Ave Mario in City of London, Westminster

Attended for a friends birthday dinner - great service, good pizza and cocktails and a glitzy interior suitable for a celebration.

Beautiful atmosphere, excellent food, very well trained staff. I recommend!

Just one thing made me feel uncomfortable, we must pay online and must pay £0.99 extra for platform using fee, which is unacceptable.

Exquisite food and very nice place. I recommend booking in advance, since we went without a reservation and we had to sit at the bar in front of the kitchen. Somewhat high price.

I like Big Mamma group restaurants but I really didn't understand the hype about Ave Mario as a result of my recent visit. The most I can say about the food is "OK". We were a group of 5, we ordered 3 starters and 5 mains, noone was very happy about their food. Frankly, I make a tastier truffle pasta :) We waited so long for our orders to be taken. 4 mains came together, 1 arrived after asking for a few times. They brought the cutlery nearly 5 minutes later after they serve the food. The moment you step downstairs, a strong smell of toilet hits you in the face. The toilets were in terrible condition-tissues on the floor, it was all wet, overflowing trash.. And this was on a calm Monday evening.

Pizza was delicious as always! Location is amazing and most of all service was great, Laura was very kind and professional, I had a great time :)

Despite a beautiful atmosphere, the restaurant is far below Parisian addresses. Totally tasteless pizzas and pastas

Amazing food,so delicious 🫠🫠🫠 Staff should be more friendly and professional :)

At Ave Mario you feel like you're entering a piece of Italy, right in the bustling heart of London! The atmosphere is great, with colorful accents and an energetic vibe that immediately puts you in a holiday mood. The staff are incredibly attentive and know exactly how to make you feel welcome.

Amazing food and service as always!

Gianmarco helped with our diner and we had a great experience ☺️

I just dined there on Sunday and the overall experience was fine. They gave us a table on a corner when none of staff could see us and every time we had to wait long time or bend to ask for help! The food🍕 Starter we ordered Burrata and Calamari. They were both fine and good size to share for 2 people. For main course we ordered the "Dancing queen" Pizza and Margarita Pizza. Dancing queen was so tasty, 8/10 Margarita was nit good at all. It didn't have enough tomato or anything. Both Pizza's were not crispy and they were a bit chewy😕 I didn't expect that at all! For dessert: we ordered apple and pear crumble. It was tasty sooo much and it wasn't too much sweet which I appreciate so much!

Awesome find. Great food, charming staff and a really unique atmosphere. Will definitely return.

Nice pizza location fantastic, service just ok

Probably had higher expectations but I wouldn’t rate the food as 5 stars compared to other top Italian restaurants in London. The service and atmosphere/ vibe are definitely five star worthy though. Went for a pizza and it was a bit drier than I expected it to be. Nice place to go for drinks though.

We made a reservation and returned specifically to try the polpette, but unfortunately, much of the secondi piatti menu was out of stock, and no one informed us at the entrance. The service was exceedingly slow and disorganised. We were seated near a large group or event, and it seemed as though the staff’s full attention was directed solely toward them. This second experience spoiled the excellent impression we had of the restaurant from our first visit.

Amazing experience! Beautiful venue, delicious food. 100% recommend. Special thanks to our hostess Maria for being extra welcoming!

Excellent food and service and Gianna Marco provided the best service !

Lovely atmosphere and kind staff

It used to be one of my favourite places but yesterday had lunch with my family and unfortunately pizzas came burnt, additionally smell in the titles was so intense that was coming into the venue itself, I really don't know how people downstairs could eat there! Unfortunately, the service was super slow and our table was.was always full.pf dirty glasses and plates. Very disappointed. Especially since we looked forward to this outing and came to celebrate my mum's birthday...

Marta delivered a great service and experience!! Amazing food as usual

Wow, what a place. A great find for a lively and authentic culinary experience. The food was exquisite and enjoyable. Our server, Giammaria made the experience fun, he explained everything. We had the pleasure of kitchen counter seats, where we watched Gianmarco and Nataniel, along with the rest of the team in what I can only describe as a well oiled machine of a kitchen. We'll definitely be back. Beliisimo! Eccezionale!

Excellent food and service by Gianno Marco

Me and my partner had such an amazing welcoming from Gianmaria the Manager & we been looked after the very attentive eye of Marta our table Supervisor and Waiter all your Staff are extremely Professional and Smiling even with a Super Busy Restaurant !! Can’t wait to be back and a little point about your Beautiful Playlist !!! Good Sound is always very Appreciated !! Thanks Again !!!

Gorgeous dinner and birthday treat!

Our waiter Micheal , provides us with the best service ever . We will come back

Amazing food and great service ! My daughter says its the best truffle pasta shes had , happy kid happy days🙌

Really good lunch at Ave Mario! Being an italian i had high expectations for this place and i was happy with the lunch we had! It was a saturday afternoon, place was not too packed. First, I totally recommend the calamari as a starter, the sauce that came with them was surreal. Would give a 9/10 As mains we got: dancing queen pizza, was really nice! 8/10 Carbonara: 10/10 probably some of the best i’ve had in london! Truffle pasta: 8.5/10 even tho im not the biggest fan of truffle We then tried all of the desserts! Lemon meringue pie: have had this before at Gloria’s . It’s ok, too much meringue for us. 6/10 Zebra mousse: 10/10 wouldn’t have ordered but omg , thank god we did! Was insane! Tiramisu: 8/10 wish it was a little colder! Pistachio mousse: 10/10 it’s pistachio gelato Pear and apple crumble: 9/10! Overall great experience and would recommend with friends for a fancy italian lunch! We split all of this between 5 and paid around 35£ each.

We didn't have a reservation but they found a place for us to stay downstairs. At the beggining I thought it would suck but then I realized it couldn't better. We got to see the chefs working, surrounded by lights and a nice environment. And the food was all worth it as well

loved Lorenza great atmosphere and service

Thank you for looking after us and our birthday guest x

Fab restaurant, great atmosphere service was excellent -very friendly and attentive. Lemon Pie is to die for!!

Still just as good and the downstairs room facing the kitchen is spectacular.

Georgio was an amazing staff member! The service was impeccable and the food is a must recommended. Georgio made our evening dinner so much more enjoyable. Will definitely recommend you booking a table with him as your waiter. Food was amazing! I have been to all the restaurants as part of the Big Momma group and I would say this is my favourite!

Really good, friendly staff great food

All the staff were incredibly friendly and made a fuss of our little boy. The food was delicious.

I’m only giving this two stars because of the design of the place and the fact the staff were quite friendly - a place that exists purely for social media platforms as everyone here was taking photos/reels to show they’d merely been here. Food-wise (like all Big Mamma places) it’s awful. My pasta was claggy and almost inedible, the pizza was soggy and almost raw. Clearly all the Italians are the waiting staff instead of being in the kitchen. It’s a shame because if this place (and its sister restaurants) got in some decent chefs you could see this brand being almost unbookable. Instead people came and went quickly as they took their photos and didn’t finish their food, happy that they can show off for the ‘gram.

Had a fabulous late lunch with friends who were over from Ireland. The two girls (15 & 10yrs old) LOVED the decor! All four of them had margarita pizzas and I had the crab pasta. Everyone's plates were cleared. Attentive but not intrusive service. Highly recommend

Incredible cuisine, magnificent decoration, very pleasant service!

Excellent choice of eatery far surpassing the chain venue offerings that surround it. Very accommodating service. Dog friendly.

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

Amazing food and even better service 🌟 thank you Alexandra and the rest of the lovely team for a lovely evening ❤️

Really lovely restaurant and sang me a happy birthday song! Would recommend 😁

What a find, so friendly, definitely recommend

Place was very cool and loved the atmosphere and vibe. A few dishes underwhelmed, wouldn’t order the steak, pretty dry and small.

I absolutely love this restaurant. The food was amazing, and the service was amazing! Norbert made me feel so welcomed. He was attentive and friendly; and answered to all my questions very clearly. Very knowledgeable and helpful! I enjoyed the wonderful service and i look forward to visit again!

Great service, food and atmosphere

Giammaria and andrea was amazing

i love it here. love andrea. love giammaria.

The restaurant was really lovely, and we had been looking forward to coming here. I booked it as a pre theatre lunch for my mum’s 65th birthday. On arrival the waitress was friendly and took us to our seats. We were told to view the menu on a QR code which I didn’t like and asked for paper menus. Personally, I don’t like to have my phone out in a restaurant and at a nice place it’s better to look at a proper menu. These were provided for us no problem. The starters were first - mushroom bruschetta was lovely, but arancini was a little bit eggy and a little dry so we didn’t enjoy these as much. My mum had the sea bass - she loved it, and I had the tomato pasta with cheese which was lovely. Really fresh and delicious. Servers were friendly. Some issues around desert. We ordered the mini desserts and I also ordered a tea. I asked for milk for my tea and it didn’t arrive - I asked again and a final third time. It wasn’t a priority and I sat there waiting to drink my tea! I was shocked that when I got the bill I had been charged 50p for milk for my tea - at this point though I didn’t want to argue. Desert was lovely although would have been nice if the cream was proper whipped cream and not from a can. Loved the presentation in the parrot and cheetah head. It was a real shame that no one made any fuss of my mum. I had put on the booking that it was her 65th - a special birthday - and there wasn’t a mention of it at all. A bit disappointing. Finally - the toilets. The toilets looked very cool on the way with all the images and gallery walls. But when you get to the ladies, it smells very bad due to being joined only by a saloon door to the men’s urinals. Also from a woman’s perspective, it’s not nice to be able to see into the men’s toilets also - at night when people are drinking I would not feel comfortable. Inside the cubicles were quite dirty, seats were peeling and decor dated. Not nice. Overall a good experience but considering the type of place this is, I think I expected better.

Excellent lunch in a pleasant atmosphere

Cozy place, average food, we will return to try the pizza, recommended if you are nearby, a special compliment to the waitress Valentina

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

I have been here every time when I passed by London. I must say usually the service is quite good and the food is good. But tonight was a huge disappointment. I tried the carbonara pasta but the waiter who served the pasta didn’t pay attention at all and he just dropped the bacon and flipped some cheese on my clothes. The service was really disappointing. The service wasn’t good tonight, not sure what’s going on with them… I was very much looking forward to try this pasta but ended up very disappointed by the service.

The setting is magnificent and the food exquisite!

amazing, would come back here on a daily basis the food is delicious

Every dish was heaven in our mouths! Little pricey but for sure worth it! Please give the truffle pasta and pizza and the burratta a try! So, so delicious!

Amazing as ever...... delicious pizza!!

Great place , will for sure go again

Absolutely immaculate food & service , no complaints! Will definitely return at some stage

Wonderful meal with our two little girls, nothing was too much trouble. Service was excellent and the food incredible. Will be back

my little boy is obsessed with this restaurant and we've eaten here before. staff were very friendly and helpful. food consistently good.

Marta was a wonderful server, the food was incredible with a decent price for being so central, especially with the quality of food ❤️

Marta was amazing, Really good knowledge of the menus and items on them, food was excellent, Even though I am a coeliac, the options that where available where unbelievable Very happy

Wait staff are disrespectful of your time. Don't stay if you don't have a reservation because they'll make you wait for hours while keeping you on the hook.

Great restaurant, service was amazing as was the food, will recommend. Thankyou

Beautiful food, amazing atmosphere and environment (we sat in the top area with a view of the bar)

The only bad thing about Ave Mario is how difficult it is to get a table! We have visited the last twice we have been in London and I have been previously as well.Every time there has been a great atmosphere and the place has been full. Quality of ingredient is excellent, the menu changes up and even something as simple as a Carbonara is fantastic. Honestly I really love coming here and try and make it a must do anytime I am in London for work or pleasure! Difficult to highlight one thing from the menu but the Lemon Meringue (to share`) is just phenomenal!

The best pizza place in cetral London. All great from the service to food and ambience. Fine dinning , Fresh and high quality food. welcoming and kind staff.

Authentic Italian with great vibe and atmosphere!

Every staff member was really professional and fun!!!

Young or old this place hits the spot, great food at reasonable prices, staff are friendly and efficient, decor is very funky and don't miss the downstairs bathrooms as they are worth the trip alone - have already recommended this place to friends and was only there two days ago.

5 star all around We have a lovely welcoming entrance with the hosts and manager Giammaria who made us feel right at home The waitress adrianna was awesome, she made great suggestions for the food and drinks, and was super attentive! The bar manager Gabrielle is incredible, she even created a special cocktail just for us! Overall an amazing experience and I will definitely be returning

Amazing atmosphere and food. Waitress was so lovely

Nice atmosphere, kind service but really mediocre food. We got the carbonara arancini which was decent, but the pizza was bad. It was cold, the dough was soft and it was tasteless. Came because of the social media hype etc but would not recommend.

Fabulous and very accommodating

Overhyped, Undercooked, and Unbearable If you’re looking for a place to avoid in London, Ave Mario should be at the top of your list. The 4.8-star rating is baffling because the food, service, and atmosphere are terrible. The meatballs arrived mostly raw—yes, raw meat—and when we sent them back the waitress asked if we wanted them “well done”, acting like we were the problem. The calamari was rubbery, and the pizza made Papa John’s look gourmet. The atmosphere was just as bad, with blaring music and a filthy bathroom downstairs. We couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

We loved the place and the food. We tried the famous lemon tart, that did not meet our expectations. Other than that everything was perfect

When there for dinner with a friend and find out this place is Gem. Service was amazing the sirloin was great and the mandarin mojito was 10/10. Grabiela create a special for us that was terrific.

suzanna our waitress was amazing! lovely food and wine xx

One of Londons BEST Italian restaurants!

The vibe is very good, but a bit more smiling does not hurt 😋

the food was absolutely delicious and our server suzanna was lovely and gave us amazing recommendations :D

Waiter literally rubs his bare fingers inside the plate when serving you. The dining room where we had our table smelled like sewage. No one seemed to care

The food was nice, quite quick to arrive and overall tasty. Service and ambiance also very nice. Great burrata and focaccia for starters, the pizza was quite tasty but the dough maybe a bit heavy, and the truffle pasta was good but disappointing, for the price you could barely taste or smell any truffle, it might’ve been bad luck but was disappointing. The dessert looked very nice but it’s not the best lemon meringue I’ve tried, just ok. The cocktail was very good. Overall it was tasty but a bit expensive for what we got in my opinion

Too slow service, pizza took 1 hour to get ready

We tried to go in for dinner in this restaraunt last minute. We didn’t have a reservation but it was later in the evening and there had been openings online. When we arrived they told us “we keep the reserved tables always reserved, we only have some walk ins it’s our system” and continued with “we will soon stop food”. We attempted to ask one more time for a table and the lady also told us no and that there was a table of 32 arriving, contradicting what the other colleague had said about the food ending soon. They were in general quite rude and seemed to be very unbothered. I was disappointed because 2 days before we e had received a onderful service in jacuzzi, also part of the big mama group. If you want a nice service I would avoid here!!

Great drinks ("I hate negroni"), service (thanks Suzanna!), atmosphere & really recommend the truffle pizza. Pasta - we had the Taglierini al granchio: completely soaked in oil & quite a letdown. Just judging from this pasta, the chef in the kitchen must be very far from Italian.

Busy, vibey restaurant in the heart of Covent Garden. Good choice of pizza and pasta dishes, big portions.

Great atmosphere great decor great food

I was really excited to try this restaurant and overall I was very disappointed. The food was awful. We had the truffle pasta and it was so salty it tasted like ramen noodles. We also had the pizza and it was barely edible. The service also wasn't good and our waitress was very rude.

Best italian restaurant in town

What a waitress!!! Fantastic LAURA!! She made a beatiful service! Many thanks. Food also amazing!!

Delicious food and thank you for the good service Mocci!!! We really enjoyed the evening and definitely come back!!

lovely place, very good food and great service, I will come back definitely.

We really enjoyed our evening at Ave Mario. The food was good and our waiter Rhys or Rees (we didn't really manage to be sure about the spelling) took such good care of us and made our evening with his positive energy.

I had such an amazing experience! It’s not just another pretty restaurant. The food is really good and the service are fast and friendly! It really worth it!

Before I went I wondered if this place was really good with a rating of 4.8 out of 16,000 raters. The place is just perfect, I was not disappointed, the atmosphere is amazing, the food is simply excellent, highly recommende

Friendly staff, great food amazing atmosphere!! Strongly recommend!!

Fabulous dinner and friendly service