Al Duomo

Dear Alberto

Thank you so much for organising my party.

It was perfect! The food was superb. You were very kind with the second round of drinks, thank you.

The service was just fantastic. Sorry, I can't remember their names. Ellie and the 2 boys were brilliant. Very professional.

The DJ was great.

Thank you thank you thank you for making it a night to remember for all the right reasons.
Comment on this reader review

Sanchia Beard
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, December 20, 2011

We turned up on a Saturday evening without a booking after walking out of Alfresco (see review on Alfresco). We asked to sit outside to make the most of the last of the sunshine and the waiter quickly accomodated us with an outside table.

From the moment we arrived the service and attitude of the staff couldn't have been more helpful and different to what we had encountered at Alfresco. Wine and water was quickly brought out, we have recently moved to Brighton so had a couple of questions on the menu which they helpfully answered.

We shared a starter, a main each (really good pasta and 'proper' pizza), a bottle of wine, water and (excellent) service and the bill was well under under £40.

I can't wait to visit again, it is everything an Italian restaurant should be.
Comment on this reader review

Sarah - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Great Food and attentive, efficiant freindly service. Al Duomo, stepped into the breach when my freinds wedding reception had to be re-located to Al Duomo within a week of the wedding. Al Duomo were terrific. So great for private parties but also great food for standard dining.
Comment on this reader review

Caroline Simpson
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, September 30, 2011

Well I had the most fantastic evening and I believe it was all pulled together at short notice. I also managed to leave my handbag behind and just collected the next day with no issue.
Comment on this reader review

Adele Olds
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Thursday, September 29, 2011

THE BEST VENUE IN BRIGHTON AND WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!

We where let down a week and a half before our wedding with our venu. Al Duomo was mentioned and we gave Alberto a call and they were free to be able to help us.

Alberto was so good and he sorted every thing from start to end and made our special day amazing for both my self and my partner and also all my guests.

On the day the staff were all friendly and helpful and I can not fault in any way. All the food was piping hot and the most amazing food and the deserts where to die for.

There is nothing I can fault with Al Duomo, they where just the best venu I have ever been to and they made my whole day one to remember for the rest of my life. I would never go any where else for future functions and would recommend to any one else.
Comment on this reader review

Adam Clark - Brighton
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, September 28, 2011

I had the most amazing 21st party - I will never forget it!! The staff were extremely accommodating (Patrick especially was very lovely). There is nothing which could have improved my party from the food to the lighting, the staff to the set up of the room. It was everything I had hoped for and more.

I recommend Al Duomo's to anyone who needs somewhere for a party or just for the food!
Comment on this reader review

Tanwen Morgan
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, September 26, 2011

I don't usually do these things online but if I complained to restaurant they might invite me back and I'd rather not go back to be honest so thought it might be better to put something on here.

My family has been going here for years and to be honest it's gone down hill and finally hit rock bottom this weekend. I order a pizza that had simple ingredients, parma ham, oregano, mozzerella and another unstated cheese and it looked like a good option. What I recieved was quite the opposite.

My pizza looked like a tesco value cheese and tomato pizza that someone had thrown about 10 small ham lardons in the middle of and partially cooked it. The cheese didn't go to the edge, there was no mozzerella and no oregano, and it definitely wasn't Parma ham.

I asked for the menu and then told the waiter what the problems were to which he said the same thing twice - "do want to change it sir". I said of course and ten minutes later the ultimate pizza arrived. A work of art, real slices of Parma ham, fresh oregano, mozzerella and another cheese all the way to the edge and the base cooked so it wasn't soggy.

Although they obviously worked a little harder on this one my annoyance is that there is such a marked difference between what they thought they could get away and what I got after I complain that the more I've thought about it, the cheekier it seems.

There was no argument from them that the 1st dish was way below standard and by the production of the 2nd pizza they obviosuly know what is expected so why let the first one leave the kitchen? I felt that they only cared because I complained and perhaps everyone that orders a pizza now gets a rubbish one and if they complain they then put some effort it.

They then questioned why we didn;t want to pay the service! I receieved no apology for the 1st pizza or any offer of a free coffee or desert which I would expect from a restaurant that only has items below £8 on the menu.

I wouldn't go here again based on the lack of standards and the fact they seem to know what they serve isn't very good.
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Monday, August 08, 2011

Last weekend, around 25 of us went to Al Duomo. We'd been able to book it at relatively short notice so we weren't expecting it to be great... but as it turns out, "not great" doesn't quite cover it.

We were absolutely CRAMMED onto our table on the top floor - fair enough, they'd squeezed us in at the last minute after all - but over the whole meal they failed to remove any of the extra wineglasses, cutlery or even the olive plates and bread baskets so we had to do a lot of shuffling to make room for our meals.

Service was fast but far from friendly; there's something very off-putting about a glaring waiter standing over you waiting for you to finish your main course. Our waiter seemed to have issues with personal space, too; the way he insisted on kissing the birthday girl and stroked my back every time he went past was unpleasant. He made it pretty clear that my choosing a starter dish as my main course was inconvenient (although it was difficult to see how), and my request to have cream with my dessert instead of icecream was apparently just too much for him; I got the icecream anyway, but with literally a teaspoon of that frothy artificial cream you buy in spray cans. I was particularly amused when he failed to bring sugar for my partner's espresso, disappeared for ten minutes, and then actually told my partner "well you should have asked sooner" when he was told that the espresso had gone cold waiting for sugar; needless to say, he did NOT offer to replace it. The other waiting staff spoke little English, and seemed frequently to have no idea what dish they were serving.

Anyway, to the food. I had the Bresaola, which turned out to be a good choice as you can't get taking stuff out of a packet very wrong. It was served with olive oil, lemon juice, rocket and - unexpectedly since it wasn't on the menu, although it wasn't a problem - mascarpone, and was actually quite nice. My friends' pizzas were a mixed bag; from what I could gather the toppings were mostly fine if a bit bog-standard, but some of the bases were tough as if they'd been microwaved. The only meat dish our table had was the shank of lamb, which was TINY but apparently tasted OK, and was served with packet roasties and gravy - fine in a pub, a bit ridiculous when it's costing you fifteen quid. My partner's pasta was frankly rubbish, and in spite of gluten-free pasta being offered on the menu his request had apparently been ignored. The sauce was basically cream and tiny, slightly suspect cubes of very-reconstituted-looking chicken - with lots of pepper and parmesan it was at best edible. Desserts were standard bought-in fare; apart from the above-mentioned problem with the cream, the only complaint was that some of them were maybe a little stale.

All in all, I wouldn't bother again. I'd expect better food for less money than Al Duomo charges, and the manners of the staff - especially our main waiter - were really pretty objectionable.
Comment on this reader review

Lucy
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Wednesday, March 30, 2011

This is probably my least favourite Italian restaurant in Brighton. Both Al Duomo and Picassos are the worst Italians in town for food, with everything I've had there bearing an uncanny resemblance to something from a school canteen. Picassos, however has friendly staff. Al Duomo does not. When I was here last, a waiter carrying chocolate cake rubbed off my shirt covering it in chocolate. Rather than apologising, I was blamed for being in the way, even though I was sitting in the same position I had sat for the past hour. I was told they were out of certain dishes, but then saw other customers receive these after me. Terrible food, even worse service. But the decor is quite nice, so there is potential if they could train their staff on basic manners, and replace the microwave with a chef!
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Thursday, December 09, 2010

We love Al Duomo's! It's easy to get to - only about 10 minutes walk from Brighton station and five minutes from the sea-front. There's a seating area outside, which is great in the summer. Inside it's one of the most relaxing places to sit and have a drink and/or eat that I know. The staff are really friendly and helpful and we never feel under pressure to hurry our meals and move on! There's a variety of menus to choose from - both a la carte and cheaper set menus (all on the website) which still have lots to chose from and are fantastic value. One of the set menus (not available Friday or Saturday) is only £7.95 for two courses or £9.95 for three - combine this with the Happy Hour 2 for 1 cocktails and it's the best deal you can get! There's a side-room that you can book at no extra cost for a special occasion if your party wants its own area. It's also child-friendly and wheelchair-accessible. Highly recommended!
Comment on this reader review

S Williams
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, December 01, 2010