Had a lovely lunch.

The menu is slightly different to the one in town that I usually go to.

Got a table straight away and the staff were very efficient.

I really like like the starters here, particularly the bruschetta with tomatoes, mozarella and parma ham. The simple pasta dishes are also really nice, but any time I have had fish it has been way overcooked, which was disappointing. This, combined with the extremely close seating arrangement means it's only three stars from me.

Popped in here for some dinner last week and I must say I was completely underwhelmed. Having read the previous reviews I was positive about giving it a try having never been before. We got a table which was in a good spot and the staff did seem friendly and attentive - just as they should be and I expected from the reviews. My first gripe was the menu - varied enough but immensely confusing. For example, they have a pasta section, but list pasta dishes elsewhere as they're served hot (as in temperature) but they also have pasta in the pasta section which is served hot - so what's the difference? This was a bit of a theme with the menu it seemed and I was genuinely beginning to think I was missing something. We eventually settled for garlic bread, minestrone soup and lasagne.

The food arrived in a reasonable amount of time, swiftly followed by disappointment. The lasagne, while very tasty and authentic, had been gently heated, so gently in fact, that it wasn't very hot at all. Even more of a let down was the minestrone soup, again considering it's previous recommendations below. Quite simply, it was salted to the point of being inedible. I don't believe this was a taste issue, it was just extremely salty and so it wasn't eaten.

When clearing the table, the staff queried the almost full soup and we explained our reasons - they apologised and offered us tea/coffee which we politely declined, just not feeling like it. Then just to really seal the deal, they still charged us for the soup which we again politely pointed out was perhaps a mistake and only then did they amend the bill so we didn't have to pay for something we couldn't and didn't eat.

Overall, while it might have just been a bad experience, I certainly won't be in a rush to try this place again - ok, so the food wasn't a winner but the staff could have made up for it at least with a little effort.

Great value for money.
WARNING... be hungry when you arrive as the starters would feed a family - well the bruschetta would anyway.

Nice easy going food and atmosphere and Italian staff to boot.

I like this place - it's consistently good. I'll admit I usually stick to the same food when I'm here (panino with buffalo mozzeralo, parma ham & rocket) but it's always tasty and well prepared. I've had a few of their more substantial meals too - gnocchi with gorgonzola and some sort of bean-based dish - and they've been impressive too. It's a popular spot and seems to be almost full at any time around lunch (from about 12-3pm). Their coffee's good and the staff (all italian) are well behaved and polite! They have some outside seating which is well positioned to get some good sun, if available, during the summer. I'd suggest giving it a go...

L'Officina is a real favourite of mine, it serves-up really good food and coffee in a relaxed laid-back Italian way. Their panini and minestrone soup are awesome and make-up my staple diet when I visit here for lunch! It's also a good spot for dinner with a good range of pasta dishes and their specials change daily - it's probably the only place where I actually order off the specials menu as they tend to be excellent. There's al fresco seating too so there's a real café feel to the place during the summer months. My only gripe is that the service can be slow (or authentically Italian!), this doesn't bother me hugely as it sort of adds to the Italian-ness of the place but it has had me late for the cinema on a couple of occasions!

Great minestrone soup and panini's. Always busy so can sometimes be hard to get a table. Nice (not amazing) Italian food and friendly service.