Il Paradiso del Cibo in York

Enjoyed our food immensely but the massive TV showing the football was a bit of a distraction. We went with kids and while they were lovely with them the restaurant isn’t really set up for them as it’s so small. Staff were great.

Very friendly, food delicious, generous portions, reasonable priced set menu. Definitely come back.

Nice authentic, family run restaurant. Reasonably priced with good range of specials on the board. I recommend the lobster with lobster ravioli.

Outstanding service and quality ingredients

A wonderful and cosy restaurant! The owner and the staff are friendly and hospitable. Food is absolutely great, we had a great time here on boxing day! Highly recommend it here!

Food is always good but we were unhappy with the bill. Make sure you check it. We were overcharged by £12! They amended it when we challenged it so OK for that.

Superb Italian restaurant. Best pizza ever. Out of town but you won’t be disappointed. Please book to avoid disappointment.

Love this place! The staff are absolutely lovely and the food and atmosphere are always great. It’s like being back in Italy but with the added bonus of Yorkshire hospitality on top. Thank you :)

I think the food here is the best in York, delicious seafood especially and amazing value for money. The seating can be cramped- but well worth putting up with for such great food. I love the house red which perfectly compliments the atmosphere.

Absolutely amazing restaurant the staff are all outstanding so friendly and helpful I highly recommend a visit BUT you may have to book as we were so lucky to go in about 6.00 clock and they managed to find a table for my wife and I

Great set menu at lunch time. Delicious

Very pleasant, staff were great,and food fantastic..what more could you ask for.

A fantastic find. Small restaurant offering high quality Italian cuisine and very reasonable. We went early and it was already packed, creating a lovely friendly atmosphere. The staff were attentive and the food absolutely delicious.

Mediocre food - fishy tasting fiore di zucca (probably from the oil they were fried in), questionable tasting fish and lobster, although we were assured they were fresh. The one who served us was grumpy and angry with life... I could only pay in cash... which I find unacceptable!

I don’t usually prefer places that are cash-only, but this one is worth stopping by an ATM for. A local friend recommended it to me three years ago, and I’ve made it a point to visit every time I’m in York. The pasta is fantastic—I always try the special menu, and it’s never disappointed. The pizza is excellent too. And to top it all off, the tiramisu is beautiful.

Excellent little gem in York proper Italian food ran by Italian's. The set menu allows for a very affordable dining expeirence on weekdays (3 courses for less than £25) with solid variety. Both the pizzas and Lasagna are excellent from what I've tried. Make sure to bring cash as it's cash only.

Absolutely outstanding customer service, fantastic choice and wide variety of dishes.. cooked to perfection. Lovely ambiance and warm friendly place. 10/10 you will not be disappointed if you dine here.

Delicious, authentic Italian food at reasonable prices

A warm welcoming cosy family atmosphere. Lovely food and friendly staff made for a great evening meal. Thank you.

Really nice and authentic Italian restaurant in York. It’s off the beaten track and we only went on a recommendation but it was well worth finding it and eating there. We both had the spaghetti carbonara which was delicious. It is CASH only though so come prepared. There were lots of people there that were obviously regulars which is always a good sign. Reasonably priced.

Such an awesome dinner. Spent 3 weeks in the UK. This was our favourite meal. Owners are so awesome. Cash only!!

Everytime we come here we always say next time we’ll take photos of our food. But it never happens as it gets eaten too quickly. Great food great service and just amazing all around.

We had a very disappointing experiencing after being recommended this restaurant by a friend. We had high hopes but from the get go we were treated really poorly by the staff. One lady in particular was incredibly rude taking our order and was dictating what I should and shouldn’t be eating as a pregnant woman. When I asked if it was possible to change something small on the menu she said no and “cant you just get a tomato pasta” & “should you really be eating cheese”. I said it was no problem and would just need a couple more minutes to decide what else I would like from the menu. Luckily another man had just started his shift and joined the conversation as she was making quite a fuss. He kindly said they could make the dish with the small change to which she replied to him “well you can tell that to the kitchen cos they don’t speak English”. I was so taken back by this service and having worked in the trade myself I knew it was not how to treat a customer. To top the evening off, they got my friends order wrong so she had to wait another 15 mins for her food, whilst mine came and was completely tasteless and the mushrooms were clearly from a tin- not fresh, so tasted awful! Being seated right by the kitchen was not ideal with the constant passing and clashing but also the shouting because they had made a main dish that wasn’t even ordered. The only thing we enjoyed was the garlic bread starter. We could not finish the mains so we asked for the bill and asked to remove the service charge. The gentleman came back over and apologised completely on behalf of his colleagues and our experience which we appreciated. However we wont be returning and feel like we shouldn’t have even had to pay for half the bill.

We visited with a group of 15 of us so it was a challenge for the restaurant! But the service was so fast for such a big group, unbelievable. The food is really good quality and the prices are very reasonable. The staff are super friendly. Only downside is not taking card!

The clams muscles were fantastic. Good place and service. Small, intimate fun.

All sorts of people, all ages, enjoying great food together (including veggie), with great service. Bright and chaotic. Wonderful!

Yes its popular its not overpriced food or wine ! But they want as many people in as poss ! So be aware . Also always check ure bill as they have " till problems" ??? One litre of house red £19.95 which is value .

A place where you pay in cash is, to say the least, picturesque.

We've been coming to York once a year every year since 2015. ( 2020 lockdown notwithstanding). When we come we've always made a point of coming here to eat ! Wonderful Sardinian food. My daughter loves the Margherita and Marinara. I love the Bolognese and Lasagne. The desserts are divine. One of the best Italian restaurants I've eaten in ! Great atmosphere and service. Nuff said.

This restaurant is simply magic! The food is incredible and the atmosphere is brilliant. Paolo and his team really look after you and create a wonderful experience. You must visit!

A very authentic place to eat! One of the pizzas I ever tried! Thank you!

Lovely, cosy restaurant, food was so delicious and portions are big. Service was great, very friendly and welcoming staff.

A very narrow space in high demand that can not accommodate. Heavily packed when sitted. Food cooking is average.

OMG I love this food……… Came across this restaurant just by chance and we were not disappointed. The welcoming was lovely and the quality of the food was amazing. The owner and chef made time to come and chat to us and the 2 course including a drink was amazing value. We had too much so happily took half a pizza home for our supper. Small restaurant but very authentic Italian cuisine. We will be back in November👍👍

Great food & good service. Cannot understand the negative reviews as our meal was great & accompanied by good service. My only criticism is the portion sizes were too big & I could have managed with just the mussel & clam starter. Thoroughly enjoyed the meal & the experience though. Many thanks

One of my favourite restaurants, always my go to for special occasions. Can't fault the food- highly recommend the Carbonara and even more the Cannolo Siciliano! Staff are lovely, cute little restaurant.

Food was delicious definitely will visit again , excellent service

An authentic Italian restaurant with lovely Pizza.

Food was very mediocre at best. Whole restaurant was a little 'tired'. Toilet wasn't clean and had a broken seat which obviously hadn't just happened.

In brief - Seated next to toilets despite having booked well in advance. Given alcohol beer when NON alcoholic specifically requested. Food, just average at best. Over charged for one course. Service charge automatically added!

This little place was buzzing, a great sign. Owner was working tables, very hospitable. Good value set menu for my grandson, I ordered from the specials menu on the wall which was far more exciting I thought, so built up my hopes. I will preface this review by saying I was not asked once how was the food. The huge garlic bread was OK, but the ‘crispy’ octopus special was terribly disappointing. Never had such mushy octopus, floppy and almost tasteless. No saffron flavour in aioli, confit tomato was just deep fried grape toms. My grandson enjoyed his spaghetti ‘bolognese’, but my arancini had almost no flavour, underseasoned, no promised smoky flavour, nor Scamorza cheese, ordinary sauce with no basil flavour. Weird. Baked aubergine dish had no Mozzarella and had same boring tomato sauce. Rocket salad had some weird cheese. When I asked what cheese it was the lovely waitress answered “Parmesan” but it wasn’t. She then came back and confirmed some “mix up in the kitchen” they had put Pecorino instead. No, not enough flavour for that either. The cheese offered table side was pre-ground and not good quality. Ordered the ricotta cheesecake and some serviceable gelato. Cheese cake took for ever and when questioned why the lovely waitress said “there’s been a mix up in the kitchen” and she brought a chocolate cake slathered in Nutella as a substitute. All I can say is that the over-promising menu descriptions do not match reality and the quality of ingredients and execution was poor. I suggest the chef gets back in the mistake-laden kitchen and tastes what they’re putting out as it’s about as far from authentic as you’d expect from a tourist trap. The servers just seem to accept all the errors like it’s no big deal, but that’s not their fault as they have to deal with it.

Absolutely gorgeous food, incredibly attentive waitress who noticed when my partner dropped his knife and immediately offered a fresh one! Fabulous open front, authentic deco. Came here after being recommended as the “best Italian in york” All round excellent experience - thank you so much! ❤️❤️

Lunchtime deal of 2 courses with glass of wine for around £20 is good deal. Have visited before with no issues. On this occasion there was a generous glass of wine. Nice seafood and bruschetta starter . However, pizza main course was literally inedible; sloppy topping sliding all over the place with far too much mozzarella clinging to the cutlery meant it was impossible to eat. Lasagne was a tiny slice bulked out at the sides of the dish with mozzarella. Staff attitude was complete indifference and very begrudgingly took £10 off the overall bill, even though both main courses were left. Guess it's turning into yet another good establishment now out to rip off the tourist trade with below par slops knowing the customer won't be back anyway and will soon be replaced by others to fleece.*Intetesting to note that each time this establishment has a negative review they are followed by a flurry of exceptional reviews from several dubious accounts (as in accounts with locked profiles, people living abroad etc) I've added a picture that clearly shows small lasagne piece surrounded by sauce and pizza with sloppy topping. Guess we'll soon see what happens the next time a negative review is left.....*

I was looking for an Italian close to our hotel in York, and came across this little place. Booking was recommended, so I phoned in advance and booked a table for our first night in York. OMG what a gem of a place! It really is small, but size doesn’t matter (though I concur that booking is recommended). All I need to say about it is that it was so good we returned the next night. And we were only in York for 2 nights! Loved it, and we will be back.

Authentic Italian dining in the heart of York. Amazing Italian food (especially the risotto is quite nice) and excellent service. The staff was very welcoming and nice to us. Can't pay with bank cards though.

Just had a lovely meal here! The food was amazing and our waiter Joe was brilliant. Thank you!

Fantastically good food. Really Italian atmosphere and food. Definitely again 😊

My wife and I had a fantastic meal here. We both selected starters and mains from the extensive specials board. Garlic pizza bread with burrata and muscles & clams with tomato and chilli were followed by tagliatelle with steak strips & porcini mushrooms and swordfish with tomato, capers and olives. All courses were plentiful and beautifully cooked. House red wine was very agreeable and reasonably priced. Excellent service by friendly staff.

The flavors of Italy in York! Delicious and very well attended!!! Lovely atmosphere. Thank you very much!!

Went here on the back of a recommendation from a friend and the food, staff and atmosphere were all incredible. We went on Saturday afternoon for a 30th birthday and I can’t recommend Paulos service and restaurant enough. Will definitely be back soon!

Very nice food, friendly staff, would go again. Cash only

Good place, good food, but they don't have to pay by card and they don't let you know when you arrive and you must go to a nearby ATM Good place, good food, but they don't have card payment options and they don't let you know when you arrive and you have to go to a nearby ATM

The meal ends with sending the client to the cash mashine nearby- no card payments accepted . Is this service ? I rather choose restaurants accepting cards.

This is my favourite place in York, probably the UK, reminds me of Italy, love the staff, the informal and welcoming atmosphere and the amazing food.

This beautiful restaurant is super popular so they do their best to accommodate for lots of diners. Plenty of choice and they take dietary requirements seriously. Authentic Italian food that never fails to satisfy. Fantastic service too. A firm favourite with my friends and work colleagues.

One of my favourite places for carbonara anywhere. Great quality food in general, never been disappointed here.

Amazing authentic Italian food best pizza I've had in the UK, with great service and great atmosphere. Was as if we were in Italy itself . Don't know if that all down to the Italian FIFA game on tv. Brought back many good memories. Can't recommend highly enough!

Incredibly rude. We were 'greeted' at the door with an abrupt 'Yes, can I help you?' Slightly taken aback as we're clearly at a restaurant. I asked if we could have a table for two and he shrugged. He then said 'cash only' when I pointed to the 'No credit card' sign. On the basis of his really pleasant nature we went elsewhere.

Excellent, well tasting food in an intimate environment. Service was great and location central.

A small Italian restaurant run by an Italian family, all of whom are very welcoming to customers. The food is delicious. Payment is in cash only, not by bank card

Called in by chance ( wasn't sure it was open ... had a delicious pizza

We didn’t get to sample the food because, despite booking a table a long time in advance the only free table was only inches away from the open front door on a very cold evening. Apparently no other ventilation so out of the question to close the door. A disappointing customer service experience, it wasn’t handled regretfully or even civilly. We abandoned ship and went somewhere glad to take our money

Absolutely amazing food and the wine was excellent and not expensive. £19 for a litre bottle.

Loved it 🤩..called in on the off chance,got a table straight away..beautiful food,friendly efficient service..a hidden gem will definitely be back..thank you🥰

Average food for Italian restaurants in England, terrible service from thugs with icing at the end on a terrible cake, cannot pay by credit card, not reported at the start of the meal, and had to go to the nearest POS to collect , shame!

Fantastic will definitely go back when visiting York again. We didn't have a reservation but they made space for us. Food was delicious, a lovely atmosphere and staff were brilliant .

Went here last night after a bad experience elsewhere. From decor and service were fantastic I have been previously and I can say the food was even better than last time. Amazing and is slowly becoming one of my favourites in york.

The food wasn't anything special. Carbonara was too salty and a small piece of bruschetta, not even portion for one person was £8.50. Rather slow service and have to ask few times for the same thing, e.g. the bill. They don't accept card payments, only cash or bank transfer which is really odd. Probably won't come back as there are other Italian restaurants in York that are much better!

How did we not know about this place before! REALLY good, family run restaurant with sensible prices.

Excellent Italian restaurant, Sardinian specialities

Amazing food and some of the best service we’ve had in a long time - genuinely lovely people will definitely be back again

Wonderful. Just wonderful. The food and service were both 10/10, i would totally recommend.

Tiny hole-in-the-wall with very unique food and friendly service. I enjoyed the handmade Sardinian "malloreddus" pasta. We loved all the foods we tried. They do not take payment cards! We paid with PayPal.

This has been my go to italian in York for years but tonight was disappointing. Food good as ever but the service was perfunctory. Menus handed out with not a word - bill presented with not a word and payment taken with not a word. It now seems as if customers are taken for granted. Additionally a 10% service charge has been introduced with no indication of this On the website Paolo talks about laughter, jokes and good food - this was how it used to be but it now seems the first two have gone by the wayside. Too easy to get customers perhaps - I don't think I'll be back. Very sad!

Intimate and great, friendly staff, great food. We'll be back.

Fantastic restaurant. We had a great dinner over the Easter weekend on our trip to York. Phoned the restaurant on the day and were lucky enough to get a table. The restaurant was very busy. There was a great atmosphere. The food was fantastic. Marinara burrata and the beef fillet pappardelle were delicious. There's two huge specials menus on the walls so you can't miss them. Service was great as well. Very attentive, never needed to ask for anything. Would definitely recommend a visit.

We had a delicious meal in this authentic Italian restaurant - fast, friendly service, a wonderful atmosphere and freshly prepared food. Highly recommended

food very average sadly rude manager who decides to take 10% tip despite appalling service and humiliation of customers in front of the whole restraunt just because they wanted something serving slightly different. Instead of the manager suggesting another option he decided an angry tone and disrespect of a customer with a loud voice was the better option. On this basis I would never return again. A waste of £100 + on 2 starter 2 Mains a a few beers. Beware of the 10% mandatory service charge whether you like the food & service or not. Had better food for less and much better customer service.

6 of us are here on Saturday at 6.00 Great welcome, great service, great value for money and food to die for. We all ate from the specials board as the fish on offer here is market fresh and always cooked to perfection. Pizza’s, pasta and risotto are all amazing. Dog friendly too!! I have noticed some reviews that are a bit non complimentary - go here expecting a small, quirky, casual, authentic family run cafe/restaurant that serves amazing food at great prices! We are not local but each time we visit York Il Paradiso is number 1 on our bucket list!

We needed to find somewhere reasonably priced in York to eat last minute when staying there for a few days. We didn't want 'posh' food out to spend a long time there, and this fitted the bill perfectly. The food was really tasty (a risotto & a pizza), the service good and there was plenty of choice of gluten free dishes. The only minus to it was that it's very very cramped and the tables are on top of one another, and chairs are not very comfortable. It means it's noisy, not private and not the sort of restaurant to go to for a romantic meal or if you want to sit for a long time comfortably. However the good thing about the fact that it's busy is that there's a lot of atmosphere. The fact that it was almost full on a Wednesday night shows it must be popular.

Incredible restaurant. Have been coming here for years and the food & service never disappoints! A must visit in York.

Great food! I want to go back for the lasagna! Absolutely awesome. Great atmosphere and good times.

It is cosy and small and has a vibrant atmosphere. It is very busy and difficult to get a table at your selected time so book. The menu prices are reasonable with more expensive special meals. The food is really good and comes piping hot. 10% service charge was added without any declaration of this on the menu which is a bit sneaky. Don’t buy garlic bread to nibble on, unless you really want it, as it is 80% of a meal price. Staff are very attentive, happy and pleasant. We were asked to move tables. This was no problem to us but despite 2 staff apologising with the offer of a limoncello for the inconvenience it never arrived.

The most delicious food of York.love it ❤️

The best restaurant of York. Delicious Mediterranean food , the staff very friendly, clean and imaculated. I love this restaurant and them food them make . Recommended 1000%

Wow! Just, wow. I love my food. I particularly love Italian food. And this place just stole my heart. By all intents and purposes it's not much to look at from the outside, which in some cases may lead you not to go in. But please do. This is some of the best Italian food outside of Italy that I've ever had. The specials board apparently changes daily, depending on which chef is on. After reading it we immediately discard the normal menu. We started with a sharing burrata pizza bread, had a sardinian sausage pasta and beef filet pasta for main and shared a fresh made tiramasu for dessert. Each dish was faultless. The pizza bread base perfectly crisp with lashings of basil oil and wonderfully fragrant marinara. Rich and perfectly balanced pasta sauces and delightfully light tiramasu completed the best meal I've eaten in a long time. All for a very reasonable price considering the quality. Anyone who hasn't been before needs to make it their go to Italian of choice. Run, don't walk people. 👌

I will never go to this restaurant ever again. First, the manager Steve is so friendly. My friends and I used to go there quite often, and I always give extra tips because I really enjoyed the experience. However, my last two visits were absolutely terrible. The manager I know weren’t there (not sure if he left or just having day-off). The food is same as usual, but the service was totally unacceptable. The staff treated us like we were there to beg for food. I didn’t take that seriously, as people could be having a bad time. Plus, the previous experience was real good. Therefore, I went there again to give it another try. But it turns out the same! I don’t know if the staff are not happy working there, something wrong with the management or they are simply not respecting customers at all. But none of these can justify their bad attitude towards customers. Thus, I will never go back and tell my family and friends not to visit this restaurant.

It is cosy and small and has a vibrant atmosphere. It is very busy and difficult to get a table at your selected time so book. The menu prices are reasonable with much more expensive special meals. The food is really good and comes piping hot. 10% service charge was added without any declaration of this on the menu. Don’t buy garlic bread to nibble on, unless you really want it, as it is 80% of a meal price. Staff are very attentive, happy and pleasant. We were asked to move tables. This was no problem to us but despite 2 staff apologising with the offer of a limoncello for the inconvenience it never arrived.

This may be the best way to contact this restaurant I’ve tried ringing for 2 hours to book a table ( a recommendation from a very close friend)) Then I get through 5 times and it rings until my phone says … narh they are not interested. 25th wedding anniversary and we are from out of town and what a waste of time trying to book. Need to plan my anniversary again. What telephone system do you have. I’m self employed and know what systems you can get to help your customers. Sooo are you really that busy

The Godliest of cuisine. I could get hit by a bus on the way there and the thought of the dishes on that chalk board would be enough to make me crawl on my hands and knees through that door. Have been about 5 times now, will always recommend to friends, but only the ones I deem worthy of experiencing the best food in York, let alone Italian. Starters, incredible. Mains, even better. Even when you’re inevitably completely stuffed like a happy cat, you can always make room for one of their desserts. The cannolis are a particular fave. Honestly, walk in, close your eyes and point at a random dish on the menu and you will love it. Fondly referred to as “Cash Only”, the only thing that makes this place any better than its menu is the atmosphere and staff. Great relaxed atmosphere in the day, really fun atmosphere in the evening, but you probably won’t notice because you’ll be too busy eating to notice what’s going on around you or bother talking anyone on your table.

Very good food indeed. The pizza was 'marvellous', full of flavor. The gluten free pasta was very good, I had carbonara which was fantastic, and they also do gf pizza. In the top 3 Italians I've had in the UK.

Delicious food. Very good indeed. Gluten free pasta was very good too. Also they say the do gf pizza

Very nice lobster pasta. Lovely staff, good beer, good food. Woukd recommend highly. Busy so would recommend booking, but the pasta dishes are very good. Extensive specials menu and good pizzas

Got seated bit like sardines.no one came over for at least 10min.lady took our drinks order.She came back with drinks then took food order.i was amazed at how small the menu was after seeing online about sea food and steaks.so we placed our food order.Then 5 min later i went to the toilet only to see a huge specials menu that we were never told about.We had to wait bout 5 or 10 min after food came as we had no napkins or salt and pepper.the service was probably.the worst iv had .WORST ITALIAN IN YORK

Valentines Day, restaurants are going to busy so we booked a week in advance and chose to dine early afternoon to avoid the peak times. We arrived at the arranged time and were somewhat disappointed that there was no table set aside for the two of us. The restaurant is quite small, but was busy. We were originally given a tiny table next to the door but after expressing our disatifaction we were allocated another tiny table further in the premises. The restaurant had been recommended to us by friends who praised the service, the Italian atmosphere and the food. The staff were all Italian and friendly enough in their responses to our conversations with them, but it was limited and they didn't go out of their way to make us feel welcome as many other Italian restaurant staff do. The service was at times slow, with some long gaps between orders and service. When we ordered our sweets it was some time before I was told my choice was not available and even longer before they took my order for my alternative choice. The food was excellent, very flavoursome, very Italian and sufficient for out appetite. There was plenty of choice from the menu and the specials board. My only gripe was with the cheese board, that I'd selected as the replacement for the sweet that was not available. It consisted of six Jacobs Cream crackers laid out on a platter with small pieces of cheese on each. Three of the crackers and cheese had been splodged with marmalade. The dish looked and was very unappetising and it wasn't up to expectation. While we were dining, there was a change of staff with a new maitre-de taking charge, he seemed to have more interest in our dinning experience and after informing him of the disappointing cheese board, removed it from the bill and gave us an after dinner liqueur which helped restore some confidence in the service. In summary, the food was good (apart from the cheese board) the service and welcome left a lot to be desired. Would we go again?.... it is not a somewhere we would make a beeline to goto, but it's a possibility. The prices were reasonable, but there's a 10% service charge included in the bill and they don't accept cards for payment.

Dined here on a recommendation and ate here again the next evening. Fabulous food, the seafood risotto was a particular highlight and delicious with a great depth of flavour in the stock. Drinks very reasonably priced. Did not book on both occasions, perhaps lucky timing. Will certainly re visit. Worth noting that the restaurant does not take card payments, it is cash or bank transfer.

All our meals were outstanding, what a little gem of a place.

Excellent food at an excellent price. Such a warm friendly little venue with a real family feel. Loved it!! Wine reasonably priced too.

Best Italian restaurant in York by a country mile. All the staples plus an amazing and ever changing specials board. Service is consistently above and beyond, quality of food unsurpassed and very reasonably priced. Just remember it's cash only

Wow what a meal! We had the specials and both were incredible. Priced well for what you get. Great service, lovely staff. Good drinks selection. Will be back again.