If you are looking for a restaurant with gluten free food: This is the place to go. They have a seperate menu for gluten free food, great pasta dishes and I loved the desert (I had the gluten free chocolate fondue). The waiters are very nice and the atmosphere great. I went there twice during my stay in London. Recommended!

We do not get out much as we have children so when we do we appreciate good food. I thought that we ought to try Carluccios as we had gone past it before. As it was my 40 birthday, my husband and I decided to try it. What a mistake! My husband had bruschetta as a starter. It tasted awful and we asked for this starter to be taken away. The waitress said that it had been made that morning, so perhaps it might be a bit stale! Then things went from bad to worse. My starter was the tuna fishcake - this was great but the salad with it had definitely seen better days! My husband's main course was the pork - this was very tough and hard to cut. We could not wait for the bill - this took 20 minutes to come after we had asked for it. Luckily, we had not been asked if we required any desserts or coffee! I will certainly remember my 40th, but for the wrong reasons.

Enjoying taking my family members to London we headed into Caluccios for a bit of lunch before a show. Six of us to start with then another 3 decided to join us. We asked to move to accomodate which was not a problem. Knowing that we were in Covent garden and in pleasant surrounding we expect to pay above the odds but to our dismay another £15 put on the bill as we were now a party of 9 over and above the tip already added to the bill. Feel this is slightly outrageous.

Carluccio's has gone down hill. The staff were fine, even above average. The place was busy and they only reserve 30% of tables so it's likely you'd have to wait but it was only for a few minutes. The premises was plain but Carluccio's has always been about the food. Tried the bresaola for starters, the meat was fine, there was a weensy sprinkling of parmesan slivers and a leaf of rocket. It was okay but if you've had bresaola with artichoke, better cheese and rocket this will be insipid by comparison but okay. For the main course I had the bistecca with rosemary potatoes and a pepper dip. The steak was awful and was so much bone and fat that there were about five or six mouthfuls, the meat was okay but nothing special, how difficult is it to season and fry or grill a steak? I could have done with a steak knife but that's my fault for not asking but given the small amount of actual meat, it was hardly going to make a bog difference. The potatoes were bland and didn't have any discernible taste of rosemary but the pepper dip was unbelievable - cold and tasteless - ketchup would have been a vast improvement, seriously. And if you're thinking there was some subtle taste in the dip, forget it, it was first and last dreadful. For desert I had the affogato (nougat and ice cream with espresso poured over it). It was okay but compared to Strada who also do this dessert, it was poor, in both presentation in a tall glass, and taste. For the food and ambiance I give it a 1-star, for the staff I give it a 2 and an average of 2. I won't be returning to Carluccio's. As a chain Strada is now miles better which wasn't the case a couple of years ago. There are also a number of non-chain Italian restaurants close-by but it can be hit and miss with these, but next time I would prefer to take my chances than eat at Carluccio's again.

Very poor indeed - avoid at all costs!!
We arrived at around 5.30pm (early meal before theatre) so restaurant was about half full. We requested a table along the side of the restaurant (there were about 6 free) but told they were all booked. By the time we came to leave nearly 2 hours later they were still vacant!

The table was filthy, as were the seats and the wall paper next to the table. We ordered some olives and focaccia to start. The olives were in some sort of sauce so we were expecting to be given a cocktail stick o pick them out, but told no you have to use your fingers. A rather messy start then. The calamari which followed was truly the worst I have ever endured - tough as leather, obviously frozen, no mayonnaise/dressing, wilting lettuce leaves. Absolutely foul.

Main courses were slightly better, though my gnocci had such little gorgonzola in the sauce it basically tasted like just cream. I've made better myself at home.

The best part of the meal was the wine. Service was pretty awful, very slow considering the time we ate, hapless and generally uneventful.

Would not eat again at Carluccios, very disappointed.

Authentic, delicious Italian food at very reasonable prices. Friendly and efficient waiting staff. Would highly recommend.

Avoid at all costs-warm wine, cold tasteless food and rude staff I would've given zero stars but the website won't let me! My mum and me went for an early evening meal. It all sarted ok (not great as the white wine wasn't chilled) and went rapidly downhill. After waiting a while for our waitress to take our order the starter was nice enough, though as it was cold antipasti even my 15 year old cousin couldn't go wrong serving that. I had ravilo for main and mum had veal. My meal arrived cold and after very politly informing the waitress she took it back. No apology from her at all. Meanwhile mum was trying to cut into a huge lump of grisly, tough veal whilst figuring out if the risotto with it was actually risotto or rice pudding. When my food came back it was luke warm and mum had given up on her food and spoke to the waitress to which the waitress asked her how should the risotto be cooked?!. Mum ordered a different dish and I had a pick at mine. She was served a scruffy spaghetti dish (all the spaghetti was danglng over the edge of the bowl) which was one big saticky lump. The waitress said she would send the manager over once we had finished our meals. We told her we would leave them and for the next 20 mins she positivly ignored us avoiding eye contact when we tried to get her attention to ask where the manager was. To cut a long story short we got no apology and when the manager evtually came overhe thought he could charm his way out of everything. We had no apolgies until I asked for one! We told him we would pay for the wine and starter not the mains and he agreed actually we would pay for the wine only. Fair deal. Until he bought over a bill for £50 andwhen we queried it, then denied agreeing to only charge us for the wine! He obviously was more interested in getting rid of us as his parting words were "oh just have the meal for free". I've had better food at pizza hut.

Had one of the worst experiences in Carluccios yesterday. We booked a table for 6 earlier in the day, but only 4 of us turned up and we were shown to a table beside the door. Tried to negotiate getting a better seat (with sofa seating's and larger table) without much luck. The waitress kept insisting that the place was already booked and she cannot do anything about it. Minutes later, a similar table is cleared and I wondered if we were going to be allowed to sit in the better seats. Obviously not. When the meal came, one of the 3 steaks consist mainly of fat, not really our cup of tea. So, my mate asked for it to be changed. A similar piece was brought out to our disgust. The waitress insisted it was not the same piece and they were not allowed to cook the same piece of meat twice.

We finished our food in a huff and our plates were duly cleared and the bill was presented. Feeling dissatisfied I commented to the waitress the the table we could have been placed on was still empty. Further more a party of two was seated in the table vacated not long after we made our orders. She then apologised and claimed that it was the porter's (captain?) duty in placing customers, not hers and she has no control over seating. Not very sincere as it was her who told us earlier that she checked and the table was booked. Furthermore, we originally booked for 6, so that table must have been ours in the first place.

Luckily, we had some vouchers to limit the damage to our wallets. Also after the waitress complained to the porter, he gave us a further reduction on the steak that wasn't finished. But, service is service and if Carluccios want to charge the prices they charge for the food, then the service should have been much better. Don't think I will return to Carluccios anytime soon.

I booked Carluccios for a meal out last night as they have a gluten free menu and my fiance has a wheat intolerance. The service was great, fast friendly and not too pushy. The food was good, I've eaten better italian meals, but overall it was a nice evening.

My main comment is that rather than have a seperate GF menu they could add those dishes to the main menu and mark all the GF options clearly. There were GF options on the main menu but they weren't marked. Full marks though for doing GF pasta! I would certainly eat there again.

Ate here today as part of a day out for our wedding anniversary and I wish we hadn't bothered! I can't fault the service at all as our waitress was polite and efficient, but the food was terrible. We ordered Arancini to start and the balls of risotto were stone cold in the centre and had no flavour at all. Despite them having two different fillings they seemed identical....bland and underseasoned. The supposedly crispy coating was stale tasting and chewy. I chose Penne alla Luganica as a main course, while my husband had Lasagne. Both meals looked and tasted like microwave ready meals and were certainly not worth the money charged for them. I didn't complain, but in retrospect wish I had! This was my first visit to a Carluccio's restaurant, and it will also be my last!

We were looking for a venue near Convent Garden to celebrate my cousin's birthday and the staff at Carluccio's were most helpful.

They were attentive and very willing to help with extras like lighting the candles on a birthday cake and bringing the cake to the table while helping us to sing Happy Birthday.

The food was very tasty, the best of the Italian repertoire, cooked well and served hot.

The food complimented the excellent service and good atmosphere in the upstairs restaurant.

A very enjoyable experience.We asked them if they had a table for eight people at their peak time for those about to go to a theatre and yet there was no pressure to eat up quickly and go.

I imagine that there were plenty of people arriving all the time while we were there but we were made to feel most welcome.

We even managed to converse in our first language.I will be recommending the restaurant to everyone I know.

Always a lovely meal at Carluccios, the atmosphere is great and the food really good.

Especially enjoyed the Antipasti starters - delicious!

Myself and my boyfriend ate here last night and were very disappointed with the meal.

I ordered one of the specials, the chicken and lemon risotto and there was no taste to it at all.

I actually couldn't finish it as it felt like I was just eating mouthful after mouthful of soggy rice.

The server was very apologetic and the olives we had to start were nice (but you can't really go wrong with olives) and they are the only reasons why I have given them a star rating at all.

Not recommended.

I took the precaution of booking a table after a matinee visit to the theatre during the Easter holidays.

Just as well as the waiting time for a table for 4 at around 6.30 was in the region of an hour.

One of my daughters is coeliac so the gluten free menu was the main attraction. The whole place was fantastic however. We had a terrific Irish waiter who was attentive and funny without being "in your face".

All our meals were excellent (three different pasta dishes and one chicken), with the gluten free pasta dish being quite outstanding. We will go again at the very next opportunity ie on our next visit to London.

I understand there are other branches throughout London so we might try these too. Definitely recommended particularly for those needing a gluten free alternative.

Excellent service, good prices and a very own gluten-free menu with gluten-free pasta and more. Definately worth a visit! Take the underground to Leicester Square, and a few minutes walk only to Garrick Street.

Very bad. The food was terrible from the starter right through to the coffee. There was way too much salt in everything to give it some taste. The staff were cold and even the cutlery was dirty. As an Italian I'm ashamed of the 'Italian' food being served in this restaurant!

Excellent food, lively atmosphere and prices far more reasonable than most London eateries!

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.

One of my favourite places to eat in Covent Garden - delicious Italian cuisine served with care and politeness.