Mari Vanna in City of London, Westminster

The worst service I’ve in my life this the last time I will come to this place

Nice atmosphere, very simple russian food. Good for nostalgia

Had dinner at this place tonight. What a disappointment. We came about 20 min before our 18:00 dinner reservation and were told that the restaurant was not yet open, but that we could get drinks. There was a party of about 4 people being served and having their meals while we were essentially told to come back at exactly 18:00. Unfortunately for us we did come back. Our appetizers were fine. Shuba was prepared well. Chicken aspic was over-salted. For mains we ordered chicken Kiev and sturgeon. The sturgeon that I was offered was definitely not a sturgeon- perhaps salmon at best. Chicken Kiev was rubbery and overdone. For dessert we got a Napoleon pastry. And received a soggy and not sweet enough disappointing mess. The “live musicians” took an hour to set up while we were trying to enjoy our meal. The singer tried to convince the audience that her rendition of Norah Jones was authentic, but it was a very clear lip sync. Such a silly place all around. London has a plethora of excellent places to eat. This is not one of them.

My favourite place to have borsch, khachapuri and “herring under the fur”. Nice service and very authentic design

Terrible food and awful service!waitress with bad attitude and got food poisoning don’t go there. The place should be closed down.

I am only leaving a review to make other diners aware that they need to check their bill as they will be scammed here. We ordered 2 starters and a few small pies, the bill came up to £75. When we checked it, it turned out that they added £2-4 to every dish/drink we ordered, it is an old trick which you do not expect in Knightsbridge. They operate 2 different menues, so take a picture of what you are ordering!

Top Russian cuisine at a good price

If you love Russian/East European food, this is the place! Amazing food and great environment and vibe

Wel, very normal Russian food, nothing extraordinary. But it is too expensive considering I know what is inside the dishes. :-) And some Russian guests are not very polite. None are smiling, that's fine, but politeness should be there in the 21st century.

Everything is great! Incredibly delicious pancakes and bird's milk. There are a lot of details in the interior. I give it a 5. Here the rating is below 4x simply because of the haters.

Absolute gem in the city! Feels like you are back home at your granny’s house, the food is magnificent, everything on the menus tastes great! Highly recommend:)

The place is elegant and has a British feel The coffee is delicious And I asked for a good honey cake The service is a little slow

The best Russia restaurant!!!!!!! Really really enjoyed it!!!!!!

Food was amazing! I had the chicken with mashed potatoes. The raspberry drink and honey cake are a must try as well.

The honey cake was a shock 🤡 I tried it in Riyadh, it is much sweeter.. but sweet Napoleon sweet, I liked it like the filet, but sweeter.. Is it worth returning, frankly, no, but let's try it

Exceptional food, fantastic decor and atmosphere. Will come back!

I was looking forward to visit this restaurant for 5 years. Finnaly it happened! The food, ambiance and live music where 10/10. Also nice that there was no trace of political agenda in accordance with current situation. Cant wait to get back here again!

I’ve been coming to this restaurant since 2021 and it is one of my favourites in London. I love the breakfast menu and honey cake, though the service takes too long but the food is always fresh.

I ordered delivery twice and both times the order was incomplete (for some reason unknown to me, the restaurant does not include sauces with which the dish comes with the menu for delivery) and differed from what was stated on the menu. And if in the first order the delivery was within an hour (I live in the same area as this restaurant), then in the second case, when ordering at 14:00, it was not delivered within an hour and I had to call the administrator and find out the timing, to which they answered me , the order will be delivered closer to 18:00(!).

I love breakfast at this restaurant. Everything is fresh and healthy, and the ambience is cozy.

What can I say, I ordered a red game and a Kiev cake to take home. Caviar in a can, although on the website it was by weight (I threw it away because it was spoiled). The Kiev cake turned out to be so stale that they couldn’t even stick a knife into it. All this fun cost £145, which went in the trash that same day.

Love Marivanna to bits ♥️ Used to go in Moscow, visiting a lot now. Always perfect service and delicious food. Also I want to note Tanya, a beautiful young waiter, always polite, is making this place so special. Hope you will give her a bonus this month.

I gave this place a chance several times: 1) I ordered borscht twice - overcooked substance. Maybe it’s ok for foreigners, but comrades, borscht usually tastes better! 2) the tables were very densely packed, and the English were noisy nearby. When I asked the manager to move us or calm down the neighbors, she refused, but at the same time she was offended by my answer, then I myself will calm down the loud-speaking neighbors. By the way, I calmed them down. There was nothing complicated. Why didn’t the admin, who is responsible for the atmosphere in the establishment, do this? 3) I ordered a fur coat with over-salted herring. After eating there, you get the feeling that you listened to the radio rather than enjoyed the meal.

The decoration of the restaurant is a bit much, though quite cosy. The food is tasty, and the menu has a lot of variety to suit different tastes. I've enjoyed the authenticity of the cuisine. Some dishes are a bit expensive. The staff are pleasant and the kitchen is accommodating to dietary requirements.

Amazing Russian food like Bortsch, also great tea selection, very cozy athmosphere and very kind service! Excellent!

the food was overall very good and service was ok but it was too hot no AC or open window and one more important thing the receptionist was very rude shouting about needing a table while we did a booking any way she was impolite

Distinctive restaurant with furniture.. I ordered an excellent Russian honey cake and asked not to add honey to it because it was already 10/10

Been to Marivanna so many times, tried different dishes and cocktails- never disappointed! Nice ambiance, friendly staff, food always great! Definitely will come back again 🫶

Fabulous food, authentic decor and music.

Being a guest here feels like time traveling. It is pricey but worth the experience. I recommend the vegetarian dumplings and potatoes with mushrooms.

Was excited to come here with my partner and try something new! I have read other reviews and must say staff weren’t rude but they didn’t really do much other than take the orders and serve the food - the service didn’t stand out. We tried a lot of the Russian dishes that they had to offer that included the sharing platter, fish soup as well as beef stroganoff and the Siberian dumplings. The food was terrible. We are confused after reading the reviews - did we just pick the worst things on the menu or is everyone deluded? The soup tasted like dishwater - there was no flavour whatsoever and everything else just wasn’t great. The dumplings had a weird raw meat taste. Perhaps this isn’t a cuisine that suited our tastes… but either way, the food for us was very unenjoyable. Perhaps help and suggestions from staff could have improved our experience - ‘Hi have you been here before, let me tell you about our menu’.

My woman sang Russian songs the entire time - it was amazing!

Very delicious, gastronomical euphoria. Service excellent, atmosphere very realistic and comfortable. Definitely recommend.

(Update: I was quite shocked to find out that Food Hygiene Rating was 2 out of 5) ... A dinner at Grandma’s. Mari Vanna keeps impressing by the standards of its authentic Russian food, friendly service and cosy atmosphere every time I visit it in Knightsbridge. Restaurant premises are beautifully decorated with various props from the Soviet times. It feels like you are visiting your grandma’s place back in the good ol’ days. Unpretentious food is full of flavour and has a home-made feel to it. The menu is very comprehensive and one might be lost in it. My recommendations for the newcomers, who are open to explore comforting Russian food, would be: - A delicate herring in a “shuba” (layered fish and vegetable - cold salad) or “kholodetz” (jellied meat) together with mixed pickles to start with, - Scrumptious “pelmeni” (dumplings) or “golubtzi” (minced meat wrapped in cabbage leaves) for your main course, and - A mouth-watering Napoleon cake to finish your feast - All goes well with cranberry “mors” – a light soft drink, or something stronger if you wish (cheers!) Prices are well reasonable, portions are generous, you are guaranteed not to leave hungry. Highly recommended!

Had such a great dinner! And of course a few shots of Beluga gold vodka.

Such an amazing place and cuisine! I go there quite often and right now they even have summer menu which I loved a lot. Vareniki with strawberries are the best. Also service and waiters were nice. Never had a bad experience there!

Went there with my friend a few times already and really enjoyed the cuisine. The place is unique and authentic with nice service. I loved chicken soup and potatoes with mushrooms a lot. Would recommend it 100% The prices for Central London is fine.

Great place, great food! Will come again next time when in London,

The following is very bad, I do not recommend it. The size of the cup is very large, so the taste of the coffee is not overpowering, and it contains a lot of annoying foam. The honey cake is good, but for me, the honey cake is better.

The food is nice. However, it cannot be properly assessed because it is a completely different cuisine. As expected, local dishes. The service is super friendly. The eyes were bigger than the mouth and a doggy bag was no problem at all and everything was neatly packed separately. The atmosphere of a large living room is very nice... Luckily no band this time ;-)

Finally we visited this wonderful Mari Vanna! I’m always very sceptical about our Russian food cooked and presented abroad, but I must say they managed to surpass my expectations! The atmosphere, the food (flavour and presentation), the service … everything was great and authentic! Felt like home ♥️♥️♥️ Thank you for creating such cosy and welcoming place!

Loved it I’m Russian myself and this place is the best place in London to get Russian food. great flavour in food good sized portions. Beautiful design inside great Russian music playing and Russian designs all over the restaurant. Will definitely come here again and you should too.👍👍

Nice live music and great atmosphere here. Nice crowd present. Looks like a traditional but fancy grandma house ! The food is definitely good Russian, authentic one. A good place for friends or parties

Amazing! A really beautiful and comfortable atmosphere. I felt as if I were sitting in my babushka's parlor! Yummy food and friendly, efficient service. Thanks!

Excellent food! Fantastic service! And unique ambience…

I’ve been a customer for many years and they’ve never failed to impress. The home like feel of the restaurant is a maximalists emporium of wonder. While I do always get the same order (beef stroganoff + mashed potatoes ) as it’s simply the best ! I have tasted other dishes my friends ordered , so I can say all round the menu is fortified and everything’s always been cooked and presented to perfection . Ideal for a date might I add as the atmosphere allows for calm conversations , happy memories and close connection. Although it is on the pricier end I think it’s reasonable for the service and food provided . P.s don’t leave without trying the honey cake . You won’t regret it .

All the food we tried were rather delicious. Service was really good but more information about the food served would be helpful. Atmosphere is good but some seats were not spacious enough so that we needed to move the table ourselves.

Super average food that is extremely overpriced. Went with British friends who wanted to try Russian food and were unpleasantly surprised by the quality vs prices

The place is like a beautiful dream...the honey cake is delicious again

It felt like we were eating at a very close friend’s grandmas! It was all soulfully delicious and comfortable. Everything we had was great, the service was excellent, it was our first time as a group of 5 but we will definitely make this space our regular.

Not bad just not great. Feels like an extremely polished version of Russian food.

It felt like we were eating at a very close friend’s grandmas! It was all soulfully delicious and comfortable. Everything we had was great, the service was excellent, it was our first time as a group of 5 but we will definitely make this space our regular.

Most authentic Russian restaurant in London. Olivier salad and vareniki were amazing. Be careful with their liqueurs unless you want to get hammered and dance to Meladze songs later. The main dining room has a Soviet pop playlist that adds to the overall nostalgic ambience. Beautiful and kitschy decor that makes you feel like you are in your babushka’s dacha. There are shelves of Russian/Soviet paraphernalia, including marinades and jams of all kinds, ornamented white tablecloths, and books.

I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! If you love Russian/Easter European food, this is the place for you.

I only wanted to say that borsh (Russian-Ukrainan broth) is so untasty and not fresh, there is no meat in it. Even the color is brown. If you want to have good borsh don’t go here, go to Zima Russian restaurant. Same with other dish. Sadly though.. But Service is really good.

Love the aesthetic of this place. Good vegetarian options too.

Nice venue for authentic Eastern European flavours, simple quality food.

- Ahhh, the place is imaginative and affectionate, and the service is amazing. You improve yourself inside a movie. The general atmosphere is once sweet and calm. I tried the honey cake and it was delicious. I tried the Americano and it was delicious. I will definitely repeat the experience...

The dishes were served on time, really good food and tasty, the dessert was beyond my expectations (honey cake)… I made a journey into my childhood… I will RECOMMEND to all my friends and family, and definitely will be back soon…

The interior and atmosphere is so nice, and as always the food was amazing. We always enjoy dining at this restaurant but our seating was too small for x3 people and so we had trouble with having all of our dishes on the table at the same time.

A busy bug cosy place with great food that tastes home cooked and generous portions!

This is the worst place I have ever seen

The best Russian restaurant in London! Good food and incredible atmosphere of a Soviet apartment

Amazing food and lovely location and great interiors. Staff was very helpful.

Unfortunately, there was no soap in female bathroom.

As always amazing❤️ I’ve been here many times and service, food, stuff and atmosphere perfect. Some restaurants need to learn a lesson…

very rude and non-responsive staff, they just hag up on you or do not answer the phone "amazing" level of service in the heart of london, I am surprised this place still has their last 2 desperate russian clients

Was disappointed with food quality and quantity, amount of pelmeni was small, dough very heavy and thick, butter was literally overpowering flavour of pelmeni. Music was playing just about, so couldn't hear Russian music, would be nice if waiters wear traditional Russian uniforms. Service ok, but seemed like staff didn't really care. Everything was overpriced. Was difficult to get staff attention, but bill arrived quickly. We are not happy with everything and won't visit it soon.

Fantastic place, very lovely decorations, delicious. The live music. We spent the wonderful evening

The place is small and when it gets too crowded its really noisy and too hot. They should consider using an air conditioning or something. The food is mediocre, the best is their deserts. I think its a little overpriced compared with what they're offering.

You will never eat honey cake like this

Good service and good food. The atmosphere is cozy.

Great food, friendly staff, lovely ambience. couldn’t recommend more

I had a lovely experience in Mari Vanna last afternoon with my friend. We had nice time, the atmosphere is really romantic, food is outstanding.

I go to MariVanna on a regular basis, but was very disappointed with the service this time. We came around 8, ordered starters and main course for each of 2 people. We were waiting for the main course for 1 hour and 15 minutes, while restaurant was not very full and other guests who arrived early than us already got their food. We reminded the waitress 3 times about our food (after 3rd reminder turned out they forgot our order), we had to cancel main courses after 1+ hour waiting. When we got the bill, hostess was arguing, but provided explanations like it takes long time to cook instead of admitting restaurant forgot about our order. I understand that these things happen, but I think there are better ways of handling the situation. This is quite unfortunate as MariVanna use to be my favorite place in terms of food, but the restaurant clearly needs to improve quality of service.

Beef stroganoff and surgeon are a must. Gorsh too to start with.

Very tasty food. Authentic Russian dishes. Interesting ambience: slightly cluttered and steeped in history, but cozy at the same time. If you have time, you can spend hours looking at old photos on the walls The staff is friendly, quick and not intrusive.

The food was poor. The fish, which was called "sterlet" on the menu, was not actually sterlet at all. The caviar sauce was terrible. It was simply bad. The honey cake was too sweet. The vinaigrette was just ordinary. Everything was priced like an airplane wing. The food at Zima is tastier and twice as cheap. We won't be coming back.

I have been to Mari Vanna several times already. The food is always wonderful, and the atmosphere with music is outstanding. Unfortunately, the table service this time was questionable: - The menus were not taken off the table after the order had been placed, so another waitress came to ask for the order. - I had to ask several times to bring water, and only on the 3rd attempt, when we had already finished our dinner, did the waitress bring water to the table. - I asked for hot dishes to be served only after we finished our starters; however, the waitress brought the hot dishes in the middle of us eating cold starters, and we had to rush to eat them before the food got cold. I love this place, and I hope Mari Vanna's team can address those issues and improve their service.

My wife and I very much enjoyed the food and the ambiance. The service was very good.

The stuff was really friendly! The menu is big and there is lots of options you can choose from. The food itself is not the best out of everything I tried in Russia but this place is definitely great if you want to try something different or if you miss homemade food. Would definitely recommend this place. The atmosphere and the music were great!

How does this restaurant have such an out of sync review? It's delicious, cozy, unique and original. Russian food is really comforting, strange, nostalgic and Mari Vanna is a great way to experience that in a unique setting in Knightsbridge

We came back to dive into Russian/Ukrainian dining experience and were not disappointed! The polarity of the reviews we saw was a concern; but to our surprise we got a very attentive service and truly high quantity dishes. From the lard slices with the shot of beluga to Georgian cheese pancakes, pickled veggies and definitely pelmeni; it was a great feast with some old Soviet 80s tunes to munch to. We also enjoyed the “mors”, a natural fruit drink, and a sublime selection of the desert, particularly the medovik, a honey cake. We will definitely come back!

Great food! Great music really enjoyed the night 🫶🫶🫶🫶

Restaurant set up is great as it’s very traditional and unique. However; the waitress to our table seemed to be quite lost; she didn’t understand what we were asking, wasn’t able to provide information on the dishes which was not very pleasant considering the prices as we basically ended up searching on Google more about the dishes as we weren’t sure what we would be ordering. We also noticed that other tables received some treats at the end of their dinner and we were never asked whether we would like to have any- which I’m not saying you must give it as complimentary, but if you give it to three off the tables on the night do not make others feel left out.

Nostalgic and very cozy. Very tasty, I recommend it.

What to say, this restaurant has very interesting interior and reminds me a lot of my childhood. The food is fabulous, I’ve been here couple of times and ordered too , so the food define Does not disappoint. I’m Georgian and very happy to see some lovely Georgian wines on their menu too. But what I did not like here is that some waiters are not very polite and are acting like they somewhere in the Soviet Union and the food comes slowly. Otherwise, great place.

One of the most beautiful interiors in London. Very charming. Hidden Gem. Good choice for a special occasion.

Everything was great except for the music being a touch loud

Certainly, here's a revised and polite review with bullet points: - The ambiance of the place is very beautiful and cosy. - While the food is average, it's worth trying for the experience. - However, it's important to note that the prices are quite high.(although it’s Knightsbridge)

It was an amazing experience !! We loved everything-from starters to drinks! Beautiful atmosphere,friendly staff,good service!! It’s definitely a place we would like to visit again!!!Also we would like to say big Thank you to a wonderful Alexa for a great night by signing karaoke with everyone!she managed to make all the guests feel special!! Thank you to all !! Will definitely go back!

Fantastic Russian in London to go if you are a fan of Russian classic deco, literature and history. Don’t miss the khachupuri and fish platter!

Cant understand why this place doesn’t have a good rating, food was amazing, good service and nice atmosphere

A lovely place to try Russian food - very nice decor and atmosphere

Thanks to the waiter from Kazakhstan! She was awesome!

The service is the best!! Friendliest in London - amazing food.

A beautiful,central,elegant restaurant. Very good food.

My wife and I went for dinner at Mari Vanna. My wife kept her coat with the restaurant and after dinner the staff said that the coat was lost. The manager responsible on the 17 Feb was extremely rude and said that it is not the responsibility of the restaurant even if the coat was lost under the restaurant's care. We made a police report and would urge the owner of Maria Vanna to look into this and resolve this ASAP

It really went bad recently. Very poor quality of food. Taste as they use the same oil they fry their food on for years. Real shame!

Tasty food, excellent service, very good experience