Fat Leo

2.5 stars.
During my summer abroad at the University of Sussex, I rarely ate out since restaurants are so expensive in Brighton. My friend and I were starving and asked a random stranger on the street on cheap dinner places. She recommended Fat Leo for cheap pasta.
That’s basically what we got. I liked my wine-​cooked mussels and pasta dish, but the rest of the menu items could have been easily made in my dorm kitchen. Prices were still expensive for what we got, and the restaurant mood felt cheap.

Would you like some pizza with your cockroach?
Excuse me whilst I finish picking the remaining legs from my teeth…
Um, yeah, where to start… Arrived here for some lunch because it seemed the rest of Brighton was already chocca blocked.
Decided we’d go for the 2 courses for £7 deal and went for the minestrone soup to start. The minestrone soup was some stewed old vegetable dishwater with mushy pieces of broccoli and cabbage. No actual minestrone in sight. This was sent back.
Then the pizzas arrived. Not only cold, greasy and with some extra thick black hairs thrown in for the fun of it — there was also a couple of nice new cockroach pets to treat us to as well! Scuttling all over our food and table. Pictures are a bit blurred and small but I assure you — very authentic.
My dad went down to complain and wasn’t doing a very good job by the looks of things as it seemed they were still trying to charge us £25 and I could hear the man saying (regarding the thick black hairs) ”It’s off a brush” WTF. I didn’t realise we’d all been going wrong not giving our pizzas a good brush before we’d served them. !!!
Good old Brix steamed in and handled it. I think it went along the lines of ” You should be paying us for eating it and if you dare try and justify us paying a penny I shall shout this cockroach infested restaurant down. Loudly. Now.”
The manager then changed his tune and wanted us out — free of charge and quietly.
I should think so.
If your avid fan of ‘I’m a celeb’ and fancy appearing on it — look no further.
Wronguns.

Defo give it a try! We went when Donatello’s was too busy and had a pleasant surprise. Nice food, nice staff what else can you ask for!

One of Brighton’s numerous fantastic value Italian restaurants.
It is just off the Lanes and is a big, attractively fitted out place, staffed by a group of young, friendly Italians. We both had their Fat Leo (spicy!) pizzas for main course, whilst for starters I had some especially good mussels in cream & chilli sauce & my friend some mushroom bruschetta. Large portions and tasty too. Certainly well, well worth the £19.69 our bill came to, including drinks…
Excellent value & would happily go again. It was good to see a large number of young families there but if they can bring lunch in for under forty quid who can blame them?

It’s always nearly disspaointing on a Fri/​Sat or any busy day like Mothers day as the Chef (s) can’t clearly cope with more than 10 customers, no complaints about starters or puds but always the main courses are rushed, not cooked or overcooked.
My last visit and final visit was 2 weeks ago on a Saturday and my friend and I both had Lasagne as our main courses, we both agreed after one mouthful how disgusting it was, they were very burnt around the edges and tasted like they’ve been hanging around for days in the fridge.
I did enquire if the Tiramisu was home made, I was told that Donatello’s makes the Tiramisu.

One of my favorite restaurants. Very good quality food at fantastic prices — you cannot beat it. If you want Michelin star food, with small portions and high prices then stay away — for excellent value then come here — you’ll get a meal for two with drinks here for the same as you’d pay for a meal for one elsewhere.

One of my friends came back very dissapointed by Fat Leo yesterday, and thought it was one of the worst restaurants he’d ever been to… He put it that, he could have got a take away for less, and it would have actually been tasty rather than just a lump of grease… Maybe he was over reacting, and he may have been upset at going on the Saturday rather than a cheaper, mid-​week day.

Despite its associations with Donatellos and Pinocchio, Fat Leo is a bit of an unknown entity in my book. Unlike its aforementioned siblings Fat Leo doesn’t serve food that leaves you with any lasting impression. At Donatellos you’re likely to be impressed; at Pinocchio you’re likely to be depressed; whereas at Fat Leo you’ll just be hard-​pressed to find anything remarkable about it. However, that’s not to say it’s a bad place as the prices reflect this. In fact once you understand it’s simply a good value Italian aimed at the middle-​market you’ll probably be as casually accepting of Fat Leo as I am. Expect average Italian food but at a decent price.

Under the same ownership as Donatellos and Pinocchio, Fat Leo is one of many Italian restaurants in Brighton. In my opinion this trio of restaurants ranges in quality from the very good to the dreadful, with Donatello and Pinocchio being on either end respectively. As such Fat Leo sits in between, a middle sibling if you like. Its goal is to provide decent Italian cuisine at an affordable price. It’s the kind of place visited by teenage couples on their first date or by cash strapped families looking to celebrate a special occasion at a reasonable cost. Whilst Fat Leo satisfies this market with ease it tends to leave one yearning for more. For example, the pasta dishes have no discerningly Italian qualities other than their origin. The sauces tend to be average and the seasoning never blows you away.
The key to getting the most out of Fat Leo is knowing what to expect. For a relaxed, no frills, Italian experience it’s one of the best in town. However, for authentic high quality Italian food go elsewhere. It’s good value but nothing special.

There are so many Italians in Brighton! Is every city like this? If you’re looking for cheap cheerful Italians you’ve got, to name a few, Pablo’s, Pinnochio’s, Picasso’s, Donatello’s, Zafferelli’s, Fat Leo’s… Not to mention the superchains Zizzi’s, Casa Della Pizza, Strada, PIzza Express, Pizza Hut…
As they go — and remember, the supremest or most delicious authentic Italian cuisine this is not — Fat Leo’s is very good. The prices are marginally higher than the dirt cheap Pablo’s, but it’s totally worth it — with the different pizzas on the menu actually looking and tasting different! Fat Leo’s has a great atmosphere, really friendly staff, and lush food. You can do two courses for just £6.25 in the week. And the Fat Leo chocolate cake, although bumping your bill up at £3.50, is YUM.

This restaurant is owned by the italian giant Donatello’s across the road. The prices are slightly higher than Donatello’s, but the interior is more up class and modern. Last time me and my mates ordered pizza and it took over an hour to get it to our table. The manager then kindly gave us the 3^rd pizza for free. That experience made me stay away from this restaurant for a while, but in general it’s not bad

Links to Donatello. Family oriented dining. Good Italian food. Students just love this venue. It is trendy but not off putting to families. Two courses for £5.95 or three courses for £7.95.

Owned by Donatellos just over the road this Italian resaurant is your ideal ‘cheap and cheerfull’. The surroundings are modern and light and the food is good and very resonably priced. They offer a very good set menu with two courses for £5.95 and three for £6.95. The house wine is fine and the staff are always pleasant. This is the perfect sort of place if you’re looking for a quick meal before the theatre or for a large party. It has a good lively atmosphere. They’re also pretty child friendly if you go during the day.