Carnevale in Islington

I find it quite unbelievable that, after claiming to be a vegetarian restaurant for years, they’re still selling non-vegetarian Parmesan on their menu - they even mention this on the website (calf rennet is made from dead calves). The Vegetarian Society contacted them about this in 2014, but they don’t appear to have taken it on board. There are so many vegetarian cheeses these days (I don’t mean vegan cheese, I mean dairy cheese made without animal rennet), it’s a shame they couldn’t accept this feedback. I wonder how many unsuspecting people have eaten here believing their food to be vegetarian, when it isn’t.

Great interior, bricked accent. Selection of foods were great and the service was excellent

One star only, just so I could make a comment. Otherwise no stars. We took the trouble to book online and go there only to find a nearly derelict place, certainly on-one about, and all closed. Charming! And annoying.

The food was very tasty for the price.

It wasn’t actually open! Why was I able to book this?

Booking on line allowed restaurant closed . Is it closed for good? No information on the door. Very disappointing

Spent a bit of time trying to source a veggie restaurant and made the booking only to turn up and the same as others previously find the place closed. Hopefully these reviews will save others the same misfortune! On the plus side Da Giua Ristorante just down the street managed to fit us in last minute and is worth a visit👍🏻

The restaurant was closed on Friday evening and had been for 2 weeks according to the shop next door Open table sent 3 reminders during the week and now a response for feedback Very disappointed as out of the way and had to take a taxi. Was a family special occasion too. How can this happen open table? There is no way of contacting anyone about this situation Very poor

When I arrived, I discovered that Carnevale restaurant had closed permanently! Well done Open Table, you have zero interest in the restaurants you represent. You are a non-service.

We made a booking via open table and had confirmation. We went to Carnevale, looking forward to our meal, only to find the restaurant was shut with no explanation on their door. The restaurant shouldn't be on open table if they don't honour their bookings.

Restaurant wasn't open despite booking a table successfully online. We waited and even rang the restaurant from outside, but we could hear the phone ringing inside. There wasn't a notice saying they were closed on the door or on their website. Just nothing. Went to an Italian instead.

It's an okay place to have a vegan food... I would not say it is best in the town but is at best functional and provides food at good price point.

We had a fabulous evening at this restaurant. It’s small, but intimate. The service was good and friendly. The menu was varied and excellent. All tastes were catered for from the vegetarian selection. We thoroughly enjoyed the food and hospitality. Food was of excellent standard. Portions very generous. Would thoroughly recommend this place and look forward to returning!

Quality organic wines here and food too

Having been a regular when I worked round the corner in Bunhill Row for several years, a welcome return visit after a goodly while. Still a simple and good menu, succinct winelist and friendly service. Great that nothing has changed here in that time. Sometimes there's just no need to change.

Pre-theatre before going to the Barbican. Relaxed. Excellent food.

Overpriced for what it is and food not good quality, nor with much taste nor well balanced

The food was amazing, the menu I saw online did not do it justice. Very mums kitchen atmosphere perfect for having a wonderful meal. The portions were of amazing value and we could not finish it all. Wish I had space for dessert 😢

Beautiful vegetarian and vegan food! Very friendly staff and cute setting. Would highly recommend.

Just Don't! From the reviews here it looks like people have never eaten. Everything is from a box and reheated in a microwave/oven.

Such a lovely little restaurant for a veggie meal. So much choice and it was absolutely delicious. Vegan options also available and, whilst I didn't have any myself, the desserts looked amazing. Service was friendly, the walnut bread and olive oil was yummy and it's not too expensive. A great choice!

We arrived for a confirmed reservation and found the restaurant closed. We received no notification. It was very inconvenient.

Why a pleasure to have no background music getting in the way of conversation! Pleasant service and fresh, delicious food.

Carnevale was a great experience. Very helpful and friendly staff and great food

Good vegetarian food, very quiet, good service, ok value

Food is cheap, and really really good! I would definitely recommend, especially for vegetarians.

Truly ghastly experience from start to finish Gin and tonics were a complete joke ... Flat tonic no discernible gin and NO ICE ... The mixed mezzee starter was bland limp and virtually tasteless The mains could never be as bad? .. they were worse Vegetarian ravioli was only offered with non vegetarian parmesan and the pasta was cold and grey The vegetable curry was watery with mixed leaves floating around and almost no discernible curry taste Some of this could have been mitigated by friendly attentive service and nice decor ... It wasn't The service was tepid if not cold and the decor was shabby and not in the chic way Do yourself a favour .. dont bother

Our reservation was 1800. We arrived 5 minutes early to find it closed. At 1610 we abandoned and ate in a nearby restaurant. Maybe there was a good excuse for the closure. But I have not received an apology or any information.

I called to make an order when the guy rudely told me they are on holiday and put the phone down????

Food was very good. We had the Chickpea, halloumi curry and the potato cakes with fennel. Food was very tasty and plentiful. Price was average around the area.

Food was not bad and plentiful. Service was barely adequate (particularly as we were the only ones there for most of it - it was market day and proprietor was serving his stall and us!) Venue was best described as 'tired' and is very small and cosy. Cost was high all things considered. Generous 4 stars based on food alone.

Excellent meal, the food is always so tasty! It would be good if there was some background music playing and a wine cooler would be a plus. I don’t mind the lack of decor...if you know you are getting a great meal and not expecting frills it is spot on.

Carnevale is nice but the decor really lets it down. The food is homely and the service attentive. We enjoyed our dinner but at a time when there are so many vegan and vegetarian options springing up, think this place needs to up its game before I would return to it.

Amazing food and staff. Would go again :)

Really great food and good portion sizes for the price. A little gem of a vegetarian restaurant!

Good food but we were the only diners so atmosphere was a bit flat.

Tasty food, great portion size (some restaurants seem to assume that if you're vegetarian/vegan you must not be hungry) and attentive, charming staff.

Ok food, not a particularly nice space

Excellent selection of Vegetarian food which is very tasty! Quaint little restaurant with no frills. I would definitely recommend!

Lovely food. Good choices for vegans. Very friendly and welcoming staff. Most of the booze was vegan too. Will definitely return.

I booked a table for two people at Carnevale having heard quite good things about their vegetarian offering. When I showed up, having travelled across town, they refused to honour the booking because they had a large party in, and they were entirely unapologetic or accommodating. Very surprising. Won’t visit again.

Sorry to say that we will not return. I would describe this as a veggie cafe, not a restaurant. With our starters at £7.50 and mains at £13.50 plus 12.5% service charge = £8.43 starter and £15.18 main course this is west end plate prices not some side street cafe prices, but it is a side street cafe. The veggie food was good, especially the main course so applause for a very good main in particular (ravioli and goats cheese very nice). The lady who served us was smiling and pleasant and helpful, offering bread etc several times. But you cannot seriously run an establishment and call it a "restaurant" at these prices in such an awful and dismal interior. Walls badly marked from years of being scraped by chair backs, the radiator looking as though someone has thrown a bucket of paint at it and walked off. You could actually repaint that interior over a weekend while closed. It was an atrociously cold day and they also run a street stall right outside selling take away. The whole street is full of food stalls. Nothing against that, good idea, but the restaurant is freezing due to constant access to the stall. If this (very small) interior was given a lick of paint and had decent furniture put in you could give it an immediate lift and start to go for upmarket to justify the prices. This reminded me of how veggie cafes and restaurants were in the 70's, the food was OK but the surroundings dire. SORRY. This is London 2018 and wasn't cheap. 1 starter shared, 2 mains, 2 beers £5 a small bottle each) total £49.78.

One of the best veggie meals I have had. Hearty, warm, Sunday roast sausage type of dish. Cosy setting. Lovely staff. Will be back.

I first went here years ago and really liked it. Unfortunately, the world has moved on and this place hasn't. The taste was OK, apart from the artichoke starter which sounded lovely on paper but the filling just tasted like chopped up raisins. The presentation and texture of each dish was off-putting and overall everything was a bit grey and sad and turned into mush. Plus it wasn't cheap! Aside from the food, the decor and furniture are very tired. A place doesn't need to be flash and modern but it just felt cold and in need of a good lick of paint. There is so much stunning veggie & vegan food in this city so don't eat here!

We needed to get a quick meal on a Saturday night near the Barbican and Carnevale fit the bill. We were coming from a show at the Menier Chocolate Factory and going to a concert at the Barbican with very little time to spare and no reservation for 5 people. After being turned away from three places in a row, we stumbled upon Carnevale and were pleasantly surprised and very grateful that they could fit us in. They served us in an hour and we made our show. The food was creative and delicious and satisfying even for a group of non-vegetarians. We would definitely return.

Excellent quality food, lovely external seating area undercover, quite small and intimate

Waitress/owner was rude,food slow and the vegan culcannon was as basic as humanly possible-mashed potatoes and sosmix,won't be going back here-in all honesty the clue is in the name here ' 'Carnevale' these people don't understand the concept of avoiding animal products as a protest as opposed to a personal health choice...the lady in questions attitude spoke volumes.

I love this restaurant! Although I am not vegetarian, the food is tasty and well flavoured with very generous portions. You always need to ensure space for dessert. The staff are low key but attentive. I will definitely eat there again.

Met a friend for a quick dinner and ended up having a 3 course meal! The food is superb - the raspberry creme brûlée is divine! Menu has a great wide range of vegetarian options, we were spoilt for choice and the hardest part of the meal was choosing what we wanted! Highly recommend, it’s small and cosy, the staff are attentive without being overbearing and the food is exceptional. I will be returning.

Small rustic restaurant with friendly staff and lovely food with lots of flavour.

nice local vegetarian restaurant

It's ok but no music was on when we were there. It was a bit awkward. Food was good. Especially potato cakes on aubergine casserole. Service was good as well. Very polite and quick. Just be prepared that it can be a bit quite in there. I also had a starter. It's my fault but the artichoke were sweet but expecting something savoury. The dessert which was vegan chocolate cake was lovely though. We went just after 18 so I think they just opened so it was very quite. But at least food was quick.

Went with my wife for a birthday meal and was warmly welcomed by a waitress who did a wonderful job all night with her quirky enthusiastic manner. Shared two starters, a main and a mixed salad (which was a really good size), and finished with a chocolate roulade. All the food was delicious, especially the breaded aubergine main, although the young artichokes could have used a little dressing and the roulade was not the best. The house red accompanied the meal and was light and palatable.

My Wife and I have been a few times and always been impressed with the food the space and staff, good value and well worth a visit.

Loved this place! Food is delicious! I felt like I was on vacation in Greece, having lunch in a cosy family owned restaurant. You stop thinkinkig about an average interior, when you make your first bite of freshly cooked dish.

Truly awful. The sort of seventies rubbish that turned a generation off veggie food. My halloumi was rubber personified. The sausages had their aftertaste before you started them and it was not good. I felt cruel making our son eat them. The restaurant had that needs a steam clean feel too. Terrible

First visit tonight and I thought Carnevale was lovely....really interesting menu - the gnocchi starter was gorgeous and loved the marinated halloumi with the curry. Very good drinks menu too with mainly organic options and organic wine by the glass...excellent service too.....1 criticism....a little well chosen background music would create a bit more atmosphere...will return next time I visit the Barbican and try the pre theatre set menu which looked like amazing value.

Booked a reservation but when we showed up the restaurant was closed.

Unfortunately Opentable allowed us to book this restaurant when it was not even open (Bank holiday Monday). Obviously this needs sorting out between the restaurant and Opentable to establish correct opening hours.

Went here by chance for a last night meal after 3 and a half weeks away - it really hit the spot both with veggie and vegan options. Really good service and nice simple decor. Price was fair - not crazy cheap but not very expensive for London. Liked the range of choices on the menu, really nice mix. Would come back on next trip down South.

small, homely, no frills restaurant. food is good overall. Big portions. Worth checking out if in the area.

This is a cute place and the service was great. Loads of free bread and oils! Lots to choose from on the menu. I am a meat eater and, unfortunately, did not enjoy my curry so didn't eat much, my other half (another meat eater) also left quite a bit of her "sausages" and mash. Our vegan friends, however, thoroughly enjoyed their food. This is definitely worth a try if you're into vegan food :)

Table booked through a restaurants booking platform for the first time available (18.00 hrs) on Friday. As per the info the restaurant was opened at 17.30 hrs however the only thing we could find was the staff smoking outside, not the best first impression. An empty place on Friday evening is not a good sign neither however as my partner is vegetarian we gave a change. Food ok but dessert overprice £6.25 for a tiny creme brulee is a rip off. Service charge added to the bill in a place where you need to find the waitress to order food or pay the bill. Main dish is £13.50. First and last time. However if you decided to give a try, go for the day menu £15.50 for soup+main+dessert and asked for it as you realize in your wait out when you see it in a little board.

Good selection of vegetarian and vegan options, creatively presented and good value for money. It was a Monday evening and we three were the only ones in the restaurant between 6pm and 8.30 when we left - surprising as it's often been busy and when I've been there before. I think this is one of the best vegetarian restaurants in London and I really recommend it.

There is a "peak" that represents the top level a restaurant (in this case) can reach. Carnevale is far from this peak, either because it got worse or because it has a lot of room for improvement. It plays around a minimalist setting, with bags of beans and packs of sugar cubes in the shop window. And so what? The food is decent but better on the menu than on the table. Service is ok; no frill. Small place, few tables and yet a lot of free space yesterday night.

I booked a table here for my friend's birthday through Open Table, and you can imagine our surprise & disappointment when we made our way down only to find out it was closed. I understand that it was bank holiday Monday, but perhaps the online booking system should have notified us of this?

Just come back to the office with a co-worker after picking up a Falafel wraps from their stall outside. both of us paid extra for halloumi , the young man who was making the wraps was very quick, clearly too quick. as he got both orders wrong. clear drop in standard in comparison to the owner and young lady normally preparing the warps.

No había ambiente en el restaurante (6:30 - 7:30 pm miércoles) - no hay música que significa nosotros y la pareja de al lado podía oír todo los otros estaba diciendo.

Really great vegetarian restaurant!

I felt food was very bland. I expected more spice/taste for veggie food

Mientras cada vez más difundida, restaurantes decentes vegetariana puede llegar desde la ciudad son todavía más difíciles de encontrar que uno puede esperar. Esto no sólo se ajusta a la ley, la comida es estupenda, el entorno es bastante carismático y es relativamente buena relación calidad-precio.

We went to Carnevale yesterday for a pre-Barbican meal (dinner). We really enjoyed our starter, particularly the baba ghanoush, and I had the chickpea curry for mains which was very filling. I saw one review here complaining about the price - £13.50 for a main meal - but I don't think that's unreasonable considering the prices in central London generally. Also, I was full and couldn't actually finish mine!Wine and beer was tasty too and the lady serving us was very friendly. Good place for couple or small groups. Not really suitable for big groups or families as it is very small.I would go again.

Nice service. Went for vegan options but only one option for starter, main and dessert. Nice food but overpriced plus service charge put on the bill. Very cold in the restaurant and a strange air conditioning sound that would have been ignored if there had been music on.

My group arrived 7 minutes late for our table and received an appalling welcome of a berating by two members of staff who then proceeded to inform us that after 5 minutes they had given our table away...In the 5 minutes they had given us to arrive they had tried to contact us on a LEICESTER home number......me and my friends were deflated but walked up the road to a lovely Turkish restaurant who made us very welcome and went above and beyond to make sure the vegans within the group were well catered for....I would highly recommend The Iskele!!

Decent portions of inventive vegetarian and vegan food. The house red was also really good. Was a lovely evening with a small group of friends. The food was really excellent. The restaurant is definitely cosy, but we were sat in the small quaint conservatory. I would say this is better for small groups or couples

Really lovely little place with fantastic food and friendly service!

It was an unforgettable evening but not in a good way! Ordering with a Taste card and trying to actually get the discount applied at the end was full of confusion and misunderstandings. With long waits for the food to arrive (despite the restaurant being quite quiet) and the food fairly disappointing, the dining experience was more like a cross between Fawlty Towers and Mission Impossible.

Service was personal and generous. Food was delectable. I'm a return customer over many years. Carnevale is much loved - a special little treasure. Happy Christmas and Thank you!

Extremely minimalist, you are basically dining in someones house with very little aesthetics. Good food and relatively well priced for the area but no significant stand out dishes or ambience to entice you to go again. If you're vegan/vegetarian, it is worth a try.

Cute restaurant, small and cosy with terrace, unfortunately the food doesn't match the environment. Service was present but not friendly or prompt, the menu looks more delicious than it is with bland flavours and gnocchi that was fried to an inedible density and then covered with heavy sauce and cheese. Finally the dessert I was excited about from the minute I saw the menu (crumble with custard) came completely undercooked and doughy, sent it back and didn't receive even a small apology from the waitress. I won't be back.

Concerned it's often not what it used to be, since its decline I only came if there is a big percentage off via top/open table, a full priced full meal is a bit expensive, menu hardly/unchanged in a long time, no specials but they *kindly* allowed a 3 course set price menu to be ordered just after its 7pm cut off for one of us, making it fair value & happy customers. Not especially warm waitress was good to emphasise have as much of 3 types of bread (& oil/balsamic) as you want; Soup & the Potato Cake main were very tasty & satisfying, but the kind offer to do risotto as a vegan option was disastrous, simply subtracting cheese left it pretty inedible. It's a shame for a veggie place they aren't more up to date, when you can buy vegan 'Parmesan' £3.50 in most supermarkets (I'd guess their Parmesan might not even be veggie, but hopefully it is). It doesn't fill with confidence that they run out of soya milk so can't do me a latte, but don't go to a massive Waitrose down the street to re-stock. As I've not had great experiences at Amico-Bio either which is the other local veggie option, being so close to the Barbican for a pre-meal shoe I'll still likely come here if I get a good deal, (today's pre 7pm soup/risotto/creme brûlée £15 is a good deal for a non-vegan!). This is meant as an honest balanced review, with the old 40% off deals that were often available I'd always come here pre-barbican and still would. As a veggie place it was a rarity, now many other places have opened and overtaken it, but I'm still really appreciative it's there and enjoyed the meal. More post 7pm value and more vegan friendly please!

I booked this restaurant as my business colleague was a veggie. The restaurant is set in a decant part of the town with some nice local bar. The staff are friendly and very talkative. Small wine selection and all organic. Cheapest red was £26 for a bottle; nice though. Food was great and very tasty, also amazing value if you use a taste card. Will go again. Well done Carnvale.

I felt for what you get, it is very over priced and not particularly special. Nothing really stood out to me as delicious. I don't think i would go back.

Food is always very good and I frequent here as it is one of the very few dedicated vegetarian restaurants in this area.

One of my favourite restaurants in London - and that's not just because it's vegetarian. Wonderful, tasty food and always great value.

I work just 2 mins away from this place and found out about it only a few eeks ago. Delicious food and fabulous service! Can't wait to go back :)

Booked this restaurant using a tastecard during the week after reading some slightly mixed but overall good reviews. We were told that we could only use a tastecard if we ordered 2 courses each which isn't stated on the website and was only made apparent as we were ordering.There was only one other couple in the restaurant, however everything we ordered seem to take forever to arrive. We ordered the chickpea and lentil curry with halloumi and fig kebabs, and the goats cheese ravioli. Neither were very nice to be honest. The halloumi on it's own was pretty good. Some kind of artichoke side wasn't eaten as it looked and smelled as though it may have been slightly off. Dessert was equally as disappointing. The crumble wasn't hot and the bread and butter pudding was burnt. The restaurant was also absolutely boiling which was a shame. Over all, we won't be returning here and wouldn't recommend it. Plenty of other nice looking restaurants along the same road.

The best veggie food I have had in London for a while! Original and fresh dishes with perfect quantities. We were spoilt for choice. The restaurant was very quiet but I got the sense it does fill up frequently. An absolute gem for veggie food lovers.

Bowled over by delicious food. This restaurant definitely worth a visit even if you aren't a veggie. Why aren't there more people here? I suppose it's possibly because the setting is a bit humble. Worn wobbly tables, very hard chairs, no street presence - the stacked bags of fried beans in the window do nothing to whet the appetite. But the food is sensational. I just had a generous starter of mezes and a mixed salad with a choice of breads and (having had five delicious slices) I don't feel the need for need anything else apart from a little constitutional. Do try this little restaurant - so handy for the Barbican cinemas!

Really nice place service honest good food. Was a little warm but that didn't stop us having a lovely time on this hottest of days (33 degrees!)

Bit disappointing- limited menu and looked like a run down cafe!

I really enjoy meeting up with family and friends to eat there together. The food is delicious.

Cute little restaurant but food was under-whelming and fairly simple for the price (£13.50 for a main). The mixed meze starter was nice but contained lots dips and nothing to dip with! We were offered one small piece of bread which we had already eaten by the time the meze arrived. My main (potato cakes) was fine but nothing I could not have made at home.

Came here for lunch with hope for a good vegan meal, but I was really disappointed. The food was okay but nothing special and it was very very expensive. We ordered one potato cakes meal and two of their vegan sausage meal. Each main costs £13.50 and does not offer good value for money. The service was friendly but the atmosphere was in great especially when it was really hot inside with no air-conditioning or a ventilation.I wouldn't rush back.

Pleasant and cosy vegetarian restaurant on Whitecross Street, down the road from the Barbican. The menu is diverse and imaginative, so there will definitely be something on the menu even for those people who aren’t vegetarian. The food is very good, but the mains are a shade over-priced for what they are. I had a curry, which was a little watery, but at £13 I did expect it to come with rice, or bread or something to mop it up with rather than a rocket salad. The other mains have this in common – if they were £9 or so, you’d be happy, but for £13 and upwards, you do sort of expect a full plate. The pudding was delicious and substantial, though. It’s a small restaurant, with a nice outdoor area and a relaxed vibe that’s aided by the excellent service. We never felt rushed, and it had a very pleasant atmosphere for a Friday night.

Great service. Interesting menu. Nice flavours but needed more seasoning. Funky little restaurant. Ok for a week night meal. Wouldn't bother for that special night out. Potato cakes were unremarkable. Enjoyable pre Barbican venue. We walked out feeling fine about our Carnevale experience.

In the distant past I considered Carnevale one of the best vegetarian restaurants in London. But I have not been in recent years and was seriously disappointed. My friend and I both had chickpea curry, found it bland and overpriced, and couldn't understand why it was not served with rice. The flowers on the tables were mostly dead or almost dead. The toilet seat was cracked and the toilet door opened directly onto the conservatory dining area. The front part of the restaurant is a small shop and deli, and had what appeared to be rubbish in it. Altogether an unpleasant experience.

Comfortable. Good food at affordable price. Hooray no music!

Excellent Veggie restaurant in the area. Small, so booked through Open Table. Website gives good indication of what is on offer.

Truly gorgeous food and generous portions. Great place.