The Secret Italian, Barnsley: The hidden gem restaurant in Yorkshire named among best in UK in Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Award

There are many hidden spots and areas off the beaten path to explore in Yorkshire that are yet to be discovered.

The Travellers’ Choice Awards Best of the Best title celebrates the top quality hospitality businesses in travel.

The titles are awarded to those who receive a high number of five star reviews and opinions from the Tripadvisor community over a 12-month period.

The Secret Italian restaurant on McLintock Way, Barnsley, was listed as the fourth best hidden gem in the UK.

It has a rating of five stars with 735 reviews and its description on the Tripadvisor website reads: “The Secret Italian charms with its cosy setting and modern decor. You’ll find massive portions of freshly prepared, delicious food at great value.

“Don’t miss the homemade pasta and the exceptional desserts. The service is fantastic, with attentive and friendly staff that make you feel right at home. It’s a popular spot, so be sure to book ahead.”

Restaurant owner, Margaret Dearden, has fostered a family friendly atmosphere.

“We’re proud of what we’ve achieved,” Ms Dearden said.

“It’s an industrial estate, so you come into the estate and you think where am I going, but when you walk through the door, you’re in Italy.

“We love our customers, we treat everybody as though they are coming to my house for dinner. That’s what they say in their reviews, ‘I feel like I’ve come to somebody’s house for dinner’.

“We enjoy the company and we like to please everybody. Everything we cook is freshly made.”

The restaurant is fully booked on the weekends for the rest of the year.

“We are fully booked until the new year,” Ms Dearden said.

“We’ve got quite a few awards, it’s nice that we’re being recognised and it’s nice that our customers love us. We are fully booked until the new year.

“We get people from all over the world, from Canada, Australia, when they’ve been over here and they’ve found us out and had dinner with us, then left reviews.”

Ms Dearden spontaneously bought the restaurant in 2019 after visiting the former, smaller, restaurant for her 70th birthday.

“[The previous owners] owned a florist at the time,” she said.

“I’d only gone in to buy a tree and I ended up buying the restaurant. I had my 70th birthday in the previous restaurant which only had 10 people.

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“The owners were going to move back to Italy, so I said I’d like to buy it. It wasn’t my sort of size, I wanted it to be a proper trattoria.

“I made it what I wanted and that’s we can hold more people now. My chef’s grandmother was Italian, so she’s got the knowledge of Italian food.

“It was a bit quiet in the beginning because of the restrictions, Covid, we got through it. I only charge £35 for seven dishes which is very cheap and you bring your own alcohol so I don’t make any money on that. It makes it a very rustic meal which is very appealing.”

The head chef, Jasmine Elland, whose grandmother was Italian, started working there in January.

“It was meant to be fated because I applied for the job the week before my grandma passed [away],” Ms Elland said.

“I got a phone call the day after my grandma’s funeral telling me that I had the job if I wanted it.

“It’s been lovely because when I was a little girl we used to have big family dinners with my grandma and coming back into this environment brings it all back except I’m the one doing the cooking and seeing everybody smiling. Mags has really brought my sparkle back when it comes to cooking.

“Mags has helped me to see that I can do it and I have got confidence. She’s helped me to learn and adapt to different situations.

“I’ve never worked in a job and felt content until I’ve worked with Mags because I get up in the morning and I’m excited to come to work and see what we’ve got today and try new menus.”