A very nice and rustic atmospheric family restaurant run by a charming couple over 13 years now, serving authentic Italian food from Naples. and I need to mention the husband was very pleasing and attentive. The food was full of flavour, I could smell the aroma from the gluten free pasta I ordered from far away, and the portions sizes were just right. And the bill was beautifully had written. We truly enjoyed our dinner and time in this satisfying place.

Bruschetta funghi was exquisite - incredibly creamy and full of flavour. Mains: Gnocchi - this is the most authentic gnocchi I’ve had since Rome, it was amazing. Cheesy, full of flavour and the tomato sauce was one of the best I’ve had. Spaghetti - it was nice and simple - nothing too special but it did have a real authentic Italian element behind it. Dessert: All I can say is wow. Everything single item hit the spot. The Panna cotta, the chocolate fondant (I cant remember the exact name they had for it in the restaurant) and the cannelloni - it was unbelievable. Especially the chocolate fondant, cooked to perfection - the chocolate began oozing out as soon as we cut into it. The chocolate was rich but just the right amount. Also the hog chocolate was heavenly if you like thick creamy not chocolates - it tasted like a chocolate mousse! I would 100% recommend this restaurant - not only is the food incredible but the staff are wonderful and welcoming.

The food here is delicious and very reasonably priced! The only thing that let our evening down was the service which was a great shame. We ordered a starter that never arrived (not charged was just a shame to ask for it and miss it) we were asked 4/5 times to confirm our main choices. The mains and desert were fantastic. The service and attention began to dwindle after the mains were brought out we requested for our bill 4/5 times with other tables requesting their bill and paying for it after we had requested ours and still not received ours. It really was a shame having to wait 30/45mins for our bill and it tarnished an otherwise great experience.

Good food and I've had a positive experience before. Unfortunately last time I went on Saturday it two hours from arriving to getting our main course and 1.5 hours to just get a garlic bread starter. so the family was all a bit miserable by then. Its an experienced family run restaurant so maybe this was a one off but I'd be a bit cautious about risking it again

Food and staff were very nice. Went out for a special meal for my husband's and mine first wedding anniversary. Unfortunately the woman sat at the next table and very close to us was loud and dramatic, and I couldn't really hear my husband talk. As we were leaving another diner even came up and commented to her politely asking her to quieten down. It's quite a drive from us so even thought it's quite nice food, I wouldn't drive back as there are places just as nice near to us. Also I would note their menu is different in the restaurant than online, there are less items and they aren't able to always to the online menu items, which is a bit off maybe it should be updated.

Lovely food (and lots of choice!), very reasonable prices and great service! Would very much recommend and will be coming back!

We booked in with Il Vesuvio with a party of 11 for an engagement celebration meal on Saturday evening. We booked via email and went back and forth a couple of times to ensure our food was booked in ahead of time. The venue has character and is a great little independent restaurant. The menu has plenty to choose from and so there was plenty of variety for our party. Everyone remarked how flavoursome their food was and there was not much left at all by the end! The waiters were attentive to our needs and did everything with a smile on their face and made us all feel at ease. We will definitely be back to enjoy this restaurant in the future.

Incredibile service and wonderful food very tasty, you have a large selection of different food from fish to chicken meat to pizza and pasta. Chefs are very good really recommend it

Excellent service, great food, fantastic cocktails and dessert was amazing!! Very reasonably priced!! Thank you for a lovely evening!!

Lovely Italian restaurant with a real sense of family atmosphere! Traditional Italian menu with wonderful service...

The best Napolitan pizza in the town, once per week I have a pizza 🍕, and definitely the one that I chose it's Vesuvius, Maria and Franco, they do the best one, well done, to bring the original pizza from Napoli in Tunbridge Wells.

Food was good and staff friendly, we were happy

Very authentic Italian restaurant. Great atmosphere and friendly staff. We had a pizza and fish but seafood spaghetti looked really good! We will definitely go back to try a few more dishes.

Don't really like writing negative reviews for restaurants because it's a hard business to be in, but this was a pretty mediocre experience. We've visited this restaurant probably a dozen times, and really liked it's authenticity. When we arrived this time, we found out that the Italian couple who had previously owned it had retired and sold it on. The new restaurant is honestly far inferior - the menu is much smaller and far less authentic, the service slow and the ambience has really declined after the refurb. We wouldn't return and to be honest, it's a bit cheeky still calling it by the old name. Disappointed.

Il Vesuvio has been a favourite restaurant for a very long time. We used to go regularly once a month after having had a business meeting all day, and we looked forward to our meals. Then Covid happened. Our meetings stopped for a while and then our schedule changed, so the regular visits went by the wayside. Finally we managed to get things right and have been back twice in three weeks. We were so happy to see Maria 'front of house' again and our meals were all excellent. The first time we returned the three of us had pasta with gorgonzola sauce (×1) and veal escalopes of two different varieties. My companions both had panna cotta while I had a grappa with chillies (unusual, warming, interesting variety to try - I like grappa and wanted to experiment). On our 2nd recent visit I had a form of ravioli with an asparagus sauce - excellent. My companions had pizza and the pasta with gorgonzola (again). Deserts were Torta della Nonna x2 and lemon cheesecake. All excellent. Well worth the visit.

TERRIBLE! Probably the worst restaurant I’ve ever been to in my life. The decor looks like a hospital. The food was totally gross. The starter - tomato and mozzarella - boring and tasteless. The main - cannelloni was so hot and over cooked it was like it has been belched out of mount Vesuvius - I burnt my tongue - tasteless. The chips were good. The desert - a chocolate sponge - straight out of the microwave. Supposed to come with Vanilla ice-cream but didn’t. It was so bad. I didn’t complain because I didn’t want to ruin my evening. The waiter staff were young, inexperienced but pleasant. I felt sorry for them bringing out plate after plate of absolute garbage. Just won’t go back and certainly don’t recommend. TERRIBLE!!!

Haven't been to Il Vesuvio for a while and although it has changed hands the food and service is just as excellent. Just need to improve the lighting, a bit too bright! But that will not stop us coming back soon!!

Warm, friendly, family-run Italian bistro. Fairly standard menu but well cooked and tasty. If you have the meatballs, check they are fully hot through.

We ordered four main courses. As I don’t know Italian,I couldn’t name the dishes. the pizza “Meat” doesn’t look like a pizza but it’s the best among them. The spaghetti was a bit salty. The lasagna was fine and the mussels were not fresh enough. The service was great and overall it’s not bad but like a bit overrated

Taken there for father's day. Felt sorry for the young waiter who was working alone (i assume someone had let them down) but remained composed and polite. Everyone really enjoyed their meal, i had the linguini al rospo (with monkfish and king prawns) which was absolutely divine

We went here for work back in September and had a delicious meal. So much so that we took a big group of 20 people in for a meal last week. Since our initial visit, the whole place has been refurbished and the menu completely changed. Despite our large group size, we were one of only two tables in the place. The service was glacial and it took three hours to have starters and mains - though some had chosen from the three course menu, we abandoned all hope of dessert at 10pm. The food was to a generally good standard, but it wasn’t worth the wait, I’m afraid to say. The pizza was also not as good as before - the base was tougher and the selection was narrower. After we hyped it up to our colleagues, it was a bit of a disappointment - I hope the team get their pace up and see some more custom come their way.

The best italian spaghetti and risotto dishes we've ever tasted, here or in Italy itself. And the service was friendly and efficient. Cannot recommend highly enough. Superb!

Food is amazing, presentation is really mouth watering, the staff is really friendly, The whole experience was overwhelming.. I went with my friends ordered Bruschetta and Affettati as starters . I ordered spaghetti carbonara it was really delicious 😋😋 and crème brulee as a dessert and I absolutely loved it 💓💓💓😍😍😍 will definitely come back for more 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼

Wow. Wow. Wow. I have absolutely nothing but praises to sing about Il Vesuvio. We came for my dad's birthday meal on a Friday night. I had the cozze Italia (mussels in a garlic and white wine sauce) and it was possibly one of the best meals I've ever eaten. The sauce was perfectly salted, garlicky and creamy without being cloying. For mains I had spaghetti carbonate and it was exactly what I was craving! Proper thick diced ham/bacon in it and the portion size was more than substantial. If I hadn't been so greedy, I would have taken half home to enjoy later. The waiters were both fantastic, filled with delightful conversation and light banter. They finished with a complimentary round of lemoncello. I have a new favourite restaurant and I will be back! Grazi mille!

I've not been here in years, but it's still a lovely spot. I had fish and tiramisu and both were great. My wife had a fillet steak and it wasn't the best, chewy and sinuous which was unfortunate. Atmosphere was nice and front of house very welcoming and attentive.

We had such a lovely meal here last night. The atmosphere was great and the two waiters were just the friendliest. Would highly recommend if you want a reasonably priced and yummy meal.