A Traditional Italian Restaurant which has become the local’s favorite.
Orsino has become quite a landmark having been on the Hove scene for Twenty-four years. The simple yet stylish Italian restaurant has become a favorite with many of the ‘Hove actually’ locals. The waiters, of whom many have been there for years, know and never fail to remember their regular’s names. Sort of the equivalent of an Italian restaurant version of the bar in sitcom ‘Cheers’.
The owner Rahim has pretty much been a restaurant owner most of his life (his career at least). In 1990 he opened the still very popular Otello restaurant (just across the road), and in 1992 he opened Orsino, which is a little higher end than its predecessor Otello. “I have since then opened a few more restaurants, which has given me a lot of experience in setting up, running and managing my own businesses. My customer relations during this period has been my main achievement and I still have customers that have been with me since day one.”
We were served by Portuguese waiter Acacacio Silva who has worked at Orsino for seven years. It says quite a bit about a place when the staff are so loyal. We could not have been looked after better. Acacacio was attentive, easily making us laugh with his kooky humor and diligently helping us through the extensive menu. Again it is easy to see Rahim’s influence here….“Orsino is a family run restaurant which provides great food and a very relaxed atmosphere to all our guests. We are very proud of the top end food quality that we provide and the amazing personalized service that the staff offer to create a wonderful dining experience.”
We were really spoiled for choice and it was hard to know where to start, with so many different varieties of dishes to choose from.
“My Chefs come from different Mediterranean countries and bring a great influence to our menu. Some of them been with me for almost 20 years”.
The pizzas are well known to be some of the best in town and both my guest and I have sampled these many times and as much as we love them wanted to try something different.
After an appetizer of garlic pizza bread and olives mixed with feta and tomatoes, soaked in olive oil and tasting fantastic, (this is standard and free to every 
customer). We chose to share a starter of sardines. These were grilled to perfection with no sauce added, just a large wedge of lemon, (which I accidentally shot my partner in the eye with!) Thankfully the splendid taste of the sardines seemed to take away the pain of an acidic squeeze to the eye!
We were thankful we shared a starter as the entrees we chose were incredibly filling. I opted for the chicken liver salad. I know that liver of any description can be an acquired taste but this was scrumptious. Soft and mousse like on the inside and cooked with just the right firmness on the outside. The sauce was dark and rich. The salad and livers came in separate bowls, which for me is great, as I like to choose the amount of each thing I eat, rather than it all being mixed up together.
My friend chose the Tournados Rossini. A fillet steak grilled with pate and served in a rich red wine and mushroom sauce, and boy oh boy was it rich!! The steak was cooked to medium rare perfection, a well-proportioned size, served with roasted vegetables. I couldn’t quite believe they managed to eat the whole thing!
Everything we ate was very good indeed and after speaking to Rahim I could see why “Our meat, fish and vegetable suppliers are all local and my Chefs and I personally handpick our daily supplies”
The restaurant, in deep greens, dark wood and burgundy reds is chic, classic Italian. One wall of black and white pictures of glamorous movie stars, back-in-the-day, look on over the restaurant’s dinners. Venetian mirrors hang on a statement wall and it reminds me of the places I would eat at when I used to visit Milan and Tuscany quite a bit, yet this timeless little place sits right bang in the middle of Hove. A little bit of Italy (and a mix of the Mediterranean), on Church Road.
TEL: 01273-770999
Orsino Italian Restaurant, 141 Church Road, Hove, BN3 2AE
www.orsinohove.com