The Officina is a hip Italian restaurant in Essen-Bredeney. They have a lot of space, 2 floors…read moreinside and a terrace outside if the weather allows. The restaurant is located in a courtyard, which makes it easy to walk by. The decor is modern rustic. Atmosphere is buzzing. Service is in general efficient and attentive, may get slow if the place is packed. The selection of wines is reasonable, emphasizing on Italy. Prices are reasonable as well. The food is very good and portions are not small. Selection is very good including all the classics from Italy. Daily and seasonal recommendations can be found as well. The thin crusted pizza is worth a try as well as all different pasta dishes. The spaghetti are cooked perfectly al dente. Meat dishes include beef, lamb and pork. If you have room go for the classic desserts. Prices are reasonable and they have an excellent set lunch which is really good value for money.

Probably a good place if you don't have high standards. The food was a good average, service on the…read moreother hand was miserable. While sorta friendly, they would keep asking if our food was good - like 4 times. My pizza came pre cut - like my kids's. I'm clearly not a child and capable of cutting my own food. When trying to leave, we had to pay at the counter because our repeated orders for the check stayed unanswered. I kinda expect places like this in the suburbs - not in the hip parts of a major city. Maybe they just had a bad day.

We got takeout, so I can't really speak to the dine-in experience, but it's a nice space with…read moreplenty of seating and friendly service. The food was ok - I think we should have gotten pizza instead of pasta, which ended up being a little cold by the time we got home (we were only a few minutes away). But I can imagine it being great if it's straight out of the kitchen, so it's definitely worth a second try.

The food is very good and the ambiance is even better. It's a place I enjoy visiting each time I…read moream in Essen.