Five of us went for dinner last night and were fortunate to sit outside and have a deal voucher. We started with a shared antipasto platter and garlic bread which were tasty and a great appetiser. Husband then had mussels starter, although he doesn’t like them normally, and said they were so tasty he will order them again! For mains, two of us had fish, husband had steak, sister in law had fettuccine and mother had lasagne. The meals were all excellent but left a wee space for a delicious dessert. Meals were reasonably priced given the quality and the wine was a good price too. Very attentive host and we will be back soon.

Had the worst service we have ever experienced at any restaurant in NZ and we eat out regularly. Booked for two people for 7pm. Table wasn’t ready so our waitress sat us at a table she told us was ‘awful’ while we waited ’30 seconds’ for our table to become free. Took 15 minutes. Ordered pizza bread, entree size seafood fettuccine and main size chicken fettuccine. Waited an hour and asked where our pizza bread was. After 10 minutes the waiter came back and said there had been a mistake and our orders hadn’t gone to the kitchen. He asked who took our order and we explained it had been the head waitress. They were trying to blame the young waitress who was clearly new but much better than the other two senior waiters. Long story short, our mains took another half hour to turn up. No one apologised. We got the entree size chicken fettuccine instead of the main. No one came to ask for more drinks orders. Our ‘pizza bread’ that we had ordered came after our mains and was garlic bread! A disaster all round. And to top it off, the waitress argued with us when we were paying as we refused to pay for the main size pasta, as we didn’t receive it. She said we had as it was clearly on the docket. Unbelievable. Will never go back again. Ever. Shocking. Service suggestion – have one person looking after each section so the waiters know which step in the process each table is up to – no one knew what was going on and two other tables complained while we were there.

Good but only that. Meal was well done but a little plain and rather sparse. Service okay. Not a complaint but not up to big city standards. Might try again.

My wife and I were transported back to Italy last night when we enjoyed wonderful food, excellent service and warm, friendly recognition from the owner. The gnocchi with a Gorgonzola sauce had wonderful flavour, the filetto (fillet steak) was not only the most tender I have eaten, but it had more then usual flavour. My wife thoroughly enjoyed the seafood fettuccine which she shared with me – again great flavour. The meals were generous and the whole evening thoroughly enjoyable. We have lived in Italy, dined throughout the entire country, and nowhere was the food better than at Trattoria alla Toscana. We will return! Frank & Rose

I have to compliment the staff for the absolutely wonderful service but as for the chicken pasta dish I received that night was very tasteless it had hardly sauce so it was very bland the worst pasta meal I have gotten from a restaurant. My partner though enjoyed his meal whereas my one just tasted like boiled pasta without flavour I was unable to finish my meal.

What a find on our holiday. The restaurant was very busy and we had to wait 10 mins for a table but it was worth it. The service was great with the owner checking in to make sure we were happy. The food was sensational – I had the market fish and my partner had the special seafood risotto..
We even shared a dessert which for us is unusual. Delicious.
At the end of the meal we were given a free limoncello and the owner thanked us warmly for coming and kissed my hand. A charming gesture.

Took my partner here on Sat. evening for his birthday. We were both very much blown away by the service and the fantastic food. The ambiance was simple but classy. We shared a delicious green mixed salad which exuded freshness and both tried the specials for the evening. My partner had the oven roasted flounder with roasted potatoes and veggies. WOW! It was extremely tasty and we both enjoyed every last bit. My only small complaint would be that there were not enough potatoes They were simply delicious and I really would have enjoyed eating more of them off my boyfriend’s plate. Tehe. I ordered a special with homemade fettuccine pasta with salmon and asparagus in a white wine sauce. YUM! It was just the right amount of pasta as well. Sometimes I’m overwhelmed when I go to Italian restaurants and the amount of pasta is the entire size of the plate. Even if you can eat that much, you really shouldn’t. Since we were both so pleasantly full after dinner and not too stuffed (and of course to help celebrate a birthday), we had to-die-for desserts. My partner had the panna cota which was decorated to perfection with fresh fruit and I had something similar to an eclair but forgot the Italian name for it. It was simply divine! Really enjoyed our evening and will most definitely be back when we are next in Napier! All the best…

Wow . Didn’t know where to eat in Napier city, so checked the Menu Mania site, Trattoria alla Toscana had great reviews. Tried to get in on Friday night when we arrived in Napier – booked out.
The owner welcomed us to book for Saturday night and we are so pleased we did. Fantastic service, fantastic food, great advice on the menu – what more can you ask for. Will definitely dine at this lovely restaurant again next time we visit Napier.

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!
Went there last Friday with a few girls and we loved it, very authentic and really felt like we were in Italy!!
The staff were very well mannered and professional while still making you feel warm and comfortable.
The food was sensational I had the fish of the day and although this is not the most Italian thing on the menu I enjoyed every mouthful.
I loved it so much I am returning this Saturday with my partner so he can check it out as well. Officially new favourite fine dining place in Hawkes Bay! Highly recommend!

Just had the burnt butter sage ravioli – husband the chicken fettucine -DELICIOUS! Of course dessert; creme caramel and Tirimisu…with Prosecco – perfect! Limoncelllo as we paid the bill was the perfect end to a fabulous dinner with the full attention of the wonderful staff – how pleased we are to have ‘refound’ our old Italian restaurant (they used to be opposite the Muni many years ago)

Away on holiday we were looking for a fine dining experience as this is how we like to eat. On arrival the service was attentive however the owner taking bookings on speaker phone each time it rang in the middle of a quiet service was rather rude to customers.

We probably should have ordered Italian however I felt like a steak, medium. The steak was still in a jelly uncooked state right through and unfortunately no one bothered to come back or near the table to ask how our meals were whilst we were eating. It was not until I had finished the sparse vegetables, one piece of broccoli, one piece of cauli and 3 carrot wedges on my plate, before I could advise them.

If this is what Napier calls fine dining, we wont bother going out!

The food here is delicious! The pasta is to die for as is the mussel sauce. Service is great, the wine list below average. Decor lacks that Italian feel.

We dined here over the Easter weekend, and in my opinion words fail to do justice as to what a treat this restaurant is. If I could give a rating of six stars it would deserve it. The quality of the food, the ambiance, and the service is on a level that this restaurant deserves the title in my opinion of ‘Italian restaurant of the century’.

Absolutely gorgeous food. Friendly and entertaining staff make you feel more than welcome. A place with personality. The food was amazing. I’ve had the seafood pasta both times I’ve been…….(I’m not even a seafood fan usually) and I adore it. Something special and different. Well worth the effort to go and have a look. Personality and Personality plus. Well done! ( :

This is a very pretty restaurant, I had one of the most delicious pastas I have ever eaten here, the service is very good and even the chef came out to chat with us, 100% recommended.

More than any other Italian restaurant I’ve experienced outside of Italy, this restaurant captures the fine, distinctive mix of tastes that so epitomizes Italian cuisine. It is not so obvious if you’ve never been there. (Italy OR Trattoria alla Toscana) It is obvious. Trust me.

We started with a bottle of Prosecco and had a bowl of local Green lipped Mussels in a Neopolitan salsa that took me back to my first visit to Italy 26 years ago. To the best of my ability to ascertain, this was an elegant mixture of olive oil, tomatoes, lemon, garlic, and white wine. The ciabatta had a velvety texture, tasty, and very helpful for dipping. The mussels were big at four inches and were juicy, plump, tender morsels of the sea which, when bathed in the broth made me sad that there were only ten in the bowl. Next, came a bowl of house made ravioli with mushrooms and ricotta cheese in an orange tinged lighltly creamy, white wine sauce for Trinj and a house made Pappardelle with mushrooms and smoked salmon sauce for me. The only thing I could say about both pasta dishes bursting with an exquisitely blended palette of tastes while simultaneously maintaining their subtle distinctness, was you have to try this yourself if you’re in New Zealand. Or maybe even if you’re not.

A bottle of 2007 Hawkes Bay Alpha Romus Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon wine came out and as we started to make a dent of it, the Secondi came out, a sixteen ounce Florentine T-bone steak. This was not lamb. This was not a hamburger. This was a 16 ounce T-bone steak cooked in a traditional Florentine style, with garlic, olive oil and rosemary, which I have been in love with since my first bite years ago. Yo, Baby, yo. As I cut into it and watched the purplish, juices come out of the meat and seep onto the plate, I could almost smell the wondrous meaty smell—–but of course I can’t. I can’t smell. Even so, as I took my first bite of the succulent beef, I thMoreought back to a time in Tacoma.

I smiled as I took my first bite. I looked at my wife as she took her first bite. We smiled at each other. This was real. This was not lamb. This was a beautiful cut of meat, beef steak or bisteca, cooked to perfection. The taste, the texture, the juiciness, the tenderness, the feel of it in the mouth, the way it played on all of one’s senses. This was a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. Oh, Baby! The wine did a service to the dish.

A cheese plate followed which was nicely accompanied by walnuts, apricots, kiwi, melons, some more wonderful ciabatta and some crackers.

Then came dessert. The profiteroles came out soft and drizzled in chocolate filled with a sumptuous light cream. Perfectly done. The sadness that comes with the end of each course is quickly overtaken at the giddy pleasure that comes from the next wondrous caress of the taste buds of the following course.


All in all, a great Thanksgiving dinner in New Zealand.

The four of us had a delicious meal. But apart from the excellent food, the service was outstanding, the atmosphere good, and of course it was wonderful to see the chef again who came by to have a chat. We are so happy to see the return ofTrattoria alla Toscana.

Chef is genuine Italian and his wife and Maitre ‘d is a kiwi lady with loads of experience, having lived in Italy for several years (where, I found out, they met).
Service is brilliant and food is absolutely delicious and fresh.
Wines are lovely, and the complimentary liqueur for coming back the 2nd time was a lovely touch!
We’ll be back next time we’re in Napier.

Dined here tonight. Service was great and the food was delicious and timed appropriately. Would definitely recommend (and in fact already have recommended it to my mum who babysat my three mth old). I only have two points of note to make my rating five stars. 1. Straws should be in non alcoholic beverages especially when served to girls. 2. why is there no vegetarian main? and three steak dishes! I am a vegan so was particularly looking for a veg dish. However I must say the stuffed field mushroom was beautiful

Dined here on Wednesday night after walking in off the street…no booking but were accommodated immediately. Had great service from all the staff – even the chef came out to talk to us. Food was impeccable – the signature dish divine, the risotto light and flavoursome, and the wine match ups – recommended. Followed by equally gorgeous desserts, liqueur and then a special something from the establishment – most unexpected and showed how going that extra mile can make a night of it – thanks.

we ate there last night. Just wonderful. Food was excellent in taste, timing, portion size and presentation. Staff are always wonderful, and the head chef is the friendliest chef I’ve come across. Absolutely recommend this place. One thing we find needed to change is music,it is beautiful,but far too loud,
will be more appreciated, if it is softer.
Thanks for the great experience! We will be back soon.

We had a beautiful meal last night at the newly refurbished restaurant. The service and food were fabulous. We ate far too much and rolled out two happy campers. Will definitely go back, its great to have a nice place to go to right in the City.