trattoria alla toscana

excellent food, really friendly attentive service andgreatambience.  we had a party of four and we all loved our meals, superb italian cuisine.greatwine list too. highly recommended!

my wife and i tried this place for the first time and were not disappointed. the food was excellent, and the staff were warm friendly and attentive. only thing i found a little odd was the bill had a space to add a tip and it was circled as if they were expecting one. a little odd in new zealand culture especially as we had multiple people serving our food so not sure who we would be tipping. also as the prices were quite high, not sure a tip was necessary. the service wasgreatthough.

excellent service and lovely food. the restaurant had a very relaxed atmosphere and it wasgreatto see families with young children enjoying their meals. it is quite expensive but is well worth it for a special occasion.

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 - againgreatflavour. 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

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 agreatappetiser. 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.

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 wasgreatwith 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.

wow . didn't know where to eat in napier city, so checked the menu mania site, trattoria alla toscana hadgreatreviews. 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,greatadvice on the menu - what more can you ask for. will definitely dine at this lovely restaurant again next time we visit napier.

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 thought 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, agreatthanksgiving dinner in new zealand.

dined here tonight. service wasgreatand 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. hadgreatservice 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 thegreatexperience! 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, itsgreatto have a nice place to go to right in the city.