La Piccola Italia

Delightful, unassuming, independent restaurant. I had the spaghetti carbonara, which was done just right. My sister had the fish, which she very much enjoyed. Bruschetta starter, mains, dessert and a decent bottle of wine came in at under £40 a head. Service was friendly without being overfamiliar and efficient without being rushed. Highly recommended.

We recently attended here, the staff were lovely and accommodating. The restaurant is small but atmospheric. The penne Motradini is just fantastic! Portions could be slightly bigger but the taste was out of this world!

We had the pleasure of eating here and what a great choice it was! The staff were very welcoming and friendly and had us seated promptly. The chef was happy to accommodate our request to mix different types of pasta with sauces and the chicken Milanese was delicious. The food was delicious and although they had run out of lasagne dishes this did not ruin our experience. They compensate for the lack of a child's menu by offering a half portion (half price) which was a generous size. We enjoyed a bottle of rose and the relaxed intimate ambience was the perfect way to spend an evening. I would happily recommend La Piccola Italia if you're looking for good traditional Italian food.

Though they were busy, they accommodated us, we were in for a quick dinner before a show at the Old Fire Station.

Pizza and risotto were delicious.

Lovely little local Italian restaurant - as it states on the board outside oldest in Bournemouth apparently! And boy does it show, we only had pizzas but they were outstanding. Super authentic and the tomato sauce base was really good. I had the seafood pizza and the seafood tasted really fresh. There wasn’t any beer on tap so only bottles which isn’t too much of a problem. Really friendly staff. Went at 6pm and it was quite quiet but I preferred it like this!

I really wanted to love this place as a local authentic Italian, but left bitterly disappointed.

The waitress was a uni student and really didn't have the confidence to look after us, and clearly didn't know the menu.

The table next to us were about to leave and talking openly about their bad meal, which is never an encouraging start to yours.

We had calamari, pizza, chicken Milanese with a Ragu spaghetti it comes with. Neither calamari nor the Milanese were cooked fresh. Both so clearly bought in frozen and terrible to eat. Milanese coating came off easily and wet meat inside. The Ragu was greasy and not a traditional Ragu. The pizza was ok, but for £70 for 1 starter and 2 mains+ £20 wine was not good at all. I was pretty gutted as it's been there ages and looks like a traditional nice place to go from outside. Nope.

Guys, please start cooking your own food fresh. You can tell the love isn't there, which is such a shame. It could be great.

Good pizza, a bit crispy and thin like northern Italian pizza. Overpriced sharing platter, bad olives. Cheaper beer unavailable. Table service added to bill.

Excellent service, lovely food. Staff were great. Felt really safe in the current climate. The restaurant are taking every precaution. They can.
The food was excellent again, recommend to all