Wonderful food and ambience; enjoyed a Negroni, Barbera d'Asti, pizza and pork cutlets parmigiana…read more Also good service and overall hospitality

Great authentic Italian restaurant real treat not to go to a chain and have the feel of a family…read morerun restaurant with great food and atmosphere.

La Fenice is a good Italian restaurant…read more However, it has all the makings of a GREAT Italian restaurant if it could succumb to a few simple tweaks. I went there with friends recently. The vibe of the places squeals 'style', the friendly smiling attention of the servers likewise. Then we we given the menus. The combination of low light, nothing specific illuminating our table and pale grey printing on the pages of the menu meant... well, it meant we couldn't actually see what was on offer! I am not making this up when I say to read it we had to spark up a smartphone and hold it over the pages and then lean in as a combined trio to pore over the contents. So simple suggestion 1:- Quickly reprint the menus using good old fashioned black ink and save your diners the embarrassment and awkwardness of having to squint like a very squinty thing. Simple Suggestion #2:- If you must play music over the speakers, please, please, PLEASE play something that is in keeping with the stylish vibe of the place. I will remember La Fenice's craptastic selection of horrible saxophone solos, cheesy light jazz rubbish, out-of-tune wailers and (at one point an utterly bizarre choice of) German oompah band music FAR longer than I will remember the food I ate there. And the food is good. One of our party had a pizza which looked inviting and was polished off in its 14" entirety whilst the other two opted for the risottos (mushroom or chicken) which came out from the kitchen hot and steaming and very tasty indeed, garnished and accompanied perfectly. The food served to the tables around us all looked terrific and almost everyone seemed to be having a nice time... even if eyebrows did collectively raise when that oompah tune came on. Le Fenice's website - just discovered - states that fish is their speciality. I wish I had known that on the night as its been a long time since I've had a good Italian fish dish. Sadly, the design of the menu meant I never even saw this kind of offering to choose it. Like I said. A good Italian restaurant with all the makings of being a great one. Worth a try if you take along a flashlight/torch and a sturdy pair of music-blocking earplugs!

I love this restuarant! The staff are so friendly and helpful and are able to cater for any special…read moredietary needs. The food is basic Italian, with a couple of English dishes (Steak etc). The price is very reasonable, and the size of the portions is huge! The lunchtime menu is especially good value for money. The atmosphere and decor of Fenice is very clean and modern, it's quite small so on busy nights you might need to book. I reccommend this place 100% it's lovely in every aspect!!

Amazing place! Haven't had better food, service, or a fun time since I've been on the Isle of…read moreWight. The owner and the staff are just brilliant. I can't recommend this place enough. We were visiting family while over from the US and this place has a fantastic atmosphere and great food.

very good food big portions and very nice good quality…read moreingredients and very helpful staff

Great authentic Italian food complete with surly barman which is the only reason not to give 5…read morestars. Very accommodating were happy to give the pasta we wanted with sauce from a different dig. Also did pasta mains as starter which was excellent. Desserts are home made and to die for. Price was excellent too. Best Italian in Hampshire.

great food and excellent service. the staff was so friendly even though my baby was crying all the…read moretime. The food was great and the portions were big. i highly recommend this restauran.

The food is very good as well as the service. The only issue is there are some menu items come with…read morechillis and yet the food is not spicy at all.

This beautiful, family run restaurant is run in such a beautiful way. Real Italian food from the…read moreVeneto region in Italy and a huge emphasis on friendly service and comfy surroundings. There's loads to choose from on the anti-pasti (starters) menu and last time I ate there I had the Insalata Caprese which was actually quite filling. For main, I highly recommend the Pappardelle Cinghiale which is pasta with a wild boar meat sauce. You can't find that in many places around here and its one of my favourites. Try it with their house red wine and you won't be disappointed!

The cricket season will soon be with us up at the Castle, which will mean more frequent visits to…read morethe Osteria during the lunch break. What better place to be.Lovely castle, lovely town therefore lovely Pappardelle's! I am an Espresso addict, and it has to be a double, whereas my wife likes the Lemon and Ginger tea here. Whatever your preference this place has it all.. Recommend the Pesccatore sandwiches(salmon, spring onions and creme freche), you should be warned that these can lead to severe addiction as they are mmmmmmmmmmmm! Follow these by a Pain Raisin/Choc and you will have difficulty not having another one. If you do, you will have even greater problems getting back up to the cricket ground!! Can't wait.then go anytime, you'll enjoy it!!

Great food, good atmosphere, amazing value for money. highly recommended. :)read more

I love this place. The food is really good, the service also really good and a great wine selection…read moreespecially the Barolo. Portion sizes are big for Italian restaurants of this quality and I would suggest having either a starter or a dessert - the problem is deciding which, as the starters are great and the tiramisu is as good as you will get anywhere.

A lively restaurant with lots of people in on a wednesday night. The food was good and the portion…read moresizes were huge!

Based on one meal, and a meager one at that, I can't plump to large for Villa Romana…read more I ate the Gnocchi al Arrabiata, and it was disappointing, to say the least. The tomato sauce was very sweet, and with the peppers mixed in, it created a taste that was not the most exciting. The gnocchi itself was a little on the mushy side. Perhaps the staff were just too distracted that day by the world cup opener that Italy were about to play. The mixed salad was not bad. The house red wine was quite nice. The strangest part were the comlimentary olives brought out before the meal. I think they must use the same super-sweet tomato sauce on the olives, but unfortunately, for me, it just made them taste like baked beans. That's not to say you shouldn't try it yourself. You just can't sum up an Italian restaurant from one serving of gnocchi and a bad bowl of olives-a-la-baked-beans, can you? As for charm, this place oozes charm like the Gulf of Mexico oozes oil these days...only in a good way. The staff were universally, pleasant and helpful. And what more can you have for atmosphere in an Italian restaurant than a bunch of guys shouting at each other in Italian? The decore, the building, the architecture all bring it together into a lovely experience. I will try Villa Romana again, most likely. There was enough possibility to allow them a second chance. But I won't be having the Arrabiata.

Beautiful evening and atmosphere! Very lovely staff, although busy still great customer service!…read moreFood was amazing and cooked just right! I had chicken with ham and tomato sauce with noodles, it was beautiful! Only thing that was quite irritating was the lighting is quite dark downstairs, but it kind of adds to the atmosphere! Will definitely be visiting there again!

I love Filippo's, me and my family having been coming here since i was born and before that, the…read morefood never fails to impress, and customer service and care is beyond welcoming, always puts a smile on me and my families face, always look forward to when i'm next going to be going to Filippo's, and can't wait to eat the lovely italian food again and again!!

My wife and I have been visiting Filipo's since before we were married and that is plenty of years…read moreago! We love this place, the boss is just the same as he was when we first went there, nothing changes, the decor does, a little!, the menu is pretty much the same and the music, which tends to be loud!!! It is the place food damn good Italian food, cooked the old way, so Filipo tells me. It is nice to go to a restaurant where you kinda know what you are going to get and know that it will be good and the boss is going to welcome you in whther he knows you or not. Let them know there is a reason, birthday, anniversary etc, in fact we have seen just about every concievable reason for going out celebrated over the years, and following Filipo getting eveyones attention with the aid of a cow bell, the victim or should I say lucky person will have the entire place sing happy birthday, or whatever suits the occasion, which will then be followed up by a free Flamin' Zambucca. I have suffered/enjoyed this many times and look to have a few more! If you are after a quiet night look elsewhere but if it is a fun night with good food and drinkable house wine, Filipos is the place to go.