The Yummy Guide: The Best Italian Restaurants In Guildford
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For any student living in Guildford at our amazing accommodation, you’ll have everything you’ll ever need to make a comfortable home during your stay at university.
We find that most students want to know about good nights out and where to get some great food on nights when they want something a little fancier than whatever’s in the kitchen cupboard.
There are some really tasty Italian restaurants in Guildford, and this is a short guide about where to find them, what you can expect to eat, and how close they are to your student home and your classes at the University of Surrey.
1. Positano
124a High Street
Just a 20-minute walk from our lovely student accommodation in Guildford, Positano is a classic Italian restaurant that delivers an authentic taste of Italia to residents.
The restaurant itself is elegant in aesthetic, with wood panels inside a beautiful Elizabethan building.
Expect a warm welcome in a relaxing environment that is casual yet stylish, with all the classic dishes.
The Food
What you want from an Italian restaurant in Guildford (well, an Italian restaurant anywhere!) is to know that the basics are covered.
At Positano you can expect classic pizza and pasta dishes that are of the highest quality.
Using local produce the experienced chefs know how to cater for any occasion and for every taste.
We’d start the night with the rustichella flatbread with mozzarella, goats cheese and caramelised onion for £5.45.
For mains between a couple of people, the spaghetti al pomodoro fresco for fresh, simple pasta for just £8.25 or the Picante pizza with all the spicy meats at £10.50.
Positano has a set lunch menu offer, 2 courses for just £10.95, so dig in!
The Reviews
- “As soon as you walk in you are warmly welcomes into the beautiful restaurant. The menu is wonderful, and the food is faultless.”
- “Has to be the best restaurant in Guildford for both food and service.”
- “Make sure you book well in advance, because it’s always very busy.”
2. Olivo
53 Quarry Street
A 25-minute walk between Olivo and your student home in Guildford, allowing you a pleasant walk home after a hearty meal at this classic Italian restaurant.
Housed in a 17th-century building with exposed beams and stripped floors, this beautiful restaurant offers the best of Italian food by Italian chefs.
The Food
Olivo base their cuisines on three basic principles of Italian style, a modern interpretation of the food and the use of fresh ingredients of the highest quality.
The team never compromise on these principles, delivering the very best in Italian food, modernising and creating innovative interpretations of classic dishes without losing the heart and flavour.
For us, there is nothing better than sharing a fritto misto Italiano for £12.50 to start a meal off, savouring spinach and ricotta ravioli, arancini, chickpea and cheese fritters with a marinara sauce.
When it’s time for a main, try out the tagliatelle alfredo as a creamy mushroom dish for £9.95 or a pollo pepperoni for £14.50 (a delicious, pan-fried chicken breast cooked with sweet peppers, olives, cherry tomatoes, a chilli sauce, and roasted potatoes.
The Reviews
Olivo is a firm favourite with lovers of Italian food in Guildford, as these reviews show:
- “Great independent Italian restaurant. Always super friendly and the food is great. Great range of vegetarian and vegan dishes as well.”
- “Exquisite tastes of Italy. Simply the best in Guildford, No, make that all of Surrey!”
- “Amazing as always. I’ve been there a couple of times and it is by far my fave place. Food and wine are delicious even though I always have the same: the special carbonara with seafood pasta! Highly recommended
3. Carlo’s Trattoria
Shere Road, Newland’s Corner
A ten-minute taxi ride or a leisurely walk for just over an hour from our student accommodation, Carlo’s Trattoria might not be in the centre of town, but it is easily one of the best Italian restaurants in Guildford.
It is a spacious dining room with a modern bar that serves up some amazing set lunch deals and incredible Mediterranean cuisine.
The Food
Carlo’s provides an ever-changing specials board that has all the fresh fish and seafood that you can imagine, including calamari fritti, octopus carpaccio, king prawns, sumptuous fillets of seabass and much more.
Keep an eye on the latest specials to see what’s coming up. Before lockdown the set menu was a real winner with regulars, offering up a 3-course menu for just £23 per person.
Enjoy an antipasti to start, a chicken Milanese for mains and a delicious tiramisu for pudding. During lockdown, Carlo’s has also been offering chilled and frozen dishes for collection in generous portion sizes.
The Reviews
Carlo’s has been getting some rave reviews, before and during lockdown in 2020/2021:
- “Top notch. Exceptional service and four course meal. Extremely good value for money and such friendly and attentive staff.”
- “Fabulous service. First visit to Carlo’s and will definitely return. Excellent food and lovely staff. A lovely evening out.”
- “We’ve just eaten the most fantastic takeaway from Carlo’s. Five of us had different main courses and each of them was easy to prepare, full of taste and perfectly filling. When this is all over we are looking forward to booking a table.
4. Shardana
188 High Street, Bakers Yard
Just a 20-minute walk between the High Street and your student accommodation in Guildford, Shardana is a contemporary Italian restaurant that offers up fantastic stone-baked pizzas and fresh pasta.
It is a family-run restaurant that offers a genuine taste of Italy and is great for a group meal with friends, a family party or an intimate setting with a date.
The Food
Shardana is a great place for lovers of seafood, with fresh seafood delivered daily that helps them to create a truly mouth-watering menu.
For us though, this place is all about the stone-baked pizzas that are as authentic as anything you would see out of Naples, sourcing the highest quality of ingredients from the boot.
The pizza menu ranges from a margherita at under £9 up to a Tata’s spicy pizza with all the spicy meats at £15.50.
The Reviews
For pizza and pasta there are few better Italian restaurants in Guildford better than Shardana:
- “Popped in for lunch and after walking past so many times really pleased to have made it in. What a find!!!! So very authentic. Food amazing, Staff very attentive. You must try amaretti ice cream. The best!”
- “Best restaurant in Guildford – authentic Italian pasta! The pasta is the best you will find in Guildford and beyond – always freshly made – this is really important in my opinion as many places use dried! A true independent gem J”
- “Just like Italy. I was transported back to my childhood visits to see my grand par in Napoli at this restaurant. This is how real Italian food tastes.”
Students living in Guildford have a whole range of incredible restaurants, cafés and bars to enjoy during their years studying at the University of Surrey.
If you love your pizza and pasta and a little touch of the Tuscan sun, we hope you find our guide to Italian restaurants in Guildford helpful.
There are some great restaurants to choose from, with local independents offering heart and warmth at every bite.
