Italiana Fifty Five in Manchester

We were a large group and had pre-ordered our meals well in advance, but when we arrived, they had lost our pre-order. This already set the tone for what would be a frustrating evening. To make matters worse, not a single member of staff came over to serve us; we had to repeatedly ask for drinks, and when we did, the staff seemed annoyed and visibly angered by our requests. The attitude was appalling. We left a £10 deposit per person, and when we asked for the bill, they questioned the proof of payment and didn’t seem to believe us. Absolutely baffling. The quality of food was far below expectations. The cutlery was dirty, and the food was nothing like what was advertised on their social media. We waited over 2.5 hours for our main courses despite having pre-ordered. That’s unacceptable for any restaurant, let alone one that claims to offer a decent dining experience. When we finally received our meals, the steak I ordered well-done was served rare. When I pointed this out, the waitress returned with the exact same steak as if they just threw it back on the grill. We spoke to the manager about all of these issues, but he was rude, dismissive, and seemed completely uninterested in addressing our concerns. No apology, no offer of a discount, nothing. It was clear he couldn’t care less about the terrible service or food we received. All in all, this was one of the worst dining experiences I’ve had in a long time. Save yourself the trouble and avoid this place at all costs.

If I could leave 0 stars, I would. Long story short, extremely slow service - we had to reorder drinks two or three times and were not offered any after we were seated at our table. We were at the restaurant for almost 3 hours after having preordered our meal, which they had lost. We asked to move tables as 9 of us were awkwardly seated around two small round tables, this seemed to annoy the staff even after they had offered to sort us a better table. Table was missing cutlery, my clean fork had food on it. When pouring the wine, a waiter spilt it on one of our party. Sides took so long to arrive we ended up refusing them as all our food had gone cold. Steak was served rare when asked for well done, sent back and they had just recooked the meat off our plate. We complained to the manager throughout the meal and asked to speak to them at the end of the night too. We were offered no replacement of food, no discount, no complimentary drink, nothing but an apology. Overall an absolutely chaotic atmosphere and the food was laughable.

Seriously not what we were expecting. Below average food and experience. Went today in a large group and service struggled to get even the basics right. Inexperienced staff and kitchen low on ingredients. Had calamari to start but it was very rubbery. The chicken mains was okay but just bland and all in all just a sub-average meal. Manager wasn’t up to much either - I don’t think this place will be here for long. Won’t go back and wouldn’t recommend. (Updated review on 29 Dec - visited on 22 Dec)

Edwardo delivered a great service ! Definitely coming back

I'm extremely disappointed. Booked Christmas dinner. Did the same last year, which was excellent all around. There was no Christmas cracker on the table. Was also given the regular menu plus the Christmas one, not sure why! Roast potatoes were potato wedges, Christmas dinner salty was taken back, and still returned salty. Given the wrong dessert. Service was poor and lacked any experience and service. Overall, it was supposed to be the Christmas menu, yet the food was from the regular menu. Will pass next year....

My first visit here was for lunch on a Friday. We both really enjoyed the food - it was really good value and delicious. I had the seafood spaghetti with was perfect. The wines are also very reasonably priced and with a good choice. We ended up staying four hours as we were enjoying ourselves! The place is nice and warm and it wasn't too busy. Very helpful and friendly staff too.

We had a family meal and the staff were welcoming and checked in regularly with us. 2 of the party were delayed and this was no problem for the staff which was helpful. The food was great! Pizzas and arrabiata pasta were all good with a delicious tomato sauce. I had the gluten free pizza and it was excellent - the best base I have had in a long time. A reasonable price and great food. Thank you

Food was tasty visited on a Monday at 6 pm, not very busy, service could have been a tad better. But I would definitely visit again.

Great service and absolutely delicious food!!!

What can I say the place is amazing. Top customer service and experience soon as you walk through the door. Staff can't do enough for you. Food is unreal and out of this world, the carbonara is one of the best we have had in the UK and up there to the ones we have had in Italy amazing. Would recommend this place as its an absolute gem .

Very poor service. A lot of the meals were not available. Managed to be served with drinks and a starter. We then sat for over an hour waiting for our main meal. During this time a few more customers came in and were served their meals. We asked why the big delay in been served, only to be told the chef had run away. Because we had to be somewhere else, we walked out, shame because it used to be a very good place to visit. We probably won't be visiting again in the foreseeable future unless they get the service improved. Maybe if they catch the chef and bring him back might help.

Really good food&pasta. Great service from Connor

Really enjoyed the food, particularly the rigatoni and pizza. Very good ambience and we enjoyed the sunshine streaming in through the windows on a bright November day. We were well looked after by Connor and Theo made us a great cup of espresso.

All the food here is excellent and the hospitality is excellent. Connor and Ian were so helpful even bringing a small table when we needed to work on my laptop. I was very impressed with the thoughtfulness. Most places have basic customer care, I felt very welcomed and I well looked after.

We had a lovely meal at Italiana Fifty Five. The food was really good - the fresh pasta dishes are really delicious! The tiramisu was also lovely. We will definitely visit again!

He estado en didsbury, la pasta fresca es increíble, Félix fue tan amable de explicarnos el menú y nos recomendó la pasta ragú, volveremos seguro,

Freezing cold only me and my friend in. No atmosphere, but so cold obviously no heating on Sunday at 1.30 on the 17th November. Food very average, they also charge 3.95 for a bottle of water. Won't return, previous owners - was the place to eat - not anymore!

Felix's service was amazing and he's very easy on the eye ;)

Food incredible, service a touch slow at the start but nothing to take away from the dinner

Very very nice, we all had the same dish funny enough 😄 5 salmon dishes. Food and service was excellent though and will come again and recommend 👌

La comida era increíble y el servicio era brillante, sin duda volvería! Felix era un servidor brillante y servicial todo el tiempo!

The food and atmosphere were brilliant!! We had a family dinner celebrating mums birthday! Staff tried their best but they were very understaffed and underwhelmed for Saturday dinner service!

Vine aquí para mi cumpleaños de mamá, la comida era deliciosa y tuvimos un gran servicio de Félix, sin duda recomendaría!

Well. Went to your lovely restaurant Saturday evening. Ready for a delicious Italian meal,as your reviews stated. Didn't happen. We stood at the waiting point for at least 20 minutes,and know one came to seat us or acknowledge that we were there. I'm a great believer in customer service,which this was not. I left with my party,due to this lack of customer service. I recommend that you either employ a front of house person or have your staff stay at the front of house so this doesn't happen again. Pluss this was my experience,not saying its everyone's experience. You weren't busy. It wasn't full. Obviously not returning.

Taken for lunch at this Italian restaurant. I liked the linen tablecloths and napkins. However after a long journey from London I headed up to the Loos. First one was filthy! One occupied and the other had no loo roll, but a pack of black cocktail napkins had been left!! I let the waitress know, but she seemed to know already saying one toilet was closed - it wasn't. I suggested putting a note on the door. She said toilet roll was on order! Hadn't occurred her to pop to a shop and buy some it seems. Food is well priced. We all enjoyed our starters. Arancini very nice. Unfortunately I chose the chicken main dish- chicken overcooked which is never good. Sauce nice though. I'd been given a 'sharper' knife fir the chicken- it was totally blunt and I couldn't cut the already rubbery chicken. Everyone else had risotto which they said was good. Because of the bad toilet maintenance, I wouldn't recommend this place.

Italian restaurant with very good food. Super friendly waiters and very good atmosphere. Reasonable prices, definitely recommended.

Food was absolutely lovely and came out at a decent pace. Had carbonara and a mixed fried fish starter. Only downfall was our waitress wasn’t very friendly at all. My partner was ordering and she dismissed him multiple times to ask what I wanted first which some would think is polite to ask the woman first but was rude of her to cut him off, just let him order! Plus we asked for the bill and she took around 15 minutes to bring it to us whilst she tended to everyone else. She just didn’t seem interested in us at all and prioritised everyone else in the restaurant over us it felt quite uncomfortable. Other than that had a nice night.

The service was fantastic but the ravioli was a little bit too spicy. Thanks to a friendly staff!

Just celebrated my mother in laws 70th birthday here and we were a big party of 26. They accommodated us perfectly, the service was fantastic, food was divine and the atmosphere was great! Would highly reccomend eating here as you won't be disappointed.

We had a lovely family dinner and everyone really enjoyed themselves. The food and desserts were nice. The only issue was the garlic bread which was burnt underneath and we had to get it replaced, the second one was really nice.

Guys, what a fantastic experience, from walking in through the door, the food is fresh and so tasty, we were a table of 12, nothing was too much for the fantastic waiters who made us feel so welcome, the food was so fresh and amazing, the service so good, these guys are amazing, please please give it a try.

Really enjoyable night for my daughter's 19th. Anna and all of the staff were really helpful and even surprised my daughter with a birthday desert complete with Roman candle. Lovely spot, great food, easy to park

Really enjoyable night for my daughter's 19th. Anna and all of the staff were really helpful and even surprised my daughter with a birthday desert complete with Roman candle. Lovely spot, great food, easy to park

Had lunch here, it was a pleasant surprise. The food quality was very high, had 3 courses from the lunch menu (£25) and enjoyed each one. Paolo who served us took care of all we needed. Will be back again.

Fantastic food and excellent service (especially Paulo) would recommend!

Visited this restaurant for a birthday celebration, very mediocre starters, under cooked calamari starters and very mean portion size for the price. Plus over ripe tomatoes on the bruschetta. My husband and son had the lamb shanks on mash and were underwhelmed. I had the seafood risotto, mussels were empty! It was supposed to be flavoured with chilli, I could taste none and it was extremely salty, 3 prawns in total, absolute rip off. My daughter had the lobster ravioli which arrived barely warm and had a weird after taste. Had high expectations after reading reviews but was disappointed and won’t be returning, there are far better Italian restaurants to go to, and better value too.

Excellent food , exceptional, friendly service carried out by Paolo and good value for money will be visiting again very soon

Fantastic food and service. Our waiter was Paolo who was really accommodating and provided lovely service. Highly recommend.

Great experience provided by Paolo.

Lovely time with my partner, Paolo was very attentive and friendly. Great food

Very quick and friendly service from all waiters, especially Paolo. Food was delicious and some good deals- would come back again.

Great experience. I have been served by Paolo. The food was delicious and service is top notch 👌

Food was amazing! We served by Paolo he was so polite top class customer service! We will be back thank you!!

It is so good that I've only just finished starters and I have to review the sauce is amazing prawns are class the time to wait was nothing incredible!!

Food and service was brilliant. Lovely to dine outside when it's sunny. Mark was a great waiter for us.

Had a delicious dinner and Anna (our server) was wonderful and so helpful :)

Lovely location, the food was gorgeous and the staff were friendly and professional. Will definitely be returning.

Food was enjoyable and reasonably priced. Service from Paolo was great!

We had a late lunch here in bank holiday Monday. Food was wonderful, very tasty and delicious. Service by Paolo and the team was spot on, attentive and helpful. Very impressed and would come again.

Great beef starter and calzone. Thanks to Paolo/mark/chefs!

We had a great time for our son Joe's 18th birthday meal yesterday , excellent and funny service from Mark! Thank you , as well as a lovely waitress who helped with the cake etc . The food was delicious and good value too. We'd definitely go again 😊

Staff were great although one of them, a ginger man, I could tell was very jealous of me and my cake. With this being said I’ve decided to put things in the past and move on, he knows who he is😉

Paolo was great and the food was amazing!

Service from Paolo was brilliant. Great food and drink

Good friendly staff.. Anna and Paolo were particularly accommodating! Great value for great food!

Paolo was lovely and gave excellent customer service! Very attentive and would definitely come back again!

Enjoyed a lovely meal here, great atmosphere and our waiter Mark was very friendly and made us feel welcome

Superb food and great service !! Very nice chilled atmosphere and we were very well looked after by Amelia and Mark. Thank you and we will be back !

Paolo and Amelia were amazing, so attentive and friendly. We felt so taken care of and will definitely be back for more delicious food!

Brilliant food and great customer service from Paolo. I would definitely come back again.

Anna and Molly made our night, lovely and attentive service - would recommend for an intalian dinner evening in didsbury.

Really good experience we were a party of 15 Anna served us and remembered what everyone ordered when the food came out, all the food was great and all the drinks were topped up all evening. 10/10

Great food!! Authentic Italian. Lovely location. Would come again and recommend !! Paolo great waiter

Very attentive! Good was excellent. Best steak I've ever had. We were served by Paolo. Will definitely be back here again. Wonderful experience!😃

First visit here and definitely not the last one. Amazing food and such a great service from Paulo. Thank you and will be back soon.

The food was delicious presented beautifully and the service from our waiter Paulo was excellent

Great food and Paolo a fantastic waiter! A great place where eat and drink in Manchester!

Lovely food and Paolo was great!

Exceeded our expectations, the cooking was great and the staff lovely. Thanks to Paola for a very special evening,

What an amazing meal second time been first time was great this was even better quality of food was amazing service great. Shout out to Paulo very attentive. Wasn’t expecting birthday surprise for my niece who had just turned 12. .

Paolo’s service was wonderful. Food was excellent. Definitely recommend for lunch and dinner!

The food was delicious and Paolo provided incredible service. I will definitely be returning!

Served by Anna and Co and they were all very welcoming and helpful. Food was under seasoned.

Great food and friendly service. August half price offer is great although note some dishes are have an additional charge

What an amazing evening - food was exceptional and with the 50% off it is incredible value. We were served by an amazing young man named Mark. The only thing brighter than his smile was his exquisite customer service. We will be back, even if it’s just for Mark.

Had a lovely meal thanks to Anna our host! Thank you! X

Food was delicious, and great service was very friendly and the 50% deal was amazing!

Lovely place. Friendly service from Paulo and Abi. Really nice food. Really nice evening.

Took some friends forThe August offer ,which isn't quite what it is publicised to be .There is a catch which is not advised to you in the offer email details , it doesn't say Not on Fridays or Saturdays and 50% off all food doesn't include the desert course, obviously deserts are not food !!!!!, even though we checked before ordering . Service very slow . The price of a steak is eye watering, especially as no sides are included. Will not be returning even on the offer

Nice food good place no complaints!

What an interesting evening l had at Italiana fifty five in Didsbury. The first think to mention is Paolo, the Manager, who advised me what to order. I must say: Thank you Paolo for been so attentive in everything. I will definitely come back soon. Grazie infinite.

Beautiful lunch today food was delicious and Paolo who served us was lovely, he was so helpful and very kind with my 1 year old little girl even taking her on a tour of the restaurant. Fabulous can’t wait to return!

Amazing service and food. Paolo and the staff were fabulous. Would definitely recommend

Lovely meal tonight. Great service from Paolo.

Paoblo was excellent along with other staff. Great service and good. Will come back 😀

An excellent night with delicious food and exceptional service. Mark, our waiter went above and beyond to make our night. Will definitely be back!

Fabulous meal and great service - particularly from Andrea and Henry - who looked after me brilliantly. I’ll be back for sure. Thank you

Good quality ingredients, poor execution and understaffed service We got attracted in by the August 50% off food which was a great deal but unfortunately the overall experience was a letter down and I don't think we would go back. The quality of the ingredients were good and I can see the intention of producing great food but it was disappointing that the small kitchen could not cope with the 1/3 full restaurant. Combined with not having enough waiting staff meant that there was generally a long wait to order and a long wait for food that was just a bit sub par. Just beware that with the 50% off deal in August some items have a supplementary charge. This wasn't explained on arrival and at ordering. Our server Anna was lovely but there was too much to do. Overall a underwhelming experience and the August deal failed to attract us back in the future.

Food was great. Mark and other waiter staff were excellent

Very stylishly set out and great service from Anna

Excellent service from Paolo!!!

Paolo was such a kind waiter. Very patient with all of our requests and good was 10/10

such a beautiful place, we were served by Anna, she was very outgoing and making sure we were happy with our meal. Would recommend this place!

Delicious! Get down there. Arancini balls are amaze balls

Lovely new venue here in Didsbury . Nice attentive staff and comfortable surroundings . Food was beautiful and tasted divine . Great prices and service . Will certainly return . Our mains needed slightly hotter temperature but was rectified quickly and our next visit I'm sure it'll be a 5 out of 5 . Deserves a taste .

We had a lovely meal here on Saturday. The food was reasonably priced and very delicious and high quality. It was our son's 16th birthday and Anna was especially kind and attentive. She was smiley and friendly and helped to make the evening really special!

Excellent food. Paulo was very polite and attentive.

Paolo and Anna were super. Welcoming and fun. The food was amazing - a proper Italian experience. GRAZIE!!

Absolutely fabulous service and food. Lovely lunchtime chilled atmosphere and attentive waiters. Marco was extremely helpful and nothing was too much trouble. Definitely visit again.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO FELIX!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM ARGENTINA DEAR!!!!