Umbertos

"Absolutely faultless!!! Managed to grab a last minute booking earlier today (Mother's Day) and what a result. From the moment we entered the place it was obvious that this was not your run-of-the-mill restaurant. The owner recognised my mum right away for a start, remembered her name and her order - considering she had only ever been there once before and that was a good month ago, this is nothing short of remarkable! The menu was good at first glance but lacked pizzazz...Well that was soon remedied by the specials board. The owner went through each item with us explaining the different flavours and techniques being used for each dish. I heard him repeat this process for every set of guests that arrived and each time he read it with the passion and patience as it was the first! Again, remarkable. Now, on to the food...OK so I don't say this lightly, I believe this is the best food I've ever eaten. The quality of the ingredients is obvious and the skill and love that the chef puts in is highly evident in every meal. There is no kids menu per se so this was a potential problem for me with a 4 year old. However, I was assured that whatever he wanted, they could do for him. They were happy to make any variation on any of the meals on the menu, or one of his choice. He ended up choosing macaroni cheese (which is not on the menu!) and it was lovely. They supplied him with a kids portion of garlic bread and cheese too. I could not decide between the garlic mushrooms or the sticky ribs for starters so I requested half-half which the restaurant were more than happy to accommodate. The mushrooms!!! Oh the mushrooms. Sooooooo good. I want more. And more! The ribs were divine too. I followed this with a parmigiana which was so tasty too. Finished it off with panettone (bread and butter pudding style) and that was me done. I left there absolutely stuffed but so so SO happy. The staff make it a pleasure to be in the restaurant. The place is clean and quaint. Service awesome and the food is absolutely impeccable. Outstanding. I will DEFINITELY be back! Thank you to the Umberto's team. The difference between a family-run restaurant and a chain has never been so obvious to me. No request was too much trouble. So grateful!"

"We haven't been there for a while because of travelling, but the food was excellent as usual. The choices on the menu were awesome, with so much to choose from. The service was also of a very high standard as always. We highly recommend Umbertos for quality food and top service."

"A really quality Italian restaurant that I would thoroughly recommend. I thought that the food was really good, well cooked and with great portion sizes. There was a good selection of specials as well as the normal menu and the pricing was also decent. The staff were very attentive and welcoming, and the atmosphere was great- clearly lots of regulars and the staff chatting to several of them. We will definitely return and hopefully be regulars here too!"

"Astounding! I have not been to a restaurant like this in years. We felt the love and warmth from all the staff the minute we walked through the door. They knew the menu inside out, full description of how they cooked it, and very obliging. The food was spectacular, and what was a casual lunch turned into a feast. We didn't want to leave! Highly recommend this beautiful family restaurant in Hornchurch where they don't hassle you out the door. We will definitely be back. Thank you!!"

"Had an amazing meal here, the waiters we so attentive and went through the menu explaining all the meals and what they have, even showed a plate with the fresh fish used! The food was exquisite! Definitely will be returning!"