Li Veli Winery & Bistro in City of London, Westminster

THIS RESTAURANT HAS CLOSED! Open Table should remove this from the platform.

It’s closed and should be taken off from Open Table

Authentic south Italian food, wonderfully complemented by wines direct from the producer.

Competent but unimpressive food completely ruined by inattentive and incompetent service. At least the manager acknowledged the fact when brought to his attention- it seems the place is closing for renovations next week. Let’s hope the kitchen and service are renovated at the same time!

Great wine and a great place to while away an afternoon with a couple of glasses of their wine and a paper. Tasty food and not too big a portions.

The manager is super friendly, we had a great time there and even learned about some Kinder Bueno cake that we really want to try now. Anyways, food is great, tiramisu is excellent, wine is very good although a bit pricey. Overall we had a great night

We had a good experience at Li Veli. The wine was excellent and the food was very good (the portions could have been a bit larger). The service, however, really could improve. You are only alloted a 2-hour slot for your table, which is fair enough and we were warned in advance, but we found the service slow. When we asked for a second bottle of (the same) wine, the waitress did not give us a taste of the bottle before pouring the new wine into our glasses which had the previous bottle's wine in. We did have a lovely evening overall and would recommend Li Veli for anyone who enjoys great Italian wines.

As always the food in Li Veli is excellent. You cannot fault the home made pasta, it is delicious

Nos sentamos afuera para que ese haya sido el problema. El queso sobre tostadas con calabacín en rodajas era lo suficientemente agradable. La fuente de carne no tenía casi suficiente pan, ¡así que nos cobraron un extra a 4 haciendo el primer plato 14! No se ofrecieron aceites ni condimentos. Ordené el Mediterráneo de lubina y me dijeron que no necesitaba ningún acompañante. ¡Lo hizo! A los 16 años. 50 vino en una pequeña piscina de aderezo de tomate con algunas aceitunas arrugadas. Cuando me quejé me ofrecieron verduras, pero cuando llegaron, el pescado estaba frío y había perdido el apetito. El Tiramisú fue aún peor, ya que el pan adentro aún estaba duro y todo estaba seco y cubierto de chocolate en polvo. Mi amiga dijo que su plato de pasta era agradable. No pagamos el servicio y ellos descontaron el precio del pescado, pero no regresaremos.

I would highly recommend Le Veli, I booked for a party of 14 ladies for a hen party dinner, the food was of excellent quality and there was plenty of it. We were sharing various foods which were all delicious and plentiful. The wines were excellent quality too, and the service was perfect. I must thank Rafaela for making our evening really enjoyable. My guests all really enjoyed the dining experience and I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone that loves good food and wine, friendly staff, attentive, and plenty of delicious food. Thank you.

Chance find on open table as we were stopping nearby but a perfect choice of great food with great and different Puglia wines

I had booked a table here for me, my mam and my pregnant sister after reading the menu online and the reviews, which seemed generally positive. When we arrived we were seated and ordered a bottle of sparking water. We were giving the lunch time menu even though it was half five. They don't start the evening menu until 7pm. I had not viewed the lunch time menu online and I can't recall there actually being an option to view the lunch time menu? I may be wrong on this account but I can't remember seeing it. Unfortunately nearly every item on the lunch time menus contained cheese which my sister is currently unable to eat. My sister asked if she could see the night time menu instead and the waitress answered 'no, it's lunch menu until 7' immediately without checking with anyone. My mam then asked what was in the special pasta and the description we got was 'pasta with zucchini in it' and we had to seek further clarification about what sauce it was in, if any other meat or fish or vegetables were in it etc etc. Not really the best description! We decided to pay for our water and leave as there was nothing suitable on the menu for my sister and no soft drinks besides the normal high sugar fizzy drinks and water were available. I would have liked to think a Winery may have got one or two non alcoholic wines in but alas, no! The waitress brought our bill and at this point the manager came over nd said that he had spoken with the chef and we could choose from the evening menu. Unfortunately this was too little, too late as we had already agreed to leave. If the waitress had said she would ask or check with the chef initially, then we would have probably stayed but as we were just immediately told no, we saw no point in staying. I can not comment on the quality of the food but I think the service definitely left something to be desired and the very limited lunch menu should have a few more dishes added without cheese and it should be made clear that evening service does not begin until after 7pm.

We are regular diners at Li Veli, we absolutely love the authentic environment and truly delicious food. On this occasion it happened to be the hottest day of the year and the air con had broken. Very unfortunate. This left the venue incredibly hot which did have an impact on our experience this time. Nothing that was the team’s fault or food, all of which was superb!

Lovely lunch sat out in the sun. Pasta was good my wife loved the chicken

The quality of the food was very good but let down by sloppy service: we had to ask the waitress for menus after 10 mins of waiting at the table and then one of the menus was for lunch; the same waitress spilled the water and didn't bother to mop it up, then ignored us for the rest of the evening. Finally the other two waitresses served us in a more efficient and friendly manner.

Great restaurant with authentic Puglia food, servers and manager top class !

Cené con amigos, yo era el único de Puglia y quería mostrarle a mis amigos la buena comida de Puglia. La comida era buena, pero no la mejor para representar a Apulian Cuisine! Las porciones son un poco pequeñas comparadas con el precio. Ninguno de los postres era típicamente de Puglia, el chef debería hacer más investigación o debería ser de Puglia a poco realista el concepto del restaurante. El personal debe dar más consejos y sugerencias y también sonreír más! El pesebre era muy eficiente y educado. Normalmente en otros restaurantes me han ofrecido un limocello o un amaro, pero no en este. En general, fue una noche agradable y buena comida, pero el espacio para mejorar y ser más apuliano

Hier findet man italienische Küche einmal anders. Sehr leckeres Essen und feine Weine in angenehmen Ambiente. Freundliches Personal.

Really yummy, traditional food! Excellent quality for the price. Service amazing, great ambience and lovely wine.

Food was very good and so was service, , Restaurant was clean and pleasant a good selection of Italian wines.My friends were impressed and we will go there again

Excellent atmosphere and service ,expensive but good food ,wine wonderful really enjoyed the evening.

Really nice and unusual food from Puglia in Southern Italy. Cheaper wine was not nice and the rest of the wine list was excessively expensive be for the price and style of the restaurant. Over £40 for a decent bottle. Staff just could understand that we wanted to say hello before looking at the menu. So we kept getting asked if we were ready to order when we had hardly sat down. The cold cuts of sea food were really tasty carpaccio style slivers. Very nice.

Great food and awesome service. Cannot fault this restaurant and would return here in a heartbeat. Quality of food was fresh and a very traditional. Highly recommend it.

small and cosy restaurant,. wine is excellent and food is delicious.

Have been twice. First time was good food and reasonable wine could be found. Second visit was New Years Eve. The food was average and the wine was really expensive plus the waiter kept trying to get us to buy the most expensive. I would not go for NYE, but its nice the rest of the time.

Lovely food, lovely wine, lovely staff. Very reasonably priced for the area too. Will definitely eat here again when in the area. Cheers.

Un ristorante italiano fantastico,mi è sembrato di essere al pranzo domenicale della nonna. Lo staff è davvero gentile e disponibile, la location è bellissima e molto vicina a Covent Garden. Il vino è una cosa speciale molto molto buono ed è parte dell arredamento.

The pasta special that day was not that good as other flavors. Especially we ordered red wine but the pasta is seafood based, which made the pasta taste even worse. It would be great if the staff can recommend which wine to order to match with the cuisine in the future. Regardless of the pasta, everything is great and would still recommend Li Veli to my friends.

Extremely nice and smiley staff. Food was very good. I loved the tomato soup especially. A delightful dinner.

A nice little Italian place with good food - an authentic spot. The pasta and desserts were particularly good - and only £10 for a plate of pasta is very competitive in Covent Garden. However, everything else on the menu was much more expensive.

The food was very good, with an eye for details and great customer service. A bit disappointed about the burrata, but they came with another one for free.Recommended.

My partner and I been in this Italian restaurant from Apulia , we had lunch. The food and service were excellent. pleasure to eat there. I definitely recommend this place.

The best and the real taste of Puglia, thanks to everyone, you made my day absolutely enjoyable. See you very soon.

Discovered by accident while wandering near Covent Garden. Established from winery in South of Italy. Very impressed with the quality and selection of wine (which you can also buy to take-away). Food is classic southern Italian style, great pasta! Tiramisu fantastic. Very friendly and efficient service. Highly recommended.

Had a weekday lunch with a colleague and decided to try somewhere different. Waited ages to be seated, although it was very quiet. Waitress was sullen and careless when pouring the water - sloshing half of it over the table. Starters, pasta dishes and dessert were acceptable, but all distinctly average. Wine decent enough. Majorly over-priced for what we received and the service was underwhelming. Zero ambience/atmosphere either.

What a great place. They are rightly very proud of where they source their produce and wine from. Over the r years or so I've k.oen this place they have turned their menu over regularly. Staff are attentive and incredibly nice. Go!

Adequate menu and good tasting food. Service excellent both friendly and efficient.

I’ve spent a dinner in this italian restaurant which is so close to the Covent Garden Market and the tube station .Great food, great atmophere , great service... Parmigiana and Dessert selection are the best I ever had in my entire life... The Chef Antonio also took some time to explain us the cheese platter and that was a really good point... I would like to thank every single member of staff because everyone was so helpful and kind....

Wonderful well lit restaurant with a very relaxed atmosphere. Can’t believe it’s just 1min from Covent Garden station and I just found out recently! Consistently friendly and attentive service and good place for a glass of wine and a cheese board or a full meal. Quite spacious and would suit from a date and friends catch up to even large pre theatre groups in their downstairs area.

Very limited menu but the food was really nice, would recommend the focaccia and the chicken breast!

We asked the waitress for a selection of starters and wine, that would be in a typical Italian restaurant in Italy.

Fantastic restaurant just a few steps from Covent Garden station. Very relaxed atmosphere with low background music and bright lighting, perfect for a date or to catch up with friends, but they also have a downstairs area that could serve large groups. Excellent food, fresh and simple, just how Italian food should be. The maritati pasta with ragu and the tiramisu are stand outs, but other dishes tried were also great. Good selection of Italian wines too, from their own winery, and others. Very friendly and attentive service. Highly recommended!

Loved it, staff was amazing. Was very friendly, knew their menu inside out and was able to recommend good food.

Amazing pasta, great selection of wines, attentive team, fantastic value :)

I really like this place, it’s like a little bit of Puglia in Central London. Simple food well cooked from quality ingredients washed down with some of the best Italian wine you will find outside (or even inside) Italy.

I went yesterday for an aperitif and this is the second time in one month. The burrata was lovely and Sara suggested a perfect pairing with wine. Thank you, I’ll come back.

Visited with 3 friends for a meal. we were seated and then forgotten. We were given water but no menus. The wine list was overpriced around £40. The waitresses barely spoke and never smiled. The Mediterranean sea bass was around £16 and served in a cherry tomato sauce. It tasted nice but the portion size was tiny. We weren’t advised to order sides with this dish so all left hungry. When the bill came there was an £8 service charge - optional written in small letters. Needs to lower prices, improve service and encourage staff to smile.

Called for drinks and a snack after a busy afternoon. Beer and wine expensive, but then - £14.35 (over sixteen quid with ‘optional service’) for four minuscule dips and eight fragments of bread. Even for central London this is ridiculously overpriced. So if you don’t wa t to feel ripped off, go elsewhere.

We've been previously just for a nice glass of wine. We've seen people having a meal and the food looked lovely so we've decided to come back to try it.

The setting was nice but the food I ordered was a bit of a letdown. My pasta dish was soggy and lacked flavour. The textures were bland, which made the dish quite laborious to eat. Service was OK. The ambiance is nice however and you won’t have issues hearing each other speak.

I really like this place, it’s like a little bit of Puglia in Central London. Simple food well cooked from quality ingredients washed down with some of the best Italian wine you will find outside (or even inside) Italy.

Li Veli has such potential given its connection to vineyard/wine production. We have been here many times over the years and it has declined significantly. Feels like a pre-theatre place now - getting one-time customers through. Menu: It used to have complex and interesting main courses including red meats and robust specials. It is now full of standard dishes - many served in a hot bowl on top of a cold plate, as if reheated. I chose a bean and chicory dish with wilted greens £10. It was a giant bowl of mush with overcooked greens dumped on top. Octopus stew £17 tasted “canned”. Aubergine parm £10 similar to a microwave meal. Service: We arrived 15 early for our table and indicated that we would be happy to wait. The hostess looked around, said there were no tables avail and indicated one might become available in 20 minutes but she didn’t know. Staff were in the back bar area polishing cutlery and glasses most of the time; very hard to get their attention. The manager is new and will need time to make changes, so there is much potential, but I will look closely at the menu before going again to see it changes have been made from overpriced mediocre to the delicious home-style Italian from years past that was excellent value with fantastic wine.

Second visit to Li Veli, both times the ambience is lovely, food is great and the Li Veli wine choice fantastic

Awful bruschetta and pasta was bland!

Popped in for a drink with friends after seeing a show in the afternoon - the restaurant/wine bar wasn't busy and we were told rather brusquely to sit at the bar. Waited for a while to order a bottle of wine to share. We decided later to order some nibbles with our wine - found it difficult to get anyone's attention and when we eventually did, we we just handed a menu - there was a choice of 3 things! It would have been so much nicer if there had been some interaction. Similar situation with requesting the bill, took a while to request it and when we were paying, again, no interaction at all! Annoying thing was, there was a service charge automatically included in the bill - should have asked to have it taken off as the service was non existent! Didn't like the atmosphere - Italians are usually so hospitable but the staff here were definitely not welcoming. It is a pity as the place is very nice and the menu looked lovely. However we won't be back.

Really bad service and cold food I would not recommend this restaurant.

Food was ok, but not exceptional. Service could definitely be improved. Too pricey for what they offer.

I had such an unsettling experience here. My friend and I stopped in for an appetizer and a glass of wine. I mentioned to her that the server repeatedly stood too close to me and was making me incredibly uncomfortable. After being there for about 45 minutes, we left. She paid in cash, I paid by card. He briefly took my credit card, with the cash machine, away from me, which I thought was odd, but I brushed it off because I assumed maybe he went to grab a pen for me to sign the receipt. He reappeared pretty quickly and I signed and left. The next morning I woke up to a Facebook request from him. Mind you, we did not interact beyond me ordering, asking for the check, and paying. I did not express any interest nor make any advances. As I previously mentioned, I had even told my friend the server was making me uncomfortable. To have a friend request on Facebook from him is absolutely unacceptable. That means he took my name from my credit card, which is an absolute invasion of privacy and breach of trust. Not only is that unprofessional, it is alarming, inappropriate and flat out creepy. This type of behavior at a business establishment should not be condoned or tolerated. The worst part? I called and asked to speak with a manager or owner to complain. Turns out, he is the manager. He's the highest worker there. The owner lives in Italy and no one knew how to put me in contact with him. Taking a customers personal information and using it to make an unwanted advance is an abuse of power when you have no one to whom this can be complained about to. Will never go back here.

We were rather early for a play in a nearby theatre, so we pop in for a drink. It was a cold rainy night and we had a table by the fireplace. It was very cosy and comfortable, very good ambiance. The service was very good, friendly and efficient. Drinks on the expensive side. Shall probably go back to try some of their pastas.

it's a lovely Italian wine bar, they have a good selection of local wines, reasonably priced, but the food is not very impressive, simple menu, some good dishes

Excellent! Great atmosphere, real Italian food and a wide range of good wines. Being born in Puglia I can say they make original recipes very well. The courtesy of the staff also to be underlined.

Li Veli nos dejó en alto y seco sin una reserva en una concurrida noche de viernes. Si bien entiendo que ocurren desastres, lo que no espero es no recibir una llamada de que nuestra mesa de 10 se cancela debido a un problema que ocurrió a la hora del almuerzo. Un servicio atroz y no volveremos.

Precioso verdadero restaurante italiano. No es un lugar de pasta de pizza. Las verduras disfrutarán de la parmigana de berenjena o del puré de frijoles fave, deliciosos.

Pleasant spot for a romantic glass of wine or even a dinner. We've had only wine as were headed for dinner elsewhere. Lovely ambience and nice staff. If you like what you drinking enough, you can even buy a bottle for the house as they have a shop as well

We had booked a table and it felt from the start it was like an inconvenience, even though there was hardly anyone in the place. Waitress was surly. We ordered the food after waiting to be served. Starters were fine but one of the main courses (the pork) was forgotten and inedible when it arrived and side dishes arrived half way through the meal. Chocolate saleme was also disappointing. Overall a poor experience and taking off the price of one meal and service charge when it was a birthday celebration for my 82 year mother was not sufficient to compensate. Will not visit again.

A rather disappointing experience. I pre-booked a table for 2 near a window, but was sat at a table right in the middle of the restaurant with no explanations or excuses given. Menu was rather limited, the waiter didn’t know what the specials were and chose to shout across the restaurant to his colleagues behind the bar to find out. Still they gave wrong information and when the “specials” arrived and wasn’t what they had said it was, they kindly took it away and came back in 2 minutes with a small bowl of uncooked pasta sprinkled with basilic, and for the same price!

Can't wait to go back. Delicious food, charming professional staff

tan fácil de encontrar, no lejos de la estación de metro covent garden, este bistró italiano realmente ofrece un excelente menú para el almuerzo y la cena.

First visit - proved to be an excellent choice for our pre-Theatre meal. Will definitely aim to eat there again when next in Covent Garden.

El camarero intentó ofrecernos una opción costosa de menú, que rechazamos y después nos hizo sentir como si no fuéramos bienvenidos.

Very underwhelming - lunch with my 80 year old mother, who is frail and we turned up to find we were sitting in the overflow basement and had to negotiate steep stairs. Service was sporadic at best, felt forgotten most of the time. Food was average given the prices - my mother’s pasta ragu was £12 and not much to write home about. Definitely a disappointing surprise given the good reviews we’d read.

Extreamely poor service. Waited for over an hour just to pay our bill.

Enjoyed it. Food was very good. First waitress made some good recommendations on food and wine. When we didn’t want dessert the other waitress quickly whipped out the bill and planted it on the table. Fair enough but unusual and slightly rude, given we still had half a bottle of the overpriced (delicious) wine still on the table and were enjoying a good conversation.

My friend suggested we visit your restaurant because she found it so good, but when we were seated someone had a dog at the table right next to ours.

Great restaurant with interesting and unique wine and food pairings. Hard to find a good Italian restaurant that breaks away from the standard fare well, but this one has done it!

Great menu. Fantastic wine. The BEST service.

No atmosphere or ambience. Quite pricey. The set menu did not appeal. Food from a la carte was godwas good but that's about it.

Popped in late afternoon wanting a light meal and a glass of wine, not many in a little early perhaps but had the pulpo very nice with a tomato based sauce very moorish. Glass of rjoca crianza. Good service very friendly one of the ladies from Turin, so maestro Pido came up in conversation. Thank you for another enjoyable experience

Found this place by accident on a wet Saturday night, when we were just looking for a glass of wine and some bar snacks. They were so welcoming and the wine and food are excellent, will definitely be going back for dinner.

Very lovely place , soft and elegant ! Very good food ( amazing pork rolls ) and red wine . Good service very quick ! I Came back definitely

Oh dear, this is such a shame, to get it wrong on so many levels is sad for the restaurant itself. My husband ordered the lamb which was as tough as my walking boots, when he reordered a pasta dish it looked and tasted unappetising, bland and tasteless! Not what he was expecting.

Service was slightly aggressive. Nice atmosphere but I would not come back in the evening.

Liveli was my favorite bistro in London as the food was delicious and atmosphere was cosy. Unfortunately, the last experience was not great. Food was average and service was below standards (arrogant attitude, clumsy service). I hope they will improve, as the place has great potential and it is a true gem in the heart of london.

We’d visited here six months ago and had a lovely light lunch. This time not so lucky. Surly staff. Special of the day . Baked pasta was cold. Had ordered wine but staff needed reminding. No interaction with customers. To be avoided

We had been walking for miles and miles around London and heading for Covent Garden when we recalled having dropped into Li Veli last year for a drink. This time however we were hungry and tired, so opted for a lunch stop. Just down the road from Covent Garden Market it is well located, but slightly less crowded - a bonus for us. The menu is Italian - mostly pastas, and ours did not disappoint. It was simple, delicious and cooked to perfection. They have a good selection of wine. Its a trendy little stop with a good atmosphere. There is a downstairs area as well. The service was efficient. We will go back again.

I have enjoyed several meals here but my fifth visit will be my last. Somehow they have gone from being a standby to being on my list of restaurants to avoid at all costs. Our last visit didn't get off to a great start when the manageress had an issue with us not having booked. It was not a busy time and there were only three occupied tables so she managed to squeeze us in. As usual we wanted to choose our food before selecting a wine but the unfriendly waitress was so off-putting that we resolved not to bother. She never came back to ask which wine we wanted anyway and maybe had decided that we didn't look like drinkers. I suspect we had encountered the 'surly staff' mentioned in other recent reviews. The charge for water which we didn't have and service (which we didn't have either) were removed from the bill with little grace. Perhaps the waitress is attempting to see how far she can go and still get tipped. We went across the road to Patisserie Valerie for coffee and cake to finish our meal.

We had a very nice time at Li Veli. The interior is lovely, the food was decent, and the service was ok. Not exceptional, but ok. I'd recommend this restaurant to my friends.

Very authentic and tasty food from Puglia. Portions were a bit small, but overall a good Italian restaurant with reasonable price.

My boyfriend and I booked here for a bit of a treat for our weekend in London. First impressions were great, stylish and contemporary and the staff seemed friendly. We ordered a bottle of white wine which was £30 or so and it wasn’t anything special. Then we made the mistake of not ordering starters and just jumping on mains. When we ordered (I got the chicken he got the fish) our server didn’t prompt us that we may want to order a side. Our mains came and mine was literally a baked chicken breast with cheese on and his was the smallest fish I’ve ever seen in a tomato sauce. We finished it in literally 3 minutes. I will say it was nicely presented but it definitely wasn’t worth the £78 bill at the end. Overall we were in and out within the hour. I don’t think we will be back or recommend it to others. The takeaway we got at the end of the night was a lot more satisfying!

Siamo stati in questo ristorante per una cena tra amici, il ristorante e molto carino , la carta dei vini e ampia e di buona qualità e anche la cucina propone piatti della tradizione pugliese e ben fatti. siamo stati accolti e coccolati da Camilla e siamo rimasti impressionati dalla sua professionalità e dalla sua gentilezza ! torneremo sicuramente e lo consigliamo a tutti.

My sister and I visited about two years ago and totally loved the food, ambience, wine and service. It was amazing.

Negatives: the food was poor, going on inedible - mine was a broad bean mash (for which read v. salty gravy), while my wife's pasta was so salty it really couldn't be eaten and she had to send it back. It's replacement (orrecchiete) was ok. Service reasonable, wine good, prices average for the type of establishment and area but poor value considering what was on offer.

Based on posted reviews and the close proximity to the theater, we chose this place For a light dinner with wine. The restaurant was lovely. The food was very good as was the wine. We would certainly return.

Visited as a family this weekend. Sat down and was given two menus by waiting staff. A set menu of three courses to choose from and the main menu. We ordered from the set menu to then be told that they were not serving from that menu that day as it was the weekend!! However staff there had given us that menu. when we then did try to order from the main menu there were several items which we were told they did not have despite us being the first customers at lunchtime at the beginning of a weekend. The food we did have was nice however small portions and all salad and vegetables were £5 extra. Chicken portion was tiny and very overpriced for what we had. The restaurant however was very clean and a nice environment to sit in. Staff were also very friendly and welcoming however the menu choice needs to be larger and they need to ensure that they are well stocked with menu items at the start of a weekend service.

Great welcome and good food and wine. We visit here occasionally and it is always good.

Soulless atmosphere and arrogant Wine waiter

Local bacana,serviço adequado e pronto. Solicitamos um vinho da Puglia: ótimo. O cardápio tinha poucas escolhas e pedimos um peixe e polvo. Ambos bastante fracos, uma pena...

Good wine list,jyviytfiyrcjgcjgfcjhtcjhfcjhfjhfcjbfckhgfkhgfvk

Food not as good as our last visit. <br /><br />Very noisy table of 6 near us so unable to talk in a relaxed manner. Finished our meal early on without coffee or desert.

Great service, food was ok. Loved the pistachio ice cream!