee. I believe they roast their own beans, and it certainly came through in the tasting. This is definitely my favourite coffee in the West End from now on, and I intend to frequent the front coffee bar of a morning to make sure it stays that way. So an easy four+ stars from me. I almost gave them a five, but it was let down just slightly by the calamari. But I'll be back before too long and hopefully that fifth star isn't too far away.

Don't like criticising anywhere really but had a truly awful italian meal here. The service was…read moregreat, but the decor and the food was awful. It's like something out of the 70's and you can just imagine Ramsey despairing on Kitchen Nightmares here. You could almost overlook the tacky frescos and decor if the food was up to scratch, but it wasn't. Overcooked pasta, no way was it freshly made as it tasted like dried packet stuff, anaemic tomatoes, sloppy bolognese sauce that tasted like an Uncle Bens stir in sauce all topped of with powdered Parmesan. If I'd made this at home, I'd have been embarrassed but for a professional Italian restaurant to dish this up to paying punters, really is pretty shabby. We will not return.

La Riviera keeps a fairly low profile down this side of Dumbarton Road, keeping its service…read moreexperience a bit calmer than the trendy wine bar/cafe/restaurant etc places in this area. The neutral colours on its exterior and its petite size mean that people often walk on by, but by doing that you are potentially missing out on a great dining experience. My mum uncovered this wee gem for me when she decided she wanted to dine here for a birthday occasion. It was a calm environment - a bit cluttered with tacky decor, but I love that in places so I am definitely not complaining. I love and appreciate the fact they are trying to recreate the Riviera in the middle of grey Glasgow with all their beach paintings, but anyway. The staff are friendly, the booze was flowing, it was cosy and the food was good. Portions were great - nicely made, and the menu was peppered with the usual suspects like bolognese, which are your reason for loving Italian in the first place. There's something comforting about Italian food - perhaps it's the fact that waiters in authentic Italian restuarants want to fatten me up, or the fact that you can predict what's going to be on the menu. I see these as good points however, and in La Riviera I felt very much at home. It is a serene, warm and intimate restaurant where you can hear yourselves speak and emerge a few hours later with the healthy glow of those who have just had a good feed. A lovely wee secret in Glasgow that most haven't thought of, but those who have been before most certainly go back for seconds!

Wow! That was incredible. Truly, the best pizza crust I've ever had. And then we asked for…read morechocolate profiteroles and it took us over the edge. Buffy (Lori) was in Heaven. Angie and Vanesa were so attentive, we're rolling outta here.

Excellent penne and ragu! Lasagna was excellent- really traditional. Rice balls and ragu was fresh…read moreand yummy. Great value. They offer 2 and 3 courses.

More of a 4.5 out of 5 - my husband and I came for his 30th birthday and we were only just back…read morefrom Italy (in full food comparison mode), so the fact that the food was as good as it was left us very impressed! We started with the Antipasto Carne which was beautifully presented and genuinely delicious. Then I had the Agnello (rack of lamb with roasted potatoes), and it was probably the best lamb I'd ever eaten. It was juicy and cooked to perfection, and such a satisfying meal. My husband had a steak and had no complaints either. The only things I'd say was that I felt the servers were a little reserved and not massively friendly, and our main took quite a while to arrive. But the food was completely worth it, and we'd definitely go back!

Bit of a hidden gem this place, it constantly astounds me how many people will opt for cheap,…read moreprocessed pub lunch tat in the surrounding Dumbarton Road bars rather than the good old fashioned Italian fare offered here. Admittedly the menu plays it fairly safe, but when Italian food is done properly you simply cannot argue with the taste. And believe me, this is well done Italian grub. You can even seethe chefs freshly prepare your meal while you wait. Cosy and licensed, this place offers some particularly good pre-theatre deals and can often be found on 5pm.com. So inconspicuous the chances are you have walked past a million times without ever noticing; trust me, it's worth opening your eyes.

Very nice and cozy little italian place where you can get really simple yet excellent food for a…read morefairly cheap price. I love it! Bonus: the bruschetta is real nice.

When you crave Italian food, yet you're in your PJs cozied up in a couple coma and just can't bring…read moreyourselves to drag your carcases off the couch let alone get dressed and go to a restaurant... this is pretty much your salvation! It was really a random decision, and we didn't expect much from an Italian / Kebab shop hybrid take-away, but I just had an itch for Italian food that needed scratching! Ninos has a great range of pizzas, pastas, and classic kebab shop snackery, which can make for an interesting array of food arriving at your door! You can also get meal deals for one, two, and four which are spectacular value for money. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the food was absolutely awesome. There were some random chicken starters that we ordered (can't for the life of me remember what they were called) which were perfectly marinaded and were super tender. The dessert was also fantastic! I ordered a coconut and apricot cake which was just heavenly. In short, if it will deliver to you... Stay in your jim-jams and call upon Ninos!!!

From the owner: Italian Cajun/Creole…read moreFast Food Pizza Vegan Vegetarian

Tarantino is definitely a dining delight! Sometimes you just have to splurge and Tarantino is the…read moreplace to indulge in and that's what I did! I started out with a mixed salad, it had chopped greens, a layer of tomatoes, red onions and drizzled with balsamic vinegar, not only was this mixed salad good looking it was great tasting too! For the main meal I went with Pollo Birra & Carciofi, which was pan roasted chicken breast with red onions, rosemary and artichokes in a sauce made from Italian handcrafted beer. Oh my! The chicken was so tender and good, the flavors of everything blended well, before I knew my meal was gone. I knew since I was indulging I needed to keep it moving and dive into dessert, after checking out the yummy menu I went with the Tronchetto Al Cioccolato- it was an Sicilian style chocolate cake, rolled together with Italia Amaretti & cookies served with nocciolate ice cream, oh sweet bliss! Every bite was just divine! Service was great and friendly. A truly great dinning experience, Tarantino offers creative Italian dishes.

I was a little dubious when I saw restaurant opening up - after Indian and burgers, Glasgow has a…read moreload of Italian places. Located just off the Finnieston strip next to Ox & Finch, we actually tried going here last year but for some reason they were closed on a Saturday night so we went to Mother India instead. A group of 5 of us visited for dinner last night. The restaurant is pretty small actually but not pokey - no one was seated right beside us and the music gives it a good atmosphere so you don't feel like people are listening to your conversation. The menu is really impressive - I pretty much wanted to eat every single dish. As Rocco G says, it's not your usual Italian dishes on the menu and you can be a little more adventurous here (although there is a section of traditional Italian dishes which are more common in the UK like bolognese, carbonara, lasagne). There's lots of eggplant/aubergine (drool) and loads of delicious-sounding seafood, as well as nod to Scottish folk with a chicken breast stuffed with haggis. There's even a good range of vegetarian dishes. I went for the scallops to start (£9.95) which were beautifully plump (is there any other way to describe a good scallop), served in a lovely tangy Aurum liqueur sauce. For the price I thought 3 scallops was very reasonable, and really enjoyed how perfectly they were cooked. For main I couldn't go past the gnocchi with king prawns in a white wine sauce (£11.95). It was a huge portion (too large, if I'm honest) but overall a really wonderful dish packed with flavour but not smothered in sauce, and really letting the puffs of gnocchi shine. There was one main large prawn (in the shell) and then smaller prawns scattered around the dish - again, for the price I thought this was really good value. I even went for dessert (something I rarely do) as I quite fancied the tiramisu (I think around £5). Again, great sized portion, lovely presentation and had a nice boozy/coffee kick to it. I couldn't eat it all so they happily popped it in a container for me to take home (guess what I'm having for lunch today?!). Service was great - we were looked after by two staff members who were both friendly and helpful. There was a mix up with the mains as one of our party didn't receive his, and they only realised as they were bringing out our dishes. I thought the way it was handled was really nice - they offered him some bread while he waited, and then took his dessert off the bill to say sorry. Life lesson: If Rocco G says it's good, it's going to be good.

Fourth visit here! Tried the ciccheti tonight and absolutely loved it. The basil, tomato bruschetta…read morewas so yummy and the ingredients were so fresh. This place gets better the more it settles down.

Wondering what happened to Paperinos? Look no further, I think (from overheard snippets of…read moreconversations at the next table) this is the replacement. Anyway, after a weekend spent in my flat I popped out for a wee wander and all of 6 minutes later ended up here. It's still very new, so the staff are a little disorganised (more on that in a minute) but it looks great, especially on a dark night, when the cosy interior can be seen through the massive ceiling to floor windows that face the road. I only had a coffee but looking at the menu, and hearing comments from a couple sitting near me, it definitely looks worth checking out. As I mentioned, if you do pop in soon, give the staff the benefit of the doubt, my bill (for one cappuccino) came to £35... which turned out to be the bill for the couple at the next table (which isn't bad for two mains, one side and a couple of beers...!!). I'll be back to try the food at some point for sure.

The best pizza place in the West End? It's a difficult choice to make but there's a good chance…read morethat it's Little Italy. I'm sure most people would at least put it in their top 3. It's not an enormous restaurant. A large bar/service area takes up a lot of space, as does the pizza oven at the back and as suck the seats are kind of arranged all the way around the edges. Somehow though, whenever I've wanted to sit in, they have managed to find a space for me. They do pizza and pasta mostly, with a few other Italian favourites. The coffee is really good and the cake is the ideal thing to bring as a surprise in a take away box to a friend who needs cheering up. Trust me, it never fails. The pizza comes as slices (really squares) or three other standard sizes, starting at 10 inch and is cheese and tomato by default. There isn't really a menu of standard toppings like, for example, mushroom and proscuitto, red pepper and goats cheese, Hawaiian, Four Seasons, etc. Rather, they just have all imaginable toppings and you tell them which ones you'd like. This way you pay for the toppings you want based on the size of pizza you order, and every pizza is, in that sense, personalised. Once you've placed your order you're given a buzzer (regardless of whether you're sitting in or taking out) and when it goes off you head over to that pizza oven and the chef will hand it to you with or without freshly ground black pepper, according to your preference. The pizza is always good too. Always. The base is great and the toppings are reliably fresh and delicious. Sadly, the days are gone when a snapfax and £4 could get you a pizza and a can of soda but their still very fairly priced for the quality you can expect.

Feel Italian for the Day…read more Italian staff, Italian coffee, Italian pizza, Italian radio, Costco pastries? :-) But let's get serious here. This vibrant little shop is the Italian espresso bar personified. The coffee is perfect for your morning cappuccino, the focaccia's perfect for a quick lunch and the pizza's perfect for your tea (or since we're in The West End should I say dinner?) Tiramisu? That's another story. It's not always on offer, but when it is - I'M THERE! Word of note though - just stay away from the sugar bowls. I've seen licked spoons go where they ought not to. Luckily I don't take the white stuff :-)