Sotto Sotto

OK, going to play the outlier here. The weird thing is, we agree with alot of the other commenters. There are way too many people standing around watching you. The whole thing DOES feel like you’re in a theater production (Scene: Italian Restaurant stereotype).
We just don’t care for that. It was entirely too contrived; and the food really wasn’t that good. My wife started out with the potato and leek soup. I’m sorry, but I have made many, many Potato and Leek soups and eaten even more… There were no potatoes. It tasted like chicken stock that had been simmered with leeks. The Italian «charcuterie» platter was entirely provincial. A couple pieces of salami and prosciutto and two small pieces of toasted bread (literally the bread basket bread put in a toaster). Not sure if they were gearing it towards less adventurous British tastes, but you could pick up all the stuff at a Tesco Express.
The mains were at least as underwhelming. The wife had shrimp and fettuccine. I had the hare ragout with pappardelle. Again… basic and boring. The olives used in the shrimp dish were waaaay too salty. The pappardelle wasn’t cooked properly and ended up being chewy.
I guess the point is… if you want to go to an expensive-​y Italian restaurant. Go to one. If you want to go to an economic restaurant that does a couple of simple dishes really well, go there. Don’t go to an economical restaurant trying to be an expensive restaurant.

Great service and food. This place does have a posh feel to it and sometimes the waiters seem to over do it on the friendliness and service. I constantly felt I was being watched as I ate or drank but of course that meant when your drink needs to be refilled or you are ready for the check they know instantly. The food was excellent, and we visited for a friend’s birthday and they made that really special. Definitely visit here if you want good food and attentive if not sometimes over attentive service.

(Visiting from the U.S.)
No words needed other than: «Get here!»
From the moment we walked in, the staff was fantastic!
Great atmosphere in the low-​light vault. Everything on the menu seemed ideal.
Went for chicken and sausage and could not have been happier. The starter salad my wife ordered was «the best I’ve ever had!» Her pasta meal was excellent as well.
We had made reservations on Jan for a Feb dinner and let it be known that our son was having his 9^th birthday. They asked if it was alright to sing to him and it was more than alright! The staff treated us as if we were celebrities.
Six stars for the staff!

Good food, great ambiance and setting, very interesting and obscure location, and almost too-​friendly staff. This place was one of the most interesting dining experiences I’ve had in a while.
It’s a challenge to find the right door after realizing its down a staircase and deep under the street level. It looks very nice inside and appears quite fancy, but you very quickly start to feel like they’re trying way too hard. The people were incredibly friendly, although oddly too much so. The whole thing felt like we were in some hyper-​real movie where you walk in and six people are creepily waiting to greet you and smiling claiming that there was one reservation cancellation perfectly timed to your arrival. They have fancy menu items that are very reasonably priced for how classy the place is trying to appear.
Anyway, the food was good. It’s not a life-​changing meal and i’ve certainly had better pasta, but for 10 pounds it was a pretty good value, and they gave us free flavored shots at the end, for some reason. The other images on Unilocal looked better than our food, but it was still good enough to recommend, if anything mainly for the cool classy-​upscale-​dungeon atmosphere.

I lived in England (Oxford) for a year and this was truly the best meal and by far the best service I’ve had in all of my time there! Lovely setting, reasonable prices, fantastic food, a great wine list, and attentive and friendly staff. I had lunch there with my parents who also loved the place. We were lucky to get in without a reservation, but I would recommend reserving to ensure you can get a table!

The best Italian food I’ve ever eaten. Lovely staff amazing atmosphere and reasonable prices. The very best place in bath. The only negative… its quite a waiting list for a table!

Amazing dining experience. Truly great food as many others have mentioned, but the service is even better. One of the most attentive dining services I have experienced, without feeling as though we were being rushed, even during busy dinner service. I’ve paid multiples more for this combination of food, service and ambiance. A must when you are in bath, but get reservations if you can! We had tried but no reservations were available; we stopped by to see if anything had opened up and were seated due to a cancellation.

Just perfect in every aspect. The best Italian restaurant I have visited in the past year. The food is outstanding and the interior decorations is a perfect match for the food. The waiters are very nice and polite. I will definitely visit again before leaving bath.

This was an excellent meal. Walking down below street level I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect but found a tastefully decorated interior in what are apparently old coal storage rooms and were originally flood rooms.
The homemade focaccia served prior to the main courses was delicious, and the sausage and spinach orecchiette which I had as a main was even better. No time for dessert sadly, but the complimentary shot of limoncello to finish off the meal was a welcome end to the experience. Service was very good throughout, and I will absolutely be going back here when I’m next in Bath.

This place is hands down the best food we’ve had in Bath, and some of the best pasta I’ve ever had. The food was amazing and the atmosphere was incredibly unique. Cheers to the friendly staff!

Service — fantastic! I think we were greeted by at least six people on the way to our table!
Ambiance — sexy! Btw learned some Italian — ‘sotto’ means ‘under’
Food — pretty darn good. We got lasagne sotto sotto and pasta of the day (fettucine with pesto and goat cheese), then finished with tiramisu. Very satisfied.

We had a small mixed salad and she had lasagna I the rack of lamb. It was all outstanding. Staff were very attentive and efficient. A perfect outing in a very interesting venue. Make a reservation.

I can’t find a fault in anything about this place! The staff are incredible. The restaurant itself is a cave-​like space, which seems to be situated underneath the road above. I noticed a tiny window near our table, and realised it must be looking out onto bath park. Food was amazing. Prawns to start and risotto of the day. So tasty! We got Pinot grigi wine which was lovely and light. Can’t wait to go back!

Our dining experience at Sotto Sotto was exceptionally good… On a damp, rainy, early evening in Bath, Sotto Sotto was a welcoming, calming and very high quality grotto-​like retreat hidden away below street level that served excellent food at a good price with brilliant level of service.
The service was exceptional — possibly the best service I have had in a UK restaurant. We where greeted at the door by a friendly staff member, who took our coats and bags and made us feel at home right away. Later, we where given recommendations on what to eat and had a really good chat about the food and the restaurant with the waiter. At the end of the meal we received a complimentary measure of Martini and when we bid fair-​well we received a few tips on what to see in the local area. We left feeling that the staff really cared about our experience.
The starter dish and the main courses where excellent — if a little on the small side. We both had pasta dishes (one vegetarian). The ingredients where fresh and zesty and the pasta was cooked to perfection.
Everything was reasonably priced. Our starter (cheeseboard /​sharing platter) cost around £7 and the mains where about £8 each. We shared a bottle of wine that was £18.
You’ll probably need two courses to fill you up nicely and we where warned that bookings are taken sometimes up to two months in advance — I guess as a walk-​in, we where lucky with our timing.
Overall, I can’t recommend Sotto Sotto highly enough. If you’re in Bath — check it out.

Best British restaurant ever! I will definitely come again next time I trip to bath. The seafood pasta and the pizza is soooo good!
Rui :)

We’ve been to Sotto Sotto twice now. Both times we’ve been, the service, food and atmosphere has been unbeatable.
The staff are incredibly friendly.
They make you feel very welcome, and no matter how busy it is, they make time to chat. Arched dining rooms below road level, give a perfect evening for both groups & couples. You will need to book well in advance though (2 – 3 months ?) for Friday & Saturday evenings, due to it’s popularit.
but Antonio the Manager is very helpful & friendly.
The food is cooked to perfection, there is a lot of choice in the menu, and it’s also somehow really good value!
The atmosphere is intimate and relaxing.
This is one of the best restaurants I’ve been to, I can’t wait to go back!

The resturant is located underground you would walk on by and not realise where it is. Accessed from steps from the main road. The whole place is located in tunnel like room with brick walls interiors and candle lit room. Only heard really good reviews of this place and have been there a couple of times now. Both times as good as the last.
Italian is my fav and to eat in such a good place and very friendly staff too who take your coats on way in and are very welcoming.
They do pizzas, pastas, meat, fish and great choice of starters and desserts. All amazing tastes. Top quality food and wine. Lots of birthdays celebrated here in the times ive been, and the staff come out clapping and signing happy bday in italian which is a nice touch if your out for a occassion.
You will need to book in advance but this place is must for all italian lovers :)

If I could give 6 stars I would! Here’s why:
My wife and I walked in at 6:30 without a reservation and the house was packed, but we lucked out that a table had just opened up due to a last minute cancellation. The restaurant is delightfully charming, set in a cave-​like structure below street level with arched stone walls and passageways between rooms. The gracious manager, Antonio, later explained to us that the facility was originally used as a coal cellar for the home above it in prior generations but had been cleaned and outfitted with luxurious amenities to make it well suited as a 5-​star dining establishment that it is today.
At the table our waiter recommended a great bottle of Valpolicella wine, and we ordered caprese and the beet salad to start. Antonio stopped by our table to check on us and offered balsamic and olive oil to go with the house-​made tomato focaccia – yum! The caprese was delicious, garnished with olives, pickled peppers, olive oil, and basil. The greens in the beet salad were fresh and crisp, the beets were served warm, and the dressing was excellent.
For our main course we shared an absolutely dreamy butternut squash and goat cheese cannelloni dish (three cannelloni served in one order) and perfectly prepared garlic & parmesan sautéed spinach side. The amaretto dark chocolate mousse was a perfect dessert to finish our meal – decadent, thick chocolate mousse with just a hint of amaretto.
Bonus: our waiter delivered two chilled shots of house-​made Limoncello to top us off. Antonio carries lemons in from Italy himself by the suitcase-​full to prepare this drink because he says they taste better than the local variety. I’d say its worth it because it was exceptionally delicious!
Regretting that we didn’t have room to try the prime rib, we asked Antonio to reserve a table for us the following evening and even though there weren’t any available reservations he made room for us anyway. Love Antonio!
We arrived ½ hour early the next evening and had a wonderful time at the bar, hanging out with Antonio and the bar tender, Vicenzo. My wife had an artfully crafted Aperol Spritz, a classic Italian apéritif, and I enjoyed a Hendricks Gin and cucumber drink at Antonio’s recommendation. We shared lots of laughs and good stories with Vicenzo while watching him and his colleagues prepare drinks behind the bar. Vicenzo suggested his favorite bottle of wine for us, a Peppoli Chianti Classico, and we liked it so much we had a second bottle at the table. :)
Antonio helped us select an incredible 4 course meal to pair with our absolutely perfectly prepared prime rib – chicken liver ragu on toast, rich and creamy fettuccini with butternut squash confetti & truffle oil, rosemary potatoes accompanying the rocket-​topped prime rib (what a winning combination!) and of course another dark chocolate mousse for dessert. Mmmm, I’m getting hungry all over again as I type this…
On the way out we saw Vicenzo preparing some great-​smelling Italian cappuccinos at the bar and, as if he could read our mind, Antonio invited my wife and I back for morning coffee with him and the staff before we left town. The next morning we shared more laughs and stories with Antonio and Vicenzo over delicious Italian coffee and biscotti, took a bunch of fun pictures with them for the scrap book, then walked a few blocks to the train station on out way back to London.
We can’t wait for our next chance to come back to Soto Soto, and highly highly recommend it for anyone else reading this review!

The restaurant is located in the basement but it is very easy to find. We came right at 5:30 without a reservation but were seated quickly. For appetizer we had calamari fritti, which was quite delicious and fresh and chewy. For the entrees, we had seafood risotto, which was phenomenon, it had quite a lot of seafood (oysters, mussels, shrimps, etc). The pork rib fettucini was okay, nothing too special.
The price was reasonable and the service was impeccable.

Fabulous food! Absolutely worth spending your time and money here.
Amazing service too, one lady next to our table was having birthday and a bunch of waiters sang birthday song in Italian for her. :)