The best restaurants serving Italian food in County Durham North East

Lovely little place with friendly staff, not to expensive and nice meal deal, will be visiting here again.

We go here as a group on a regular basis and always have great food. The staff are friendly and good fun. We go as a group and it's never too loud, we can always hear the conversation. Prices are reasonable and food is good quality. Highly recommend Deanos. Already booked for our next meet up

Hopefully this will be seen bye the owner, being coming to the restaurant for 18years. but to day we came in for Sunday lunch very poor ordered lasagna , spaghetti Bolognese and beef dinner not 1 meal was nice this is not the usual standard of this restaurant not sure what went wrong and was not ask once how our meal was

Good food and lovely friendly staff. We've been going here for a lot of years and are always looked after and well fed. Thanks

Visited Santinni restaurant with my family and was pleasantly surprised. The external of the property isn’t the best, but once you enter you can see the care and pride that is taken in the restaurant. The environment was welcoming, the staff were polite, professional and very knowledgable. Nothing was too much trouble for them. Then we get to the food, it was outstanding. It was fresh, cooked perfectly and very enjoyable. We will return

We were let down for boxing day, but Sals managed to fit 14 of us in at a busy time of year. Everything was lovely, from the table to the food, to the service. Such friendly accommodating staff. The whole experience was fab and would highly recommend, also save a fortune on drinks, as it is Bring your own😃

Went for Sunday lunch superb value for money for a thee course meal, both the beef and belly pork was excellent and the home made cheesecake’s are really good

We discovered the Artisan Corner about a year ago as we were passing through Barnard Castle on the way from Darlington to Southport to visit my parents. We originally chose this cafes it was lose to where we had parked, but we very quickly realised that we had landed on our feet. The food, most of which is home made o site, is amazing and the people there are friendly and welcoming. On our previous visit I had a coronation prawn baked potato and this time, a lamb kofta flatbread. Both were absolutely amazing. My partner usually chooses the ploughman's lunch- which is also excellent. After the man course, (or if you just want a snack) there is a wide selection of home made cakes. Last time we chose a vegan, gluten free chocolate and pistachio cake. I had my doubts about the gluten free, as in my experience gluten free cakes can be dry- but this was so good that we bought the remaining supply to take back for my parents to try! This time we went for warm tarte tartin with ice cream. Another favourite is the French Blue Earl Grey tea with lavender and rose petals. Every meal we have had here has been outstanding, and the shop downstairs also stocks some amazing food and crafts, including stunning flower earrings made by Hannah in the shop. All in all, I really cannot recommend this place highly enough. We always stop here now on the way to Southport- or if we happen to be in Barnard Castle.

Still the best Italians in the area by far! Never disappointed and the best value for money you can find!

This was the second time that we have visited this fantastic restaurant in a large family group. The first time 9 of us attended for our grandson's 21st birthday and it was so good that we booked again for our annual Christmas get together. This time there were 15 of us. Some chose from the Christmas Fayre menu and the selection was amazing. Others selected from the main menu which was a plus for us as other venues that we have been to for our Christmas 'party' only offered choices from their Christmas Fayre. I have to say that no one was disappointed with their meals. Perfectly cooked and presented and great portions. However, I must commend the service. Nothing was a problem and we were not rushed at all. Some restaurants that we have been to hardly let you get your starter down and they serve you your main course. Not here. A lovely civilised break in between so we could all enjoy being together. That said, the wait wasn't overly long that we were all awaiting our next courses. We had a great night, good food, fantastic service and certainly not over priced. We will all certainly book again, either individually or for our next family celebration. So, if you are looking for a nice meal, either just couples or for a bigger celebration, this is the place for you. Thank you Little Sicily and we look forward to visiting again.

Absolutely fantastic meal & service for a party of 11 people. The food was some of the best Italian food we have eaten and the service was first class. Shelley our main waitress was super helpful and attentive, she’s a real asset to the business. We would 100% recommend and return. Thankyou for a lovely evening.

What a lovely place! Great food- lovely pizza and pasta carbonara. Seating is rather close on high stools but this adds to the experience. A little chilly near the door. Excellent staff. Barber shop in lover floor. Great for casual supper or date night! Definitely will visit again.

I have no words. The food we received from this restaurant has to be the best Italian food I have ever ate. You can tell it was homemade, it was simply stunning. Me and my partner are absolutely raving about this place, I would recommend everyone to try, don’t judge a book by its cover as I can’t express how delicious the food was. It wasn’t your ordinary average bolognese and carbonara that we were expecting, it had something extra special to it. Both the chef and waitress we spoke to were so friendly and went out their way to make our night special. Can’t express how amazing the food was, 100% recommend to anyone wanting to give this restaurant a go. You will not regret it.

Stopped of here for a bite to eat with friends, and from when we arrived everyone was very polite and helpful, and the food and service was excellent 👌 definitely recommend.

I did do a 5 star review but today I changed it as I had an awful experience with this shop today the owner was so rude. The tone he spoke to me infront of my husband was absolutely degrading. Don’t get me wrong the food is lovely but I couldn’t possibly go back there. This owner shouldn’t be aloud to communicate with customers he’s disrespectful and down right rude. The lady is so polite and welcoming and worth a 5 star deffinatly but the owner lets the whole place down.