Joe Rigatonis

I came here for lunch and had the Calzone for lunch.
I love a calzone and this did not let me down.
The price was fantastic as it was classed as happy hour.
it is part of a chain and they have places in Middlesbrough too that I have seen. 100% recommended

It’s okay here, nothing special. I think it’s part of a chain, but not sure. It’s not a restaurant I’d choose to go to, which is not to say it’s poor because it isn’t. Just a bit ordinary.

We sometimes go here when the Pizza Express over the road is fully booked. It’s quite good, the atmosphere is always lively and the food is acceptable, if a little formulaic. A safe bet, but not spectacular.

Nicer at lunchtime than the evening — quite child friendly, okay food, fairly cheap and very convenient if shopping in town.
The evening gets crowded, noisey and the service slower. Very popular with the local businesses and secretaries/​administrators who stop in one their way home from work.

Joe Rigatoni’s is centrally located in Darlington. The venue is popular with all age ranges and groups sizes. Despite its popularity, I believe the restaurant to be over-​rated. Food is basic and not all that enjoyable, although special price offers are often available. I would personally recommend one of the other nearby restaurants which seem to be of a higher standard.

My opinion is that overall this is a middle range restaurant what is extremely popular.
Even when not choosing form a special priced menu the bill works out about £20 per head including drinks and I really would prefer to use this money on somewhere far better. There is no denying that the food is good, the service is spot on and basically it’s not expensive. It is generally good value but for the same price and just a couple of pounds more you really could do so much better.
The pizzas and garlic breads are how they should be instead of the doughy, think rubbish we get from the

Joe Rigatonis is a large italian in the centre of town. It now has two seating levels with the lower floor also being a very busy town centre bar. If I go here I prefer to be seated upstairs because depending where you sit downstairs it could be on route to the toilets, and also it feels funny eating food while other people are singing/​dancing/​drinking nearby. I have lost count how many times I have eaten here and all I can say is that you never seem to get consistancy. One time you can go and the food is nice and the service is good, and the next time you go the food is very avarage and the service is poor. I like the fact that you dont need to book and I tend to go if I cant be bothered to cook after work. They have a happy hour on pizzas and pastas and if you use your Dine card you can get a 10% discount off the total bill including drinks. I usually get potato skins to share for starters with a sweet chilli dip, for mains I tend to go for pasta, (but I have to say I tend to stay away from the carbonara — got it once and never again). The portion sizes are good and they now have started to do a takeaway service, but I would not use this service.

in my opinion this place is over rated, it gets too hot and unless your a young lass who looks a bit like a rudey you wont get the best service. the foods reasonable enough and its agood place to start the night.

Food at Joe Rigatoni’s is basic, often tepid and can take a while to arrive. Prices are not noticably cheap enough to merit this kind of cattle market service. The building is lovely, and nicely done out and some of the staff are very friendly. Some seem to be quite put out that you have inconvenienced them by turning up and expecting service.

The Darlington branch of Joe Rigatonis is lovely — the deco is nice and the itialian style food is great.
I recommend the pâté, poato skins and canelloni or lasagne.
I’ve also heard the pizzas are lovely!
The prices are very reasonable — we paid £30 for 2 and that was 2 starters, 2 mains and a few alcholic drinks.
They also do a lunch menu and happy hour, so is worth a visit at this time too.

The food in this restaurant is not bad, it’s nothing special, but is pretty good value for money.
The staff were also very helpful and friendly.
This is the sort of place you may go to for a quick meal when you can’t be bothered to cook, but I probably wouldn’t go here for a special occasion.
Both the Men’s and Ladies Toilets were out of soap which I think is not good in a Restaurant and is one of those things that is pretty simple to keep on top of if managed properly.
The ‘Italian’ menu seems to have other foods such as ‘Chicken Fajita’ which I would expect to see on a Mexican restaurant, no problem for those who don’t like Italian, but then if you don’t like Italian why go to this restaurant in the first place?
The Restaurant wasn’t too busy when we went so the service was pretty quick and the Pinot Grigio was nice and crisp which is what I’d expect from any decent bottle of Pinot Grigio.
Not sure if I’d go there again, I guess that’s a maybe depending on how hungry I am and whether I’m after something different or just basic honest food (I’d say Joe Rigtoni’s is the latter).

After 9 of us ordered we waited almost 2 hours for the food to arrive. When we obviously went to see what was happening the staff appeared to not care less and said we had a complicated order??? How complicated can your own menu be in a restaurant only interested in a quick turnover of customers. Service terrible on more than one occasion but food is generally not bad when finally arrives. Would never advise to visit this restaurant!

Nice Place but what can I say You need to try it for yourselves so go along and let us know how it was.

Joe Rigatonis is the type of Italian that does what it says on the tin. It is reasonably priced, there is a good and varied selection to suit all tastes (pizzas, pastas, chicken dishes, etc.) and the food is brought to you quickly. It does feel (at busy times) like you are on a bit of a conveyor belt and they want to you in and out as quick as poss, but often when I have been, thats exactly what we have wanted — quick, decent italian food.

Joe Rigatoni’s is a very lively restaurant in Darlington town centre. It is an ideal place to visit as a large party. There is a good choice of food with something to suit everybody’s taste. The food is not the best and can be a bit hit and miss, but the atomsphere is good and can make up for it.
It also has an early bird menu, ideal for a quick bite after work.

I really like this restaurant as it’s staff are friendly, the food is a very reasonably priced, the service is usually good and you can’t beat their lasagne. I’ve never had a better lasagne anywhere else it’s fantastic. The only complaint I have is that the good prices for food isn’t reflected on their drinks menu, as I find the drinks a little overpriced. It’s just been refurbished and the new décor is really nice, it’s like old Italy meets modern chic. This restaurant is one of my favourites and I would recommend it to anyone.

A superb restaurant which never ever fails to have the most amazing atmosphere. The staff are always full of energy and nothing is ever too much trouble. The food is always excellent and great value although their drinks menu is expensive.
The lunchtime specials are really good-​I often take my children here and we certainly never send any food back!
Downstairs is Joe’s bar-​very cosy and romantic and apparently a good place to go in the evening although I don’t frequent it-​too busy drinking the real ale down the road in Number 22!!!

Joe Rigatoni’s is Darlington’s most popular Italian restaurant. The staff are very friendly and there is a great menu selling a selection of pastas, pizzas, salads and grills.
Great for large and small parties at any time of day! There is also a bar joined to the restaurant called Joe’s bar which is very cosy and romantic yet very social at the same time!