Carnevale's

I have been to this restaurant a few times now and have never given a feed back but I just had to review it as my fiancée and I had our Engagement Lunch here on Sunday 2 October.

With more exquisite artwork than the Tate Modern, Carnevale's is a real one off indeed. So, instead of spending hours at a Gallery coming away feeling hungry for culture and food why not feed your soul with a visit to Carnevale's. The interior has very comfortable furnishings with an impressive art collection to create a stylish but laid- back venue. This is ideal for long lunches and dinner with friends you would like to spend time with, which is what we did.

Tony the owner was very accommodating and so were the staff. They were very attentive to our needs. There were 50 of us and the restaurant coped very well with our demanding guests. Many of our guests are natives of the Caribbean and thought the restaurant setting was very exotic and idyllic. It was the hottest day in October on records and the conservatory style of the restaurant was just perfect, especially for our photos.

We had a three course menu (and for the main course we had no less then 6 choices). Popular dishes from the menu were the rack of lamb and sea bass. (All my guests cleaned their plates with just bones as evidence of what our guests had chosen). ALL of our guests have nothing but good things to say about the day. They even went as far as saying it was like a mini wedding reception.

As the portions were reasonable, by the time we were approaching the desserts I was feeling comfortably full. We had a cake made and brought this along to the restaurant. Our guests were given the choice to have a dessert or the cake and I think most of our guests had both the dessert and the cake.

I must also mention that we were not rushed in any way to vacate the restaurant.

I look forward to our next visit!
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Laura L
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Thursday, October 20, 2011

I felt I had to review this restaurant because we had a fabulous evening yesterday for a friend's birthday.

The setting of the restaurant is fabulous, spotless and very chic. The elderly gentleman, I'm guessing the owner, is just lovely with his thick Italian accent. He was helpful in coming over and recommending the main courses when we were unsure of what to have. They didn't rush us at all. We took our time and they were very attentive when we called them over.

The girls all had meat dishes and I had the fish. The lamb shank fell off the bone to the point one of the girls almost licked the plate after it was so good! The pork belly looked superb, and the girl who had it is Italian said that's exactly the way her mum makes it - compliment to the chef.

I had a huge plate of fish that was lovely and fresh with a side salad - that actually could be a main course in itself.

They do not scrimp on portions - real Italian size man portions. So good place to go if you are feeling hungry!

As it was a friend's birthday, I had dropped a cake off earlier and after dinner, they dimmed the lights in the whole restaurant and all the chefs came out banging pots and pans whilst the whole restaurant (another 2 tables - it was a Monday night) sang Happy Birthday!! They had added a firework candle and made such a big fuss of my friend!! It was so lovely and unexpected. They then took the cake and brought it back as portions on dessert plates with added sorbet and fruit - and THEY DIDN'T CHARGE us for it!

We also asked to share the cake with the other tables, which they did without any complaint!

We had a discount on the food as I have a Tastecard, and I have to say that even without the discount I would certainly be going back.

When they gave us the bill, they had worked out the service charge on the bill minus the discount, and so as I was trying to work it out what it should have been before the discount (it was taking me some time after the prosecco) the owner's wife asked if everything was OK with the bill, and I explained that we should be paying more service and she gave me a hug and said no one had done that before!

So please if you go and use a discount, make sure you are paying the service on what would have been the bill as I really believe it is worth it if you get the same service we did. I will be going back - probably sooner rather than later!
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Vanessa V - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Very disappointing evening. A special meal for our Son and Daughter-in-law over from New York, this being their favourite restaurant when they live in Earlsfield. Although the food was very good the long wait for drinks and then the wrong drinks being bought, coupled with the embaressment of 3 different diners cards being rejected many times as the machine was not connected properly, we will not be using this restaurant again. We did mention this at the time to the staff but they were not interested.
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Christine Montgomerie
6 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Sunday, September 18, 2011

I have been there on two occasions. Whilst, in general, everyone in our group enjoyed the food - some of it excellent - the service was poor. The older waiter (is he the manager / owner, I wonder?) is patronising. When we ordered the wine he asked who was driving; as if it was any of his business. We also decided to share desserts but, instead of letting us do the sharing, he divided the food up into exactly equal quantities before bringing it to the table. Anal, or what? To cap it off; both he and the younger waiter were miserable. Definitely a "no return!"
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David Gifford
4 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 4
Saturday, July 23, 2011

Amazing meal for my Birthday in July 2011. The food was delicious and the restaurant is just beautiful. The real treat though is the brilliant service and authentic Italian atmosphere. This restaurant is so worth walking down the road a little further from the station – you won’t regret it! I had the mouth wateringly good Lobster Ravioli and our party were huge fans of the deep fried mozzarella with chilli. Make sure you visit soon.
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, July 19, 2011

This restaurant seems to be going downhill very quickly. I've lived in the area for almost 10 years and Carnevales used to offer great food and service at a decent price.

My last two visits have been a real disappointment. The service is terrible. We had to wait ages to place our order, our wine arrived between the starter and the main course. The waiter seemed to view all the customers as an inconvenience and slammed the food onto the tables.

On top of this the food was bland and not well presented

What on earth has happened to this place?
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David P
1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, May 17, 2011

I totally agree with the other reviewer - the service was indeed quite comical! We felt we were at fawlty towers at one point when our wine which was balancing with 3 others in one bucket was trundled around pillars with 3 waiters trying to not topple it over and then we never saw it for 15 minutes!! Surely with the prices they are charging, they can afford wine buckets for each table?

To be honest, we did only try this place as we have a tastecard giving us 50% off the food. My b/friend had the prawn starter which he said was gorgeous. We had the foccacia bread which was v dry and would have been lovely with some kind of olive oil dip? My b/friend had the lamb for main which he was v happy with but although i asked for my duck medium to well done , it was totally cooked through but it was still v nice. I had profiteroles for dessert which were v nice. At 50% off, it made the food good value but if i had had to pay almost £20 for my overcooked duck with 1 side dish of potatoes, i would not be happy.

We would not go back due to the service. Maybe if they injected some youth into the service, it may improve. The waiters are all over 70 with very stuffy attitudes which they may think are professional - i found it quite rude. But the comical elements did make us smile!
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Clare
6 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Sunday, April 10, 2011

Having enjoyed it so much on previous occasions, our visit last Friday was a disappointment. The service seemed infected with such lethargy and carelessness as to be comic. The food was average Hopefully this was just an off-night though the sense of general malaise lingered. Avoid for the moment.
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4 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 3
Monday, August 16, 2010

Went to Carnevale's and would really recommend it. Had a very good seafood risotto and my girlfriend got a pizza which came to a reasonable £23 with 2 drinks. Service great and hope to see this place build in popularity as it really is worth visiting since the refurb.
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Simon Weaver
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, January 13, 2010