Amici

I went to Amici on Monday night for an early dinner with friends and i was really surprised at how busy the restaurant was for a Monday night. I thought the food was lovely and the service was good. I had the king prawns and they really were king prawns (not like the tiny ones you get in other restaurants).
Some of my friends had ordered pizzas which also looked amazing! I’ll definitely be back to try other things on the menu.

We went to Amici yesterday for an after-​work dinner. I have to say I was pretty impressed by this wee restaurant. Staff are very attentive and friendly. I went for fried squid as a starter and it was delicious! Perfectly cooked, crisp and the dip was quite tasty, too. I kept saying to others I could have it as a main course any time! For main, I chose the seafood spaghetti and was a bit afraid to see what I get as I haven’t had any luck trying seafood recently. However, this was amazing with lots of prawns and mussels. Others’ pizzas looked quite nice too, even though I would not expect such a thick base in an Italian restaurant. Overall, it was a nice experience, especially liked the décor e.g. the picture hanging in front of me — a very clever reference to Sistine Chapel art.

Amici is a great wee restaurant. Its on the slightly ‘less trendy’ part of the Lisburn Road, down near Queen’s MBC. You may miss it if you blink when passing but is directly across the road from Ryan’s bar.
So Amici is an Italian restaurant with a nice simple clean décor. There are some lovely 4 seater booths and a few other tables and chairs. Its a very pleasant place to sit and enjoy a meal and some wine. Like any Italian there is a whole host of things to order off the menu including a wide selection of pasta and pizza.
I can’t attest to the wine quality as I was having a sober evening but I have it on good authority that it was good. For starter I got the Zucchini Crisps. They were delicious batons of courgettes in a thick batter and fried till crisp. Very well seasoned and quite light despite the batter. They came with a delicious Balsamic dipping sauce. I’d highly recommend the started to anyone as it wasn’t heavy and made a perfect kick off without filling you up before the main.
For my main I ordered the Aubergine, Sun dried tomato and spinach pizza. The pizza itself was great, a slightly thicker base than some places. My only downside was that it was very slightly overdone. It was slightly burned on the bottom. Other than that it was very fresh and very tasty. The other mains my party had all came out well presented and there wasn’t a bad word said about the food.
This is a great wee gem on the Lisburn Road and because it doesn’t seem rally well known yet its a great place for the adventurers out there to go explore and discover.
I would have given 5 stars but the website was incorrect promising a pre-​theatre menu at 2 course for £12.95. On arrival we were told this and it was 2 courses for £15.00. They did however let us use our Perks card so there was a bit of balance there, however I definitely think if you are changing an offer the first place to update should be your website!

Tried here tonight for the first time, we went for the pre-​theatre menu (which is two courses for £15, not for £12.95 as the website states!). For starter I had Striscette di pollo (crisp fried chicken finished with lemon butter sauce) — this was tasty though you didn’t get a huge amount of chicken. For main I went for Quattro stagioni pizza (chicken, ham, peppers and mushrooms). I was a little disappointed with my pizza — the toppings were lovely, but the pizza base itself was a little too thick for the type of pizza it is, and it was a little overdone. Some of the rest of our group had nicer looking mains and I had a bit of food envy! The risotto looked lovely. If I went here again I would maybe try something else, and would of course update my review if I enjoyed the other meals better. Overall it is a nice little Italian restaurant with a relaxed atmosphere.

I dined at Amici tonight with a crowd of friends and the food was delicious. I started with bruschetta which was fresh and light. My main of wild mushroom risotto was the richest, most flavoursome I’ve eaten in a long time. A light, floral, Italian Pinot Grigio (La Plume) complimented the food perfectly.
Restaurant décor is white and bright but still feels gentle on the eye making for a pleasant atmosphere. Definitely a continental vibe which is delightful on a grey, autumnal Belfast day.
I would almost have given Amici 5 stars but a few things really, really let this restaurant down.
I was dining with a party of 6 and arrived first. Whilst seated at our table waiting for the others to arrive the waitress didn’t bother asking me if I would like a drink. She didn’t ask if I wanted to order a drink until another person in my party arrived. This was exceptionally poor service. I couldn’t even get her attention to order something as she initially showed me to a table then promptly disappeared out of sight.
We specifically went to Amici to try their Pre-​Theatre menu of 2 courses for £12.95 which is clearly advertised on their website. However when we asked to see this menu Amici told us their website was out of date and the Pre-​Theatre now £15.00. This is false advertising and very bad practice. Amici should have honoured their £12.95 menu when we highlighted we’d seen it advertised. Again, poor customer service, as well as shoddy marketing. They need to get their website updated urgently.
At the end of our meal when we asked for our bill we also enquired if we could use our Perks Cards. Amici’s website states «We are now accepting the perks card. Card holders will receive 10% off their bill and a homemade limoncello (not to be used in conjunction with any other offer).» Though as their website is not maintained we were unsure if this was even correct. We thought we’d ask anyway.
Our waitress, a different Lady from the one who served us initially, seemed very uncertain. She did point out that the Perks Discount was a per person discount and one card could not be used for discount off the total bill. We advised her this was fine as each of us had a Perks Card anyway. So off she went to check if we could avail of the Perks Card offer.
We waited quite a while for her to return. Eventually she returned with our bill, on which we had been granted a 10% food discount. The discount whilst off food was not off drinks, which is fine but again this is not clear on their website. Plus we didn’t get a homemade limoncello as their offer states, but hey, it’s hard to know with a place like this where you stand!
I was initially thinking of giving Amici a 4 star rating. It’s a shame, as my food was definitely 5 star food. Sadly, the poor customer service, false website advertising and mild disdain from the waitresses when we enquired about special offers have dragged the overall rating down. I think for me Amici is definitely a 3 star restaurant.

I can’t believe no one has written a review of this great restaurant.
My colleague and I are working in Belfast for three months and found Amici’s a few blocks from our apartments. We were walking to another restaurant with great Unilocal reviews when we found it and decided to try it. We keep going back.
The menu is varied and with a wonderful selection of pastas and secondos. Their Branzino is divine as is their Taglietelle salsiccia picante. One night a few weeks back they had a special of braised lamb shoulder that may have been one the best lamb dishes I’ve eaten and I’ve eaten a lot of lamb. We’ve yet to have a dish that disappoints.
The service is always warm, friendly and efficient.
Give Amici’s a try. You’ll be glad you did.