Ave Mario in City of London, Westminster - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

This is hands down one of the best Italian restaurants I’ve ever been to. Everything was absolutely delicious! I highly recommend coming here if you want a fantastic dinner and a great time. The food was incredible—everything we tried was a 10/10. We started with the burrata and focaccia, followed by La Gran Carbonara, Mafaldine al Tartuffo, the Dancing Queen pizza, and the branzino. The service was outstanding; everyone was super friendly. The restaurant itself was decorated in a really fun way, and, as a fun touch, even the bathroom was cool! I loved this place and hope to come back soon. .

What an experience. We walked in no reservation and was seated in the kitchen. So awesome, felt like I was in the tv show “the bear” food was delicious.

Cozy restaurant with great food, friendly service, and a warm atmosphere. Highly recommend!

Beautiful restaurant, food was amazing

Amazing restaurant!! We sat at the bar overlooking the open kitchen, it's an experience in itself to see how the dishes are prepared❤️ The food is excellent, satisfying dishes, excellent value for the cost and wonderful quality. Highly recommended

Absolutely incredible. 10/10 recommend this place for lit atmosphere and delicious food ✌🏻

Super cozy and fantastically good😍😍

Truly incredible. Super fun, bright, neon-lit atmosphere. The pasta was handmade and amazing. Highly recommend.

After friends said it was an amazing restaurant, we were super excited to go to this place, and it was....barely OK. Super disappointing food, especially at the cost. It wasn't horrific, but it was major meh. Great service though, and very cute decor.

The best place in town! A must visit for all! The food was scrumptious, the drinks devine and what made the evening even more was the service, with a special shout out going out to Andrea 😘 #wewillbebackverysoon #bigmammadonegoodonceagain

I recently dined at Ave Mario with a friend, and the experience was nothing short of exceptional. From the moment we walked in, we were enveloped in the vibrant and energetic atmosphere that the restaurant is known for. The service was impeccable—our server, though we regretfully didn’t catch her name, was an absolute delight. We had a fun chat about Oasis tickets, and she was assertive yet incredibly warm, ensuring we were well taken care of throughout the evening. We started our meal with the burrata and focaccia, both of which were outstanding. The burrata was creamy and rich, paired perfectly with the soft, freshly baked focaccia that melted in our mouths. The star of the night, however, was the carbonara. Served in a Parmigiano Reggiano wheel, it was a theatrical and indulgent experience that left us both in awe. The pasta was cooked to perfection, with the cheese from the wheel adding an extra layer of decadence to an already luxurious dish. Every detail at Ave Mario was thoughtfully executed, from the quality of the food to the exceptional service. It’s rare to find a place that nails every aspect of the dining experience, but Ave Mario did just that. We left with full hearts, satisfied palates, and a strong desire to return. Highly recommended for anyone looking to enjoy a memorable meal in a lively and welcoming setting!

Located in central London, this restaurant impresses with its prime location and beautifully designed interior. The burrata mozzarella was a delightful start, followed by a well-cooked steak and a good pizza. However, the service was mediocre and could be improved. Overall, it's worth visiting for the food and ambiance, but don't expect exceptional service.

We were pleased with the atmosphere of the place and the quality of the flavors, but speeding up the service could make the experience even more perfect.

Everything is delicious, the family came. We were satisfied, thank you for a pleasant evening

It was a great experience overall - the atmosphere was fantastic, the design and decor of the place was awesome, and the food was delicious. We sat at the bar overlooking the kitchen and it was really cool to watch the team hard at work preparing the food. And wow did they manage to push things out quickly whilst still maintaining a high quality. The service was average, but it’s because the team were so stretched. It was very difficult to find staff to order more drinks or food, as it looked like they were unstaffed on the floor.

The service was slow and some plates were chipped. Also, they ruined my friends’ surprise cake telling me that they didn’t bring the second tiramisu because of the birthday girl was in the toilet (my friend was in the toilet). I told them that I was the person celebrating and I wanted to remove the second tiramisu from the bill (they never did by the way). It was clear that it was me celebrating because I had asked for the missing dessert and they didn’t even apologise for the mistake. I had to ask 3 times for a bottle of still water. I went to the restaurant one year ago with some friends and I can see that the service is not good like it used to be. Better Gloria or Circolo Popolare.

Highly recommended if you’re looking for somewhere to eat around Covent Garden. Very busy as it’s clearly popular but made for a great atmosphere and we only had to wait a couple of minutes past our reservation time for our table to be ready. The food was phenomenal (we had the carbonara for two, which was served spectacularly and tasted incredible). Drinks were quite pricy (£9.50 for a medium wine and £7 for a mocktail) but we’re used to northern prices and the whole meal was very reasonably priced in all for being in the heart of Covent Garden. Will be back!

Food was great but service was even better! We’ll be back!!!

Lovely waiting staff, super quick service and delicious food- what more could you ask for? I will be back!

Too much confusion, discreet dishes overly seasoned and covered in sauces that ruin the taste and Italian character.

Super cool atmosphere, great food and drink !!

Amazing food and atmosphere Recommends as a day out with friends

If you hang around Covent Garden and fancy a good Italian restaurant… definitely book Ave Mario…but make sure you do in advance 🤣

Brilliant decor and great , Only annoyance was the Pasta was a little overcooked.

Calamari tasteless, sexy pork something main which was supposed to be pork fillet, seemed to be a pork sausage with very fatty bacon and spinach filling. Sweet was just ok! They have a QR code on the table to pay - don’t use it because they charge you £2 for the privilege. Look at the bill because they add 13.5% service charge. Getting like America and it has to stop. I’m not averse to giving a tip for good service but it should be my choice! If I’d spotted it, I would have got them to take it off! I for one won’t be caught again! The QR code way of paying even asked if I wanted to tip my waitress which I did as she was attentive but to find I’d paid it twice - appalling!

This is the second Big Mamma restaurant I’ve been to and I honestly don’t understand the hype (the other was Circolo Popolare). The place is full of people taking pictures for social media which doesn’t make for a great atmosphere. The staff are pushy and always rushing you to try to get you out as quickly as possible. We got the mains while we were still eating the starters and then a waitress tried to take the plates away while we were still eating our mains. Same experience in Circolo Popolare. The food is overpriced and very mediocre. I ordered pasta (you’d think a simple dish to cook) at Ave Mario and it was undercooked and dry. £21 for unseasoned and undercooked pasta. Oh and we saw mice multiple times scurrying around the tables at the Circolo Popolare restaurant. Don’t waste your money and go to a less-Instagram friendly Italian restaurant instead.

Special occasion and it lived up to its reputation. Great food and atmosphere. The staff were fantastic.

Was a great birthday celebration but was told to leave .. Valentina was great xx

Reece looked after us very well and the truffle pizza is INSANE. Would definitely return when i come back to London

Unbelievable food, great service. Highly recommend 🤝

My fav has always been the truffle pasta

Delicious and love the style of the restaurant. Really friendly staff ☺️

Outstanding atmosphere, service, food and location and great value

This place is good. Food is very good and cocktails fabulous. There are vegetarian options and it is in walking distance to soho and other touristy london locations. We ordered the ragu and the spinach ravioli as well as the martini and the beach bum cocktail which was massive. Good Italian restaurant in the beighbourhood. Great for one on one intimate and private meetings as they had private boots. Well decorated and attentive staff. Good experience.

The food was amazing the vibes were amazing. Our server Selina was amazing and made us feel very comfortable

Taesty italian dishes. Pasta truffle is wonderful with a lot of truffle slices. Pizza dough is very soft. The tables are too crowded and noisy.

Been meaning to try this restaurant for some time and we got a booking in while catching a show. The atmosphere was good, food and service was average. The meringue desert was below expectations, the pastry was to hard (solid), had to be careful when getting stuck in.

I was there on Wednesday and i ordered a margarita pizza and found a long hair in it. It put me off from eating too much I felt so sick after so couldn’t enjoy the pizza that was corrected after either as there is a clear lack of hygiene in the kitchen and it was a woman’s hair as well I don’t think I will be going back I am very disappointed. Although the staff changed my food they didn’t seem to be sorry or was apologetic about this whole thing tried to make it seem like a silly mistake when it was a bigger problem with hygiene of the food and kitchen.

The food is out of this world! The place is beautiful and the service is very fast.

Great place, great food and our server Selina was great.

Absolutely incredible. The best restaurant in London! Went here with my girlfriend and we enjoyed everything. The pesto pasta dish was amazing. Big thanks to Adrianna, accommodating.

Quite unique experience at this outstanding Italian restaurant. The service is very nice. We ordered calamari and the portion was surprisingly small. We ordered the margarita, truffle pizza, veal spaghetti and ravioli. All were great but the portions are small and rather expensive for the size.

Great food both times we’ve been here!

The mafaldine al tartufo (truffle pasta) is extraordinary! Easily in the top 3 of all the pastas I've eaten in my life. Filling portion size too. The desserts were delicious as well. I like my cheesecake thick, but the runny vanilla cheesecake was excellent! The tiramisu was as it should be, just great. We walked in without a reservation. They told us that they had space left across the kitchen and asked us if we were okay with that. We were hungry, so we said 'okay, sure'. Didn't expect the walk to the basement were the kitchen is. It was actually nice to sit across the kitchen and watch the cooks make the food. If you want water, you can just ask for free tap water. The only thing I disliked is that a tip of 13.5% (if I remember correctly) is automatically added. You can apparently ask them to remove the tip, but not everybody is confrontational - they're banking on people to just leave the tip included. I begrudgingly paid the tip. They're lucky that the pasta and desserts are wonderful - or else I would've given 4 stars because of the automatically added tip.

Ave Mario is not just an excellent restaurant but also a place where every guest is welcomed with a smile and looked after by the very pleasant and attentive team. Davide, the Restaurant Manager and Cristian, the Supervisor are outstanding and deserve a special acknowledgement: BRAVISSIMI!! See you again soon!

Fabulous food, truffle pasta was so decadent! Michael was a great server

Absolutely fantastic place. The food is great, so is the ambience. What topped it off was Reece’s impeccable service. If you go here, try to get a seat in his section, you’ll be very entertained and well taken care of.

Excelente service, food is good. Portions on dishes are great. Excelente cocktails

Overall the setting and the decor is quirky and the staff attentive, however on the particular evening my friend and I went the atmosphere was a bit rushed. We had a reservation but it felt like staff were stressed whether because of being busy, understaffed, overworked or something else was going on. The drinks (we only had 1 cocktail and a main each) were beautifully presented but in massive glasses filled to the brim with ice and just tasted of citrus. The food was tasty but I had a stomach upset not 25 minutes later after paying for the bill which NEVER happens. Disappointing considering the place was recommended to me by my friend 💁🏼

Great food and even better atmosphere.

Had an amazing time at this place! The ambience and decor are absolutely stunning -really sets the mood. The staff is super responsive, and the service overall is pretty solid. My only tiny gripe is that the seats are a bit cramped, but honestly, the delicious food makes up for it. Would definitely recommend!

I came here with my sister for our day out in London and it was a great place to go! Great food, atmosphere and service. I would recommend and we'll definitely go again!

My wife and I chose it for our wedding anniversary. It was our first trip to England and we did a lot of research and chose. Really everything we ate was delicious. We have tasted the same food in Italy before and I can say that it was much tastier than most places. Truffle pasta was great. We wanted it to never end. Pizza and burrata were also excellent. I also have to mention the service. Our young friend was serving by “running”. And he was very sincere. Honestly, for the first time, I "felt" that a staff member was doing his job with pleasure and was happy. The staff was friendly. Reservation is a must. He also made us happy with his surprises for our anniversary. Thank you for welcoming us as "guests". Soprano's breeze was great :)

Unfortunately the service was transactional but the server was nice. The food was a big let down. The aubergine had no taste and the carbonara was average at best. Nothing special - considering all the reviews and raving about the dish we were disappointed. The tirimisu was decent which was the saving grace but it was ruined when the bill arrived. They charge 13.5% and also make you pay £1.70 as an additional fee to pay using your phone. There is no other payment option so you literally have to pay £1.70 to pay your bill! If you want an Instagram photo maybe this is somewhere for you but outside the photo, I wouldn’t recommend. Better Italian restaurants in London. Try Prima Sapori in Covent Garden. Excellent Italian!

Fun place, and friendly staff. The Tagliarini and the Pasta al Ragù were ok, we enjoyed the Caprese salad and the Aperol Spritz. They don’t accept cash, (which is a bit annoying… I attempted to pay with my card which they also wouldn’t accept (AMEX). Make up your minds, do you want my money or not 🤌

The truffle pasta was amazing, is actually quite a large portion and very fulfilling! Didn't wait that long for a Saturday afternoon as well. The online payment system they use charges one pound service fee, which is a bit pricey. Technically you can ask the servers to prepare the bill to avoid that, but they seem to encourage the customers to use the online payment system (from what I overheard from another table), so probably would have taken a while. Definitely will visit again for more truffles!

Great food, service and lovely happy atmosphere. Music a little loud . On the whole though a great birthday celebration. Thank you.

Amazing pizza, great service and very upbeat/fun atmosphere!

A truly Italian restaurant,said by an Italian! Great food and great selection of wine and cocktails! I'm definitely coming back!

Nice food overall, pasta was quite oily but tasty in general

Very tasty and atmospheric. Recommended!

Really good food would come back again best Italian in London

Omg great food! Truffle pasta was sinful! Love the focaccia! One of the best meals I had in London!!!!

Extremely rude, and I mean no manners at all, staff…the three women at the door were very unwelcoming, the customer service is non existent. An off putting experience. Ugly vibes…arrogant staff! They had no idea about food intolerances, and even seemed annoyed at me questioning it , to the point that another senior member of staff said ‘well, then Italian food isn’t for you’, funny as I’ve been to many other Italian restaurants, and they all had options! What a snooty hellish disrespectful place. Anyway, they then sat us downstairs at the worst possible table, which definitely felt intentional, the only smiling staff was a man working upstairs by the way, shame we didn’t have him. A waitress then came and asked us if we wanted drinks, to which we pointed out she didn’t bring us the drinks menu , she rolled her eyes, huffed, showed the QR code and threw it on the the table saying ‘you need to scan this’! We immediately left, I’m not sitting in any restaurant where they act like they are doing you a favour…if I could give zero stars I would. I can’t comment on the food as we didn’t even make it to that. READ the other negative reviews.

Just an absolutely lovely restaurant, with attentive staff and gorgeous food and drinks. Thank you!

Great Italian restaurant located in Covent Garden. They have plenty of items to choose from including pastas and pizzas. We did family style sharing and ordered a couple of the pizzas (margherita, prosciutto, and truffle) and had their ravioli pasta. Everything was very delicious! We also love all their decorations. They have a downstairs area which gives off speakeasy vibes and you can see the chefs cooking. Highly recommend dining here!

We came here a couple of weeks ago for my daughters 18th Birthday (Her choice). We all had pizza which was ok but had better. The lemon pie was amazing but the tiramisu was just ok. The restaurant was tired if not tatty and the toilets were bizarre. The restaurant doesn't take cash...fair enough, but then adds a 13% service charge with no way of removing it and also adds a £1.95 charge for paying by card!!! shame as it was for a special birthday, but don't think I could recommend it.

I’d say it’s a good first date spot.

Amazing food!!! Took my friend here for her birthday and she absolutely loved it. Brava!! 👏🏼

Atmospheric restaurant with lovely food. Without a doubt the best pizza we've ever had. Very attentive service, our waiter was called Antonio and he made us feel welcomed. They made the experience extra special when they brought a desert on the house with the Happy birthday song for our birthday girl. We will definitely return and most certainly would recommend this place.

The food and service are both top-notch , worth a try

They make a great pizza, the way it used to be in the USA , a place you can get a fountain Pepsi not a small bottle of coke.

Great service, delicious food, affordable prices, and absolutely psychedelic restaurant!

Amazing experience. Quite a different Italian. Great quality of all ingredients. Very nice service. Great place for special occasions (all tables were BDays, including ours).

Lovely venue, fantastic food (truffle pasta and Lemon tart), good service!

Loved the foods! And Rasini was a wonderful host thank you for an amazing night ❤️❤️❤️

Food was amazing and the customer service by reece was wonderful he was very helpful and friendly.

Food was delicious, great atmosphere

Sadly, the food was quite bad. Shame, I really wanted it to be good. Brought my girlfriend here sure it was going to be a good experience, given the positive reviews on Google. Sadly the food was awful. The stake was quite small and tasted like nothing, with an after taste of old meat. The pasta was overly oily and of a taste that I could not really pinpoint. I am Italian so I know what good Italian food is. This was not it. On the other end, the restaurant looks gorgeous and the service was ok, sadly the most important part was missed.

Really good time here with delicious food. Got the carbonara out of the cheese wheel and was delicious. Also tried a margarita pizza and thought it was very good. Circolo Popolare was booked the night we wanted and Ave Mario did not disappoint. They are apart of the same restaurant group.. Bathroom was also really cool!

An amazing place for a date night. The food was incredible and served in a timely manner. The wine was topped up whenever it was low, just a great experience. Make sure to have a reservation since it does get busy.

Delicious food and gorgeous service as always!

food: best italian in london, specifically the truffle pasta! cannot recommend it enough if you like truffle, looks and tastes amazing service: team here are fantastic! friendly and accomodating. food isn't super quick, but well worth the wait. atmosphere: incredible decor, the designers have done an amazing job. very clean too. only criticism is that if you have a seat downstairs, you can feel a little claustrophobic

Nice place. Good food. Good service

Stylish place, but mind you, most of the decor are religious items- sacrilegious-do not dine here if you think that would offend you. Food was okayish for the price, pasta were al dente and pizza were good. They have different themed areas, reserved for a lunch for 4. Minor blip, I was sat elsewhere waiting for friends, all the while they already arrived and were sat in another area despite saying that we had a reservation.

nice place and nice italian food. We went for a birthday celebration and ordered upfront a tiramisu party platter which first they forgot to bring to the table and then when they brought it it was not the best tiramisu i have ever had. the only disappointing dish was the tiramisu, all the rest was very good. I would recommend all their antipasti and dishes to share especially the beef carpaccio

Mixed on this restaurant. We took a burrata and carbonara pasta to share, with two SMALL glasses of Prosecco. Total = 96€? With 13.5% service fees included without our agreement and no one explained it to us, we had to look on the ticket to find out what this excess corresponded to (€11.48). At some point taking a 13.5% service fee without asking is just stealing. I was very embarrassed to ask to remove them since they are apparently optional, but the waitress seemed annoyed when I asked her for my receipt to find out where this amount came from. I would therefore not necessarily recommend this restaurant, and we had to deal with a waitress at the entrance who was not very friendly (not even a hello)... Avoid

Food: need more selection but beautifully cooked pasta. El dente! Atmosphere: top tier, great venue and setting

We found it a bit slow to get a drink. It is fine that we were waiting for one of our party, but we could have had more drinks by then! The food order, luckily, he told us was enough. As otherwise too much food for us. The salad was super salty, but we ate it all. Burrata was good on pizza and on its own. Good atmosphere. Crazy strip light in the toilets and half were out of order. We sat in the basement. Maybe worth being upstairs as the kitchen light was really bright.

Lovely restaurant, would recommend booking if you want to experience the more “Instagrammable” side of the restaurant, but as we were walk-ins we were sat in an older version of the restaurant but was incredible, lovely passionate waitress and impeccable food - the cheesecake that was recommended was the best I’ve eaten. A must go if you’re in London/Covent Garden. Oh and the cheese wheel-served carbonara is a great experience!

Absolutely loved our Ave Mario experience from start to finish!!! Our server was amazing, the food was outstanding….thank you so much

Excellent food and service all around. Make sure to make a reservation to get a table in the main dining area.

Lovely reataurant. Great pasta. Lovely staff

Great restaurant, really cool design and nice ambiance

Excellent authentic Italian cuisine! We didn't have reservations, so we couldn't sit inside, but the covered outdoor seating was still enjoyable and a nice break from the wind.

Honestly this is supposed to be the best italian place in London and it wasn’t. i got spaghetti & the pasta was hard. portions for the total bill price was crazy The decor is nice Service is mid

Food here is great highly recommend! I'm a big truffle fan and the pasta is a MUST!!!

Tasty but average experience. Maybe if we were sitting inside it would’ve been much better experience.

We try to book a table online and couldn’t get the reservation confirm showing there was table available. We got directly to the restaurant and with plenty availability the host was really rude and didn’t gave us a table. They told us to wait for 1 hour. Don’t recommend it.

The atmosphere and service is amazing. The food is incredible! We can’t wait to come back!