Villa Romana - Italian Restaurant Liverpool

You'll spot the brick arches before you even sit down – Villa Romana doesn't hide behind trendy interiors because it doesn't need to. The tiled floors and rustic two-level setup feel properly Italian, not like someone's idea of what Italian should look like. The pizza bases have that satisfying chew that comes from dough that's been given time, and the pasta doesn't arrive swimming in sauce designed to mask mediocre cooking. What sets this place apart is how seriously they take the fundamentals. The Wood Street location means you're not paying city centre rents in your bill, but you're getting food that could hold its own anywhere. Book ahead for weekends – those 1,902 Google reviews aren't all tourists passing through.