Review Tutto Bene Restaurant Pizzeria - Christchurch

Great place to have dinner with friends, very good food and excellent service, good price, the order came quickly and the dessert was divine (Frangipani Tart), I ordered a Lasagna and my wife a Penne Carbonara and fried Polenta and all three were delicious , our friends ordered Affogato amaretto and Spaghetti Roberto which was delicious (it will be our next order soon) in addition to the good food and great service, the restaurant is very beautiful. I recommend!

We had an early dinner which was fine. Our table was beside the desk with booking schedule and menus so all new guests were waiting beside our table to be seated. 2 of us had a pasta dish and we were not offered any parmesan cheese while the staff went around other tables with it. Beside that, the food was lovely. We will come back but later on in the evening probably

Three of us decided to head out for a meal at Tutto Bene, my wife and youngest daughter really enjoy pasta at restaurants. They had the lasagne, and Penne Carbonnara, and I had the Ribeye Steak. We all enjoyed our main meals and were keen to try dessert. I chose the Thyme & Orange Cake with fig ice cream...so rich and delicious. My daughter picked Fondente al Cioccolato, and my wife picked the Limoncello Tiramisu which could have fed all three of us! The whole dinner we were being served by the great wait staff at Tutto Bene and the owner was wondering around making sure everyone was happy! Apologies, only one photo, too busy enjoying the food. BTW I was so happy with the dessert menu. So often you get amazing mains and a choice of sticky date pudding, sorbet, and cheesecake. But these were non-standard well thought out desserts to top off the great menu. I have previously enjoyed the calzone but am going through a steak phase. Thanks for a great night!

Great atmosphere, amazing pizza and service. Highly recommended and will definitely go again.

Great food and hospitality. They do carbonara the authentic way and not with heavy cream and bacon. Pizza toppings were fresh and dough was thin and crispy.

A perfect place to dine with great hospitality. Lily was one of the friendly host serving at our table and recommended good options. She was very helpful in selecting dishes and made us very comfortable throughout our dinner experience. Good on you guys!!! Keep it up, will visit back soon.

Food was generally great, a couple of my friends found there main a bit on the small size, but another had over ordered! Tiramisu was big, but could have had more of a kick. We were on the street side, so not particularly atmospheric, but then we make our own😌

The online booking system is fantastic. I made a mistake with the table number and did another booking. I received an email within an hour for both bookings and was able to cancel the one we did not want. I do find the restaurant space noisy - but that is true for many eateries. ( I wear two hearing aids) The food is really good - like really good. Highly recommend

Oh my! Tutto Bene you do not disappoint! We were a walk in on Friday night, we felt welcomed straight away and although we didn't have a booking and the restaurant was nearly full, we were taken to a table straight away. The food was fast, fresh, hot and delicious! We had arachini, cabonara and canneloni. Everything was wonderful and the wine perfect. I was surprised and impressed to see a full plant based menu! I was already planning my next visit before we had finished dinner 😁 I was so full, but tempted by the tiramisu and the wonderful staff arranged it for takeaway so we could enjoy it at home. Such a brilliant night out, friendly, fabulous staff and beautiful food. Already looking forward to coming back xox

Honestly the best vegan margarita pizza I've ever had. So fresh and tasty! Staff are great too and a lovely vibe. Our family eat out at Tutto Bene at least one a month.

Amazing food, and such friendly service- we had such a laugh! Everyone was so kind and amazing. Definitely recommend this beautiful place! Absolutely exceptional 🤍

2011 was my 1st visit, after 11 years, i came again with my family. Food was so good we never forgotten this place. Its taste remain exactly the same after so many years. Loved the ambiance and hospitality. Will come over again as we are now in New Zealand. I would recommend this place for authenthic italian food.

There for my daughters 11th birthday. Food was great, excellent and simple kids menu and they made her feel special and grownup. They bought her ice cream with a candle and sung happy birthday. She was chuffed.

We had a celebratory dinner for ten at Tutto Bene, including 4 children. It was friendly and a great atmosphere, even with a 530 booking. The kids menu was great ... Portions were a little big for our lot but they were 7 and under. The rest of the food was excellent, we especially loved the gnocchi and pappardelle ragu, and the carpaccio. Would recommend this spot for casual and celebration dinners for any sort of group, family, friends, dates etc.

Tutto Bene is an excellent restaurant with a pleasant and very happy and very buoyant atmosphere. Great Italian food with a comprehensive range of drinks. They even have a vegan menu. The seafood fettuccine was really very nice and very filling. Pays to book so you are not disappointed. Totally recommend this place as a must go. We came back the day after they re-opened on August 1st 2020. We were geeted at the door and made to feel most welcome. Again a superb meal in a relaxed atmosphere. I don't say this if I don't mean it but this place is a 'must go'!

I have always loved this restaurant and have raved about it on my vegan pages as being one of the best. Especially since they got the vegan menu. I was shocked when going with a friend a week or two ago and the owner upon seeing I had the vegan menu said loudly "you aren't vegan are you? and proceeded to grab my upper arm as if to say (you need meat on your bones). I said "yes I am and what is wrong with that?. He made a scoffing noise. Then I couldn't believe it but he yelled at the top of his voice across the busy restaurant "a couple of fillet steaks over here please". I was shocked. If I hadn't been there with a friend catching up for her birthday I would have walked out. If you are going to have a specific vegan menu then I would hope you wouldn't be treating every vegan coming into the restaurant in this disrespectful manner.

We are from Italy and we went for the first and last time yesterday in this restaurant. The food was old, and very low quality. The portion was very small and the wine expensive for no reason, the salami, ham and salmon lower quality than pak'n save. We were very desapointed , we will never back. This restaurant is the shame for the italian cuisine.

Truly you must go! One of the best tiramisu ever but I can’t fault the gnocchi at all.. I’ll be back .. such lovely staff

Wasn't the best my steak was cold as well as my vegetables the vegetables was not fresh and I felt like the waitress was trying to hurry us all to get out while we were still eating none of us even got offered dessert menus what a shame

Both of my friends' meals had a hair in them and the waitress tried to tell us that it wasn't from the kitchen because they wear hats. She inferred that the hair was from us although the meals had just been put down when the hair was found. Also we don't have long black hair. Nothing was offered to them (they didn't even get new meals!) Yuck! Also $10.50 corkage!

I went in this restaurant, I had very bad experience. Food was disgusting and I found a hair in the plate. The bread was not fresh, vegetables probably from cans. Very disappointed.

The "Best Ever" Lasagne was far from it .... found it difficult to find the Pasta or Meat .... was more like a Shepherds Pie with Pasta and Cheese on top .... waitress said they had recently changed the recipe and it is different isn't it .... My suggestion is change it back ASAP. Fettuccine Carbonara on the other hand was excellent.

Super Italian restaurant just down the road from our hotel ... friendly owner and the pasta meals we had were really delicious... sad we were rushing to take in the history of the place

Loved this place- great food, authentic and great atmosphere

Eat here tonight for the first, but definitely not the last, time. Excellent food and service. We lived in Italy for 6 years, so we're a little picky about our Italian food. Would recommend to anyone

Had takeaway from here tonight. The spag bol was really good. $24 so ok price for a good takeaway meal. Also ordered a garlic bread which was $9. For $9 I'd expect good garlic bread. What I received was a very small loaf, just larger than a cell phone, which seemed stale, had no garlic, and was put into the container on top of some mesculine greens. Really unusual and it let down the whole meal. For the price I would expect better, attention to detail let it down. Had been once before and food was good, service was average at best, waited ages for drinks and to be offered drinks and wasn't offered dessert. I was seated right by the door which every time it opened let in freezing cold air. Thought I would try takeaway with some friends but that will be the last time...

Went for my first meal last night loved the food loved the restaurant ... staff were very attentive would Def go back ...

By far the best Italian restaurant we have ever been too! Very authentic, do recommend.

My favourite Italian earery in NZ!! The atmosphere is alwyas perfect and the food is even better!!

One of the best places for evening dinner really nice Flavours

I had a wonderful experience tonight :) the staff seemed so happy and cheerful made it so much better. The food was amazing :) it was well worth the 15 min wait and also well worth the price! I couldn't have it any other way! Keep up with the good work men and women! Ya all perfect Stupefacente!

My wife and I went for dinner last night. I've never had a bad experience and the pizza's are awesome!!

This place is one my of my favourite Italian spots in the city service is always good and the food is consistent - try the beef short rib ravioli and the scallops with pea purée and prosciutto

Amazing service! Me and my friends were just looking for a quick pizza and that’s what we got! We were looked after and made sure that our pizza came out fast and efficiently (and tasty!!). The staff are so incredibly nice and we will definitely be coming here again x<br/>

Pizza wasn't great, and i'm not hard to impress. The base was dry and tasted like it came from Countdown. Only reason they have 2 stars is because the chips were awesome and they were friendly.

What an amazing place...was here with a colleague and my managers for dinner last night and it was awesome!!! Great food, lovely young waitress who had a great sense of humour, fantastic vibe and for a Monday night it was busy (shows it really is a great place) can’t wait to visit again when back in Christchurch..

Absolutely love this place!! The beef and mushroom ravioli is to die for, and the lemon tart was absolutely delicious. Would recommend to anyone!

The food was really good and arrived promptly. The overall vibe was really good and the staff were great. I dined alone but there we a range of other groups including young families. I would definitely recommend this to anyone wanting a nice meal out. They also do take out pizza which must be quite popular as there was a lot of pizza boxes getting collected.

Nice atmosphere, and relativelay good service, specially the lady who was in charge. The meal on the other hand was not good at all. Every thing was tasteless, too much olive oil made all the dishes taste the same. If there was a chef in the kitchen, she/he couldnt care less about the meal being served to costumers. <br/>

Delicious Food and very friendly staff. great option of Gluten free , vegan and D. free food. spaghetti pasta ,Bruschetta Classic and beef ravioli  were perfect.

Tutto Bene has, for as long as I can remember, been the place my family goes to for birthday dinners. We visited this little slice of Italy on Thursday for mum's birthday and somehow we'd forgotten to make a reservation. They were very understanding and assured us they had a spare table even though the restaurant looked packed! They showed us to a table near the front which has a relaxed Venetian summer vibe that is enhanced by the red and green checkered table cloths. <br/><br/>The front of house are friendly, attentive and extremely helpful - they'd probably even help your nan cross the road! The service is extremely quick too with drinks in hand before one of us could even mutter a sentence. If you're like me and love to hear what the specials are, you do need to prompt the waiter a little bit to find out, but once we asked he was away. After we had our mains on the table it seemed our waiter changed without notice which was a shame as my partner had already developed a running joke with the first one. <br/><br/>For dinner we ordered a Montanara pizza, Funghi pizza and a Ribeye Medium-Rare with a mushroom, red wine sauce. Let me just say the the pizzas are HUGE! The medio size does two people comfortably with 4 slices each or the grande has 12 slices if you're starving. The steak was the best steak I have ever had in Christchurch, even topping Bloody Mary's. It was a perfect Medium-Rare and you could really tell the chef cared. The steak also came with a creamy potato gratin and grilled veggies on the size. What impressed me more was that the meats on the menu are sourced from Traiteurs Butchery just across the road. Supporting local businesses gives this place big brownie points from me.<br/><br/>Like I said before, Tutto Bene has always been a family favourite. From the faultless food to the authentic decor.. I recommend visiting Tutto Bene when you're next in Merivale and spend the evening in Italy.

Lovely staff and fantastic food. The scallops, beef ravioli and cannelloni were perfect. Save room for the dessert, it's a must! Even the whipped cream tasted amazing.

Had a really nice experience here. The service was good and the food was great!! Definitely a great place to go if you want to enjoy good food and the ambience was great. Will definitely go again 😄

I love Italian food ... you may even notice that I cling ever so firmly to the fact that somewhere way back in my family lays ties to Italian ancestry, making me feel like a virtual expert on Italian food, which I am not, BUT I do know what I like and what I don't.<br/><br/>Despite the ever so small smidgen of Italian blood that I possess and the remnants of that family being told in my very Italian first name, I wont ever claim that food tastes authentically Italian because until I have been to Italy and tried a number of places, I cannot claim to authenticity.<br/><br/>I have however dined a few times at Soprano in Wellington, which is at least on the appearance of it, very authentic and cooked by a talented Italian chef.<br/><br/>Anyway ... Tutto Bene gave me the impression that I could expect a lot from them. The place is always busy and buzzing with a lot of people and the tables are decorated to also look very Italian-esque. <br/><br/>My wife ordered the Salmone Pizza and I had the lasagne, which is apparently the best ever. The serving on my plate looked large and my wife's pizza look delicious, but the that's where the positive comments kind of end. My lasagne was incredibly bland. I found it to be lacking in flavour and my wife had a similar issue with her pizza.<br/><br/>I did end up taking a lot of that lasagne home to be honest, and I added a few things to it to improve the flavour much later on.<br/><br/>Twas a disappointing outcome for a meal that we were both very much looking forward to, but Tutto Bene just fell short of the mark we were hoping to achieve.<br/><br/>In saying that, we would both return to try other dishes or to see whether it was just a bad night.

It's hard to know how to rate this place.  I've had so many mixed experiences here. My first few (several years ago), were mostly awful.  In recent months we've been a few times and it's been very good.  The food has been delicious, the service has been friendly and it's generally been really enjoyable.  But I have a HUGE CONCERN with their complete lack of understanding (or care?) when it comes to the term "GLUTEN FREE".  My 13yr old daughter has been diagnosed 'highly gluten intolerant' (it makes her skin itch, gives her awful stomach cramps & headaches - and the effects last for days, if not weeks).  However when she ordered a main meal, listed as GF, she asked me to double check with them that it would be GF.  I felt like we were being a little pedantic but asked our waitress anyway.  She checked with the chef and came back with this: "The chef said it's mostly gluten free, it's just been lightly dusted in flour".  I asked "you mean corn-flour, right?", "No", she replied..."just a light coating of normal (wheat) flour". ?!?!? This is a SERIOUS OVERSIGHT on the restaurant's behalf!!!<br/><br/>** It's always so nice when you find a restaurant that provides gluten free options, but the menu at Tutto Bene can unfortunately not be trusted.  I'd love to eat there again soon and the meal that my daughter did end up with was delicious, but you MUST ASK if you seriously need a gluten free meal- do not go by the casually inserted "GF" sign alongside the meal you choose- it may not be gluten free whatsoever!?!?! **

I had fish here one time and I felt a bit sick after, I haven't been back since. I'll probably go back because I loved the atmosphere here and they were really friendly, I could of felt unwell for a number of reasons so I won't write the place off until I try it again :)

Sorry but not at all enjoyable. Doughy crust and bland toppings made it my worst pizza in a long time. Not sure if I can get past that to bother trying this place again.

Great Italian food at a very good price for Christchurch. About 21 bucks for the posillipo pasta. Tons of fresh seafood and a sauce with some zing. Atmosphere great too. The waiter was not on the ball but overall an excellent experience. Go there.

I would arguably say this is the best pizza joint in all of Christchurch. The place is always hopping come dinner time, so I definitely recommend a booking. In the summer months they have "dining al Fresco" in their back courtyard. Though it is tucked under umbrellas and right along a little creek, it is patio seating in a parking lot by dumpsters. Not totally my thing. However, the rest of the restaurant has plenty of seating for groups or intimate date settings as well as casual tables up front. <br/><br/>The pizza is FANTASTIC. The Cantadina, Margherita, Pollo Pesto and Quattro Formaggi are among my favorites. Di Carne and Umbria are my partner's. He prefers bold flavors like black olives and meat while I am after the cheese and basil. My dad has ordered the traditional spaghetti (bolognese) and our whole family had to dig in and eat some of it. The Della Casa salad is a great salad to split to add some more greens to the meal. The waiters will gladly help you pair a great wine with your meal if you ask.<br/><br/>The service is efficient as they need to keep the tables turning over and if you call for takeaway, as I do frequently, the order will be ready in 20 minutes. Though the price is a bit steep for a pizza, you have to remember that you're paying for the best (and the cost of overhead in Merivale). This is a great date night spot or a great place to order takeaway for your family on a weekday night. The food is quality every single time and made with love, the true Italian way.

Great restaurant, like stepping in Italy. Atmosphere was lively and energetic, the Italian maitre d' is rather funny. Food was delicious, authentic and generous servings. Can be a tad noisy for the hard of hearing but it adds to the ambiance. My wife enjoys the fish of the day when we go. Ask to be seated in the back part which is slightly more intimate.

atmosphere is great, like a casual italian dining experience, but that's as far as they go. ravioli was bland, the risoto tasted like it was just boiled in salt water. pizza was pretty good but overpriced for something basic. if you're looking for authentic italian this is not the place.