Ave Mario in City of London, Westminster

First time here in 18 months. Sadly not what it was. It's sad when fully booked restaurants get complacent! We ordered 2 different pastas and some focaccio to share while waiting. 3 sad small pieces of bread arrived loaded with salt.I almost refused them saying we had ordered bread ! The my friend's cannelloni arrived.. there wasn't much of it. In comparison my pasta with crab was huge! Loads of pasta in a creamy sauce hiding the odd crab flake and a few bits of gritty shell. The Sicilian white wine was probably the best part of a rather unfortunate meal. We didn't stay for desert but my friend ate the rest of the sad bread as he was still hungry. I didn't complain as he paid the bill quite happy to escape with just £88 for us both.

Omg have eaten nicer Italian food for much cheaper. Trendy noisy smallest menu ever. Over priced for a tiny amount of food. £22 for half a bowl of pasta. Shocking. Staff attentive and friendly. Kept us waiting for 15 mins after booking time but if we had been 15 mins late then 🤷🏻‍♀️

Electric atmosphere, a lot of people celebrating at large tables around us! We have a nice dinner with very Italian food: burrata, focaccia, branzino, spinach, Negroni. All were delicious!

So…went here for dinner with another couple one of which is pregnant. Even though we said she struggled with stairs we were firstly sat in the basement bar which wasn’t ideal. Then we had a constant whiff of sewage from the toilets close by throughout the meal which was gross. The toilets as well were really dirty and water/wee on the floor, also 2 were out of order. As for the food, our calamari starter was tiny and distinctly underwhelming. The highlight was the pulled pork pasta which was yummy but very small portion for the price. At the end of the meal when we asked to pay the waiter told us we had to pay using the app where we could split the bill. Sounded convenient but then charged us each an extra £2 for paying that way! We would have rather just paid our server! Altogether apart from the decor this was a miss for us.

Pre booked well in advance, and arrived on time for an early lunch on Saturday. The greeter at Front desk was unwelcoming and showed us to a horrible table on ground floor opposite the kitchen. There was no atmosphere as we were the only ones down there. Asked the greeter to move us and we were reluctantly given another table right by the door. There were loads of free tables in Nicer locations. Food was quick to arrive and we all enjoyed. The tap water was actually bottled water at £4.50, £1,99 to pay on the App, but I did ask for the service charge to be removed.

Good food but letting down by the service.

Such a fantastic restaurant - lovely surroundings fabulous food and the nicest serving people we have ever met. Ave Mario is my new favourite place to eat in Covent Garden.

From initially being sat in the basement which smelt like sewage, ironically, this has mirrored our entire experience. We had to be moved because that was unbearable. Our food was mediocre at best and the service was invisible; potentially trying to disguise the sewage smell. Pasta was undercooked, cold and food was served randomly across the table for everyone to scramble to find their own dish. Disappointing as I’ve visited other big mamma restaurants and have always been pleased but this was something else.

I met with good friends for a weekday lunch. We were a little disappointed to be sat right by the door but we recognise that someone has to have this table. The service we received was really very strange ranging from being quite obsessive about my wanting to request a change to my pasta sauce (this involved three different members of staff) through to receiving no spoons, being offered no parmesan, the black pepper mill being empty, my friend’s starter arriving with her main meal, having to get up to find a waiter to request our bill and my friend being charged twice for her third of the bill. I don’t like to sweat the small stuff but when you’re then charged a 13.5% service charge it starts to grate a bit. The food was nice but it wasn’t quite the relaxing lunch we’d hoped for. Not sure we’d go again to be honest!

Fancy expérience, thanks to the courtesy and the seamless service given by Aymen, Grazie mille signori !

I had an excellent dining experience, thanks to Aymen, who was incredibly attentive, friendly and professional throughout the meal. He took the time to explain the menu to us, gave us great recommendations and made sure our drinks were always refilled. I will definitely come back

Brilliant! Everything was great and the place was amazing! Super recommendable. Ah! Make a reservation before you go because it gets full!

We had a great time here. It was our first time visiting, the food came quick and the waiter Abdi was extremely helpful and thoughtful bringing us exactly what we needed when we needed.

The decor is very nice and food is well presented by sadly the overall quality dropped since our last visit. The carpaccio was completely tasteless, and pizza soggy. Also, I've been served food on a plate that was chipped in several places. Half of the toilets were out of order and the sewer smell was very noticeable in the restaurant. Sadly, doesn't live up to the hype and I won't be coming back.

We had high expectations for Ave Mario, but unfortunately, our visit left us quite disappointed. The restaurant spans three floors, but we were seated in the lowest level (basement), which is noticeably less attractive than the upper sections. The biggest issue, however, was the strong and unpleasant smell coming from the toilets, which are not separated by a proper door from the lower dining area. This seriously impacted the overall experience, and a solution is urgently needed. As for the food – it was okay, but nothing exceptional. That’s why we’re giving 3 stars. However, service was another issue: it took over 10 minutes for the waitstaff to bring a spoon for our pasta dishes, which should be a basic requirement. They did apologize for the delay, which was appreciated, but it still added to the overall frustration. In the end, Ave Mario feels overhyped – the aesthetics in the main areas are fun and Instagram-friendly, but the overall experience doesn’t match the buzz. Would we return? Probably not.

Dinner was spectacular best food I’ve had in a while hands down. Abdi’s customer service was out of this world and i can confidently say I’ve never had such a wonderful person serving us food like abdi did. Very helpful and kind. Can’t give less than 5* rating, wonderful people and food.

Had a great time, food tasty and not too expensive at all! Our server Lorenza was the highlight, friendly and welcoming!

Went here for the first time and it was absolutely fantastic. Such delicious food, stunning atmosphere and amazing service from our lovely server Lorenza! Definitely visiting again🍝

Everything was amazing, specifically the service and speed from our server Lorenza when we came for our first time. 100% recommend and a great atmosphere and good food!

The seevice was spectacular and Lorenza’s service was particularly amazing with her patience and care.

Beautiful food and atmosphere, wonderful staff! Thank you!

I brought my family here for dinner after a long day on our feet and the food was delicious! Exactly what we needed. The food came quickly and the environment was really nice. Also wanted to give a big shout out to our waitress Lorenza she really made our evening. She was super friendly and attentive - put a great smile on our faces and made sure we had everything we needed and then some. Will definitely be coming back soon!

Exceptional in every way - a fantastic way to celebrate my 70th Birthday!

Lovely food here and service was excellent and friendly big shout to aymen for being helpful

A very nice and clean place, perfect service thank you Bourhane

Food was excellent, Reece was an excellent server and made the night

good service great food, Big thanks to aymen, you're doing great

Went here with my family for my birthday and had absolutely amazing service by Reece, we were really well looked after, food was great and came quickly too, I will be sure to come here again!

Food was made to an outstanding quality, service was impeccably attentive, food came relatively quickly. the waiter Peppe was so friendly and welcoming.

Amazing food and even better service from Reece!

Today's service was excellent! The team did a great job ! a special thanks to Ayman for his outstanding work , his attention to detail made the experience even better. Keep it up! 👏🏻👌🏻

Lovely place, beautifully decorated and Guiseppe was so lovely. Great evening!

Giuseppe is a great waiter. He instantly figured out what kind of table we were and catered to our needs like few people can. Very pleasant and super friendly!

Giuseppe pur waiter was fantastic and looked after us very well and the food was excellent. Will definitely come back!

gréât place.absolutely delicious food.thank you Aymen.

Nice food and great service, Giuseppe was thr friendliest waiter I've had in years!

Giuseppe gave us an exceptional service, very attentive and helpful thank you very much I love the pasta 😋😋

Amazing restaurant and abdi was amazing

Amazing !! I came for a birthday dinner with friends! everyting was lovely, the waiter Peppe was very helpfull, the atmosphere was great and because it was a special occasion , we got a booth! Food was lovely and the drinks were great too.

Thank you Giuseppe for the excellent service. Great food, beautiful evening.

Everything was great, especially our waiter Peppe Iromsss!!! ⚒️

Great place with tasty food and nice interior design, gives you a good vibe. All these reviews they got are there for a reason and they seem to be quite accurate. If you like italian food try it with confidence, you won’t regret it. Decent prices as well 👍

Peppe gave us a spectacular service, thank you very much for your patience in explaining the dishes to us and being very careful with my husband's allergy, thank you

Our waiter Giuseppe was the best, he gave us the best service, he recommended dishes that I never thought I would like, thank you very much, I would return Thanks you

Great food, pricey but worth it!

We had a great time!! Mudi and Alexandra were great!!

Bro! I'd give 6 stars rating if there was more than 5, Aymen you're doing a great job bro, all the staff ya'll are doing great, keep up the great work!

This is the best Italian restaurant I’ve been to by far And ABDI was amazing

Dinner was amazing Abdi was great

Dinner here was amazing deffo would recommend, and a big shoutout to our waiter Abdi he was really amazing and added soo much to the experience

Very good, but a little expensive.

This is the second time we have come with my wife. The place is very nice and the staff helpful, a good Italian that I recommend!

The room in the basement was stuffy and smelt bad like sewage, there were stains on the seat cushions and as for the toilets, they were disgusting and put me off wanting to even go to the toilet. We were luckily moved upstairs after we asked however it was cold as the back door was open and we were told it was someone collecting rubbish.. we were sharing a pizza and pasta and therefore we asked for a spare plate so we could split our food but we were told there were no spare plates and we were given another bowl. When we asked for the bill we were told to scan the QR code. I’m Never one to not tip however on this occasion we didn’t feel a 13% tip was fair as the service we received was poor and the food itself was quite bland. We were very disappointed and had high expectations due to the demand in booking in advance however, I feel like this restaurant has been hyped by social media, I would be surprised if many people returned. It was also a meal for my birthday and therefore I was very dissatisfied.

Food was great and Lorenza’s service was fantastic she was very helpful and patient.

Great space, very busy. Service was great our waitress, Lorenza, was polite, patient and had always a smile on her face which made us feel confortable and welcomed. She had great knowledge of the menu and looked after us thoroughly. Thank you for that. Place is beautiful and we will be back soon and recommend it to everyone we know.

Food was amazing and extremely high quality Big thanks to aymen for the great service and will be returning👍👍

Came here for my Daughter’s birthday and we’ve had a lovely evening. Giuseppe was a great host and recommended the truffle pasta and the beef tartare. Both were delicious!

The food was incredible and Giuseppe was an amazing waiter! Great birthday

Giuseppe was serving us at Ave Mario and we had a brilliant evening! The food was great, the atmosphere was wonderful, and we will absolutely be coming back!

Such a nice place Abdi was amazing

Dinner was a absolutely lovely experience and the impeccable service from Abdikhaliq was very pleasant. 10/10 💚

Vibrant atmosphere Abdi was excellent

Good food and service. Thank you aymen

Cozy atmosphere Guaranteed Italian food Our waiter Giuseppe was very kind and very helpful with every request, also giving us some excellent advice!

The service was absolutely amazing Abdi done an superb job

Dinner was unmatched amazing service Especially Abdikhaliq 👌👌👌

Our meal was lovely and our waiter abdi was wonderful

Dinner was amazing and abdi was absolutely amazing

Hi there ! I would like to say that the service was exceptionnel .... a true taste of authentic Italian cuisine ♥️🤍💚 Everything was perfect, from the warm atmosphere to the delicious pasta. A huge thank you to the amazing team, and a special shoutout to someone called AYMAN I think , for good work your dedication truly made the experience even better thanks again

Dinner was nice,Abdi was excellent

Dinner was amazing and abdi was great

Experience was amazing Food was delicious Staff is very friendly

David is nice but missing cutlery

Lovely food and wonderful service. The restaurant decor is also beautiful, especially the bar! We will definitely come back!

I had dinner at this restaurant 2 nights ago. Beautiful place, truly Italian food, excellent! Competent, friendly staff. It is a very large place and, despite this, you have to book well in advance because there is never room. I am thrilled with this experience!!!!

Fantastic service from cristian. Delicious food and cocktails in a great atmosphere. Highly recommend.. just make sure you leave room for dessert.

We celebrated my birthday with my family at this restaurant (dinner) and the truth is that everything was very good, and the service was fast, and the waiters were very friendly.

the room feels very full and sticky. bathrooms were in big need of a clean. but sadly nothing special was the food. starters ok but they are not " cooked" as it was just ham and cheese on a plate. the pasta carbonara was just plain pasta in a cream sauce which was moved around in an old parmesan wheel and did not taste of parmesan or how carbonara could and should taste at all. very underwhelming. sad, as in circo popolare they always know how to do it. riding on social media and tik tok frenzy and expanding rapidly we have seen in the past, as well that if you are not being careful or doing quality control it can go downhill very quickly.

The ambiance is great, food is fab!!! Will definitely come back!

Amazing place! Italian inside out, definitely deserve the hype around it. Great food, awesome staff, and an overwhelming interior design that matches with the tradition it embodies. And not last reasonably priced despite being in Covent Garden, a thing that a lot of other Italian restaurants have forgotten.

Having booked this restaurant for my daughter's 18th off the back of the great reviews, we were very disappointed. We were sat by the back door, which was constantly being kept open and so it was very cold. There was a 10 minute queue for the toilets as one was out of order and one was overflowing and there was an awful smell. Service was a bit slow - we kept being directed to online menus and payments despite being with elderly relatives who requested an menu. The plates were all chipped, the decor was quite dated in places. The food was nice, although the crab linguine was very salty. The waitress seemed angry at any request for more water (due to salty dish). We told the waitress it was my daughters birthday and she literally said nothing. Ifollowed up with an email to express my concerns and no one replied. Disappointing given the reviews

Incredible food, stinky toilets

Food was great. Lively atmosphere and good service. Toilets weren't tended to regularly and were disgusting when I went in- toilet paper and water? all over the floor, and it was earlier on a Monday night tho the place was busy. Mostly though didn't appreciate the scan to pay system which automatically added a tip but then invited you to add more and then charged £2 check out fee. And if you split the bill you'd each pay the £2 fee. I think it's a cheek charging your customers to use a system that reduces your costs

The food is amazing and I had an amazing time with the loveliest David ☺️. Will definitely come back!

An excellent place to eat / dine in London, a picturesque place, great food and excellent service. The only drawback is that they only let us pay by card and no one notified us of this at any time, they refused to let us pay with cash.

I feel a bit uncomfortable writing this review, because the staff were lovely, the food was delicious and the place feels vibrant. However, the two hour table turnaround made for an uncomfortable experience. I get it - times are tough and businesses need to make money - but we were still eating our mains when we were told they needed to take the table back in 10 mins. The staff were visibly uncomfortable asking - but we were still eating, and had ordered dessert. My friend's plate was literally taken away from her when she was still finishing her food. They tried to reach a solution and found us another table we could have for an extra 15 mins so we could at least have some of the dessert and drink the cocktails we had just ordered, but it was quite strained. We left with our desserts barely eaten. It was a special occasion and the staff sang and made a big deal which was a nice touch - just a shame we were pushed out so quickly., I suggest a three hour turnaround would be more comfortable - especially when it takes a while to order etc.

Worst experience ever! 40 mins to get a cocktail! Food allergies were not followed, although this was shared a month ago! DO NOT RECOMMEND! They have high reviews, but mostly paid

Fab place great food abd service i would recommend and it has three dining floors

Amazing food and staff is really helpful

Don't believe the hype. The food is bang average with sooooo many better Italians in London to visit. If you're sat in the basement, you get a very different experience to the one you see on your social media. The basement is right by the kitchen (and the toilets!) and the seats are little swivelly office like chairs which are just ridiculous for sitting on for a meal. We ordered red wine and had to drink it out of beer glasses because they'd "ran out" of wine glasses. After the starters, the waiters didn't re-set our table - instead just handed us our knives and forks. After our mains, we were asked by the manager if we were thinking of ordering dessert because we didn't really have time as the table was required back (we were a party of 3 and had ordered as soon as we'd been approached by the waiting staff). When one of our party picked up a bowl with her food in it, water gushed out the bottom of it (which we can only assume was from the dishwasher) onto her plate. I've had a good experience at Gloria's but Ave Mario was certainly not the same standard.

Simply the best 🙌🏻🙌🏻 thank you Davide to look after us so well ❤️❤️

lovely atmosphere the downstairs with the open kitchen is amazing!!! staff were lovely and even sang happy birthday!!

Excellent, love this place, possibly more than Circolo Popolare 😜 same great food and exceptional service with a more chill vibe. All our waiters were super charming even having to do carbonara cheese wheels for probably the 100th time that day. Some really fun cocktails too, and of course the delicious desserts. Highly recommend!

The food was great and the service from Leonardo was brilliant.

nice atmosphere, friendly staff. The food is more middle class Vapiano level, more of a tourist act. then prop. Italian the aranchini balls were not completely cooked, the mozzarella inside was not melted

So, I would said that I’m surprised to give such a low rating for a restaurant part of the Big Mamma Group but…first,we wait for 15 minutes outside in the cold…even though we had a reservation and arrive on time…then we get lead on the underground under a very low ceiling which fell a bit claustrophobic but okay… then they were practically no light on the side where we were so made it difficult to see the menu and finally the food came cold… So even though the waiters were nice, the reception were not and paying a pizza for more than 20£ for it to be cold felt a bit bittersweet so yeah would not recommend this restaurant 🙃

An absolutely fantastic meal and experience. 10/10 in every single regard. We cannot wait to come back.

Wonderful tasty dishes and Arancini balls with carbonara sauce Amazing Great service Friendly staff Great atmosphere

I returned after some time, exactly three days ago... As I already expected, I found fantastic food and a completely excellent welcome, considering that I don't speak English and I've had bad experiences in other places! With them I felt at ease from the welcome and I ate divinely well.... Will be back 🫶🏼

Top service100% Fanatic environment I will gladly return