Carluccio's, Covent Garden, London

Caluccios is an absolute GodSend. Ambiance, gourmet, service!
I love these guys.

The most TERRIBLE service and restaurant experience I have ever encounter because of the following things:

1. The waiter did not understand our order and therefore when I was eating my main meal my husband was eating nothing because he had eaten his main meal when I was eating my starter.

2. I had a small fly in my glass.

3. I had to wait about 30 mins for main meal after my starter.

4. By the time I had finished my main meal I was quite angry and could not have the (esspresso) drink as part of the set menu. They over charged me even though I clearly stated that I had wanted the set menu.

5. They forgot one part of the starter so the waiter had to give me the money back in coins.

6. No acknowledgement that the service I got was absolutely appalling.

DON'T EVER GO HERE unless you want a terrible time!

After arriving fashionably late due to London's great transport system I joined my fellow Qypers for a delightful evening at a private wine tasting at Carluccio's.

The Planeta wines, white, red and dessert were delightful and our host Michael was very knowledgeable and dare I say very passionate about these wines.

The antipasto dishes were quite individual and a wonderful mixture of delicious meats, cheeses, veggies and breads that are available to buy in the deli downstairs. To accompany the dessert wine plates of moreish cannoli appeared.

Many thanks to Carluccio's for a delightful evening and I look forward to returning there for a meal in the near future.

Because Carluccios is so close to where I work, I have used their deli many times for (rather pricey) takeaway lunchs and for the occasional eat in lunch. The deli food is acceptable and the restaurant OK, but certainly nothing to shout home about.

However my latest excursion there was a nightmare. A couple of days after Christmas and the place was busy but not overcrowded. Despite an army of young waiters and waitresses, the service was slow and plodding - they have obviously made an art out of avoiding eye contact.

I ordered a glass of mineral water, which came in a warm, cloudy glass (obviously straight out of the dishwasher in the kitchen) and my friend and I waited a further 25 minutes for the food - watching all around us getting served.

When it finally turned up, the waitress brought the wrong pasta course for me. When I said this to her, she turned on her heels and marched off with my dish and that of my friends (who had only ordered a cold salad anyway) without saying a word.

We waited for someone to come up and explain - or at least apologise for the cock up, but no-one did. Whilst I minded our bags, my friend had to go up and tap the waitress on the shoulder to ask her to bring back the salad.

Still the waitress wouldn't come over and explain the mix up - I had to grab her the next time she sailed past to ask her what had happened to my meal. I was told curtly that the other waitress had said I had asked for a different dish and that I would "just have to wait for a new plate."

I was taken aback at the blatent lie and again lack of apology. I asked to see the manager who told me that my dish was being prepared; and lo and behold, a plate of sad, rubbery looking pasta tubes turned up with a smattering of sausage sauce that looked as if it had been thrown from a teaspoon 10 yards away from the plate. Strange that this time, my dish had only taken 2 minutes to arrive when we had waited 25 minutes for it in the first place!

I had also ordered a side plate of chargrilled garlic bread, and it was obvious this had been sitting around the kitchen for a while as it was stone cold. Again, I asked the manager to take it away and bring me one that was fresh and recently made.

The second attempt was just as cold and the recently deposited plate of pasta was quickly congealing on the dish. It was awful, but I hadn't the energy to send it back again and I was starving by this point.

Again, the manager made no apologies for the delay, the stone cold food or the wrong order. Instead, he offered to get us coffees (like we wanted to spend even more time in the place drinking probably lukewarm drinks!) but didn't offer to reduce the bill - which would have been more acceptable to us.

Quite frankly with the number of restaurants in the area, I'll never bother with this overpriced tat again. There are far better restaurants around and I would rather spend good money to get prompt, friendly, attentive service, comfortable seating, and well cooked (and hot) food.

Carluccios is one of the great successes of the chain world. An amazing feat when you consider how very average its food is. I blame those clever marketeers who have correctly surmised that if you display some authentic-looking deli bits and bobs at the front of the restaurants, chuck in some shelves of ludicrously over-priced but exquisitely packaged italian biscuits, spaghetti and the like, that diners will somehow fail to notice its less-than-exquisite dining experience.
The other night at the Earlsfield branch my friend and I ordered a milanese risotto.
As someone who has lived in Italy, I know that if nothing else there should be a smattering of saffron in this.
Ma non. Instead we received white, cold slop in which a few gobbits of salsiccia bobbed mournfully. As for flavour..seasoning..garnish, there was none. It wouldn’t have looked out of place on a school dinner menu (pre-Jamie Oliver style makeover).
When I asked the waitress where the saffron was she looked blank and shrugged, saying: “this is the chef’s version”. Rather like putting roast chicken on the menu and serving up a poached pear instead.
Anyway, she was apologetic and - between bouts of listening to a neighbouring table’s gripes about their meal - invited us to choose something else on the menu. This we duly did. When the bill came we found we’d been charged both for our second choices (and for one of the milanese risottos).
Molto molto disappointing.

This is definitely one of the nicest branches in this ever growing chain.
However, a recent visit was marred by long waiting times and rather desinterested shop staff. A bit of a disappointment to be completely ignored when the maitre d’ recommends the “wine tastine next door”.
Oh well, their penne with courgettes and spinach balls is the perfect comfort food to get over this rather slack experience in no time at all.
Perfect spot for a quick dinner before theatre.

I am here every wednesday morning for a breakfast meeting, the venue fantastic and location superb. The breakfast is good although pricey, nevertheless worth a visit.

The fact the scrambled eggs have spring onions, made it for me. Bacon tasty and mushrooms good.

This Carluccio’s is very centrally located and has an added wow factor with a great circular stone staircase and a light and airy private function room with big windows.

I was there for the Sicilian wine tasting evening, when qypers got to taste the entire range of Planeta wines, accompanied by some fab antipasti and cannoli to die for.

These are easy-drinking wines. If you like oaky chardonnay, you’ll like any of the whites (La Segreta Bianco £8.95; Alastro £12.50, Cometa £19.50, Chardonnay).

I have to declare I prefer a nice grassy sauvignon blanc from Chile/ NZ, and you just can’t grow white wines like that in Sicily, so they weren’t really my cup of tea (!).

The reds, however, were far more up my street: big, robust flavours. The 'entry level’ La Segreta Rosso was one of my faves. I also liked the top-end Santa Cecilia (£19.50), the Syrah and the Burdese (=”in the bordeaux style”).

The Cerusuolo di Vittorio (£19.50) is v quirky and tastes of cherries (Cerusuolo=”cherryish”). Not for me, but others loved it, so clearly a personal choice.

There was also a strong Merlot (14% vol) which fell somewhere in the middle of my preferences, but very quaffable. And unusually for Sicily, a Rose for £10.50.

Last, but certainly not least, was the lovely dessert wine Passito di Noto, a moscato bianco, which went perfectly with the divine cannoli.

All the wines are available from the Carluccio’s shop on the ground floor (open until 11pm). As is a very good olive oil, also produced by Planeta for £14.95.

I recently attended a Planeta wine tasting in the private dining room at Carluccio’s and I was very much impressed with the venue, the food and (especially) the wines and the uber-knowledgeable and enthusiastic sommelier/presenter for the evening.

The Planeta wines (Sicilian whites, reds and a dessert wine) and the Planeta olive oil were delicious. I wanted to be critical of the wines - or, I should say, I expected to be - but I really couldn’t find fault with them. Delicious wines and a good value (ranged from a tenner to less than 20) that I will certainly be buying in the future. The olive oil was fruity and fresh with no bitterness. A tad on the expensive size (£14 for a small bottle), but if your wallet permits, then it’s a great choice.

The venue was stylish, yet warm and inviting. The tasting was held in the private dining room, which is on the second floor of Carluccio’s and overlooks the buzzy streets. It was a perfect setting and I’d love to have an excuse to organise something there again (or suggest it to someone who is looking for a private dining room).

The antipasti (vegetarian and non) were delicious and super fresh (salame, porchetta, artichokes, olives, killer caponata, Sicilian-style cous cous and more). The small cannoli served with the dessert wine were very good and had fresh candied orange peel - something one doesn’t usually find in cannoli outside of certain areas in Italy.

Kudos (and a big thank you) to Mike for being so knowledgeable and infectiously enthusiastic about Planeta wines, whilst being relaxed and affable and making everyone feel right at home.

Went along to a wine tasting at Carluccios flagship restaurant this week to taste its range of Planeta wines. It was fantastic. Not only did they serve us up some tasty treats from the kitchen (including home made cannoli,which was delicious as was the Planeta dessert wine) but the wine was also excellent. I especially liked the rose and the whites. If you are eating at Carluccios, don’t miss one of the Planeta wines. If you’re on your way to a dinner party - pop into a Carluccios cafe and buy a bottle of Planeta to bring along. You won’t go wrong.

AbFab dahling! It was an evening of wine, information and friends. So much fun I want to go back for more. In fact, I AM going back for more - going to Carluccio’s to buy some of that most stunning olive oil. That Planeta stoned olive oil is worth every penny of it’s price!

The wines were all stunning with the 'gorse bush’ and Saint Cecelia wines both tickling my palette in just the right way.

The upstairs private dining room is beautiful but even more stunning is the downatairs space. The shop is well stocked and fun with the eatery intimate but spacious.

I highly recommend a trip down here as quick as you can!

This is the second time I’ve been to Carluccio’s & both times have been full of great food, easy atmosphere & a nice drop of wine to go with it all.

I was lucky enough to be invited to the Planeta (Sicilian)wine tasting in the private room upstairs of their Garrick St restaurant in Covent Garden…everything from rose’, light whites, oaked whites, deep reds & a lovely crisp desert wine to finish off the evening. The antipasto platter that was served with these wines was sooo tasty & fresh but the cannoli - what can i say….YUM!

There were 20 of us at the tasting & by the looks of it we all learned a bit about Planeta wines and even their olive oil (thanks to Michael).

Thanks to Carluccio’s, Planeta & Qype for a lovely night out.

I've gotta hand it to Carluccio's. Their flagship Covent Garden location is an elegant space, especially the upstairs dining room! If you ever get a chance to wine-n-dine here (as I and about 20 other Qypers did at a Sicilian wine tasting event), by all means take advantage of the opportunity. It's a lovely spot, smack dab in the heart of Central London but above and removed from the fray.

I think Carluccio's do Italian right. They offer a brilliant selection of wines (I love Planeta's Alastro) and solid antipasti. In fact, everything I've tried on their menu has been fine by me, especially the calf's liver. Drool.

A great evening last night in the upstairs function room of Carluccio’s on Garrick Street. Carluccio’s have a long standing relationship with a Sicilian wine maker called Planeta and these were the wines we were tasting last night. All of the wines were fantastic (although i think the Cometa tipped it for me) and our host was friendly, knowledgeable and a generous decanter!

Carluccio’s on Garrick Street certainly feels a much more classy establishment than its sister restaurant behind Top Shop on Marketplace. This would make a great date spot or a place to take the other half if you’re in the dog house! The staircase is grand, the ceilings are high and i must admit i felt very well looked after all evening.

I’ll be back!

I was at Carluccio’s for a private wine tasting (brought to you by Qype!) so can’t comment on the pricing, but the style and ambience of the restaurant was just perfect. Light, airy, with an amazing staircase (!) - it’s somewhere I would take someone I needed to impress!

Sometimes when you walk into a place, you think to yourself: tonight is gonna be good.

That’s exactly what tonight was! A blend of delicious meats, cheeses, veggies and breads to graze on while I sampled the Planeta wine that Carluccio’s stocks.

If the weather had been sunnier and the view a bit more rustic (rather than an overcast central London), I’d have sworn I’d been transported to Sicily with a group of friends. Interesting discussions were had and playful teasing happened over breads dipped in Planeta’s olive oil - so buttery, with a hint of pepper.

The finishing touch was a cannoli filled with a cream with bits of chocolate and candied orange peel whipped into it, and served along with a glass of Moscato. YUM! You can leave the gun, but most definitely take the cannoli!

The prix fixe evening menu is fantastic value for money in central London. Not much choice - but at £8.50 for two courses and coffee, what can you say? Buzzy lively atmosphere. Great to grab a quick, early evening bite before making the long journey home….

I have a bit of a soft spot for Carluccios. Their coffee is good, they have an awesome selection of pastas, sauces, meats etc.

To be honest, I’ve never eaten in the restaurant, but for taking home ingredients like pasta sauces then they beat the pants off Ragu and Lloyd Grossman.

Oh and the cakes are pretty sweet as well.

Part of the chain of Italian restaurants that have popped over all over London now, the Covent Garden Carluccio’s was refitted about a year ago and is still a lovely place to grab a bite to eat.

Slightly on the pricey side, at least the menu is not off the shelf Italian and you can be assured of good quality food. The deserts and coffee especially are exceptional (but then, I have a sweet tooth!).

The crowd is funky and vibrant and not-too-touristy, whih makes a change for Covent Garden.

Definitely worth a visit if you want a quick meal - be sure to book during busy times as it gets full!

Beautiful, delicious, fresh simple flavourful food. A lovely dining atmosphere as well! Unfortunately, our experience was marred because of the extremely rude and snobby service. The service staff should be ashamed of themselves for gossiping so obviously about the patrons. I would purchase food from the shop for take away without a doubt, but I would never dine there again. Unfortunately.