Pizza, pasta, ice cream and opera...you couldn’t ask for a more Italian experience outside Italy.

The Venue
Sandwiched between Brighton’s landmark Pavilion and busy North Street, Al Duomo stands out as one of the few restaurants in the city’s main shopping area that isn’t a chain. Al Duomo is spread across four floors, offering cafe, restaurant, bar and function facilities. The name – which translates from the Italian for the cathedral – appears to have been inspired by the high-ceilinged venue, which has a spacious and airy feel.

The mix of clean brick walls and red and cream paint gives the place a modern look, with contemporary artwork injecting colour and character. The bar section offers comfy leather armchairs and booths in which you and your friends could spend many hours sinking a few bottles of wine. The cafe and restaurant sections include simplistic wooden tables and chairs, which can get a bit crowded if you have more than one dish on the go.

The Atmosphere
During the busy lunch period, eating can be a fairly intimate experience thanks to the close placing of the tables to each other. Lunch customers are a combination of local workers, families and twenty-somethings. The mostly Italian staff are very attentive and impressively can pre-empt requests from customers. Dinner is just as popular, so make sure you plan ahead and book a table but the buzzy atmosphere is all the better for it.

The Food
Starters are your usual Italian fare, including garlic bread, prosciutto or bruschetta amongst the choices. While the mozzarella-covered garlic bread is delicious, the bruschetta is a bit thin on the top and could do with a bigger portion of tomato, basil et al. Al Duomo has been going for 28 years and prides itself on its wood fired pizza oven – one of the first established in the U.K. - so it’s no wonder it forms the focal part of the ground floor eating area and the menu.

There are 23 different types of pizza, including the delicious Capricciosa, a busy dish combining prawns, black olives, tomato, Italian sausage, mozzarella, mushrooms, anchovies, peppers and artichoke. Among the 16 different pasta dishes, the sumptuous Spaghetti funghi al crema (mushrooms in cream sauce), is well worth trying. Well presented, it has just the right amount of cream for those less dairy conscious.

The Drink
The wine list is dominated by Italian vinos, but also includes a few New World selections from Chile and Australia. As you’d expect from a restaurant and bar, a full range of spirits and beers are available, as well as hot and cold drinks for the daytime crowd. As well as cappuccino, hot chocolate and tea, Al Duomo also offer liqueurs laced with spirits and topped with cream should you need a kick.

The Last Word
Al Duomo can cater to whatever you want – be it a beer, lunch or dinner. The bi-monthly opera evenings offer a musical course for those looking for a more-rounded Italian experience.