Covino — Restaurant in England

We've had our micro-wedding lunch in the form of private dining in Covino.

BOOKING: That was the only restaurant in Chester which responded promptly and organised the private dining experience, the booking process was effortless and all communication was simply brilliant and it's a book example how the process should look like. 5/5

DIRECTIONS AND PARKING: The restaurant is extremely easy to find and it's at the heart of Chester and close to town hall. There is no customer car park for obvious reasons, the location simply doesn't allow for any car parks, there are many car parks in Chester to use but they are really expensive.

ROOM/TABLE: The private dining room is located in the cellar which looks a little bit like wine cellar, there are no windows, the lighting is just right and it's spacious enough for at least 10 people. Two stars taken out for the music which was way too loud and also there were no proper doors, only some half-closed curtain so we could see the staff going in and out of the other rooms which looked like a storage with a door that slammed loud every time. It wasn't terrible but simply distracting and could be looked into. 3/5

SERVICE: The staff was very attentive, polite, caring, punctual and organised they were asking the right questions and cared about us but without this false, over the top smiling if you know what I mean, it was authentic and honest customer care, they were also giving us the information about the food itself which was actually interesting. Maybe they would be dressed better for this occasion but it's the common problem in the UK with the dressing code in restaurants nowadays. 5/5

FOOD: The food itself was very good and cooked by the book, the quality and the presentation were absolutely great. The portions sizes were a bit of an issue though. Most of the portions were divided into two bowls or plates only but there were four of us. While I obviously didn't mind sharing my plate with my newlywed wife, our guests were friends but maybe not ready to do the same with their portions. The main part was a beef steak which looked and tasted amazing but mainly for me - and I couldn't eat this enormous portion, so the staff packed it to take away which was very nice gesture. My wife and my guests were a little bit hungry and disappointed and it was a problem, I didn't feel good with the choice I've made in the day of my wedding. The portion sizes were distributed like this ratio: 1-1-1-2-6-1, which in my opinion should be more like 1-2-3-3-4-1, so everyone could have something to eat, instead of sharing (for example) two small carrots and then have nothing to eat. My opinion could be seen as unfair though - first of all, I agreed for private dining so I knew there was an element of surprise and the second, the food could be great and filling for anyone else who loved beef steaks. The dessert was ok but not what I would choose. All in all, I'd give it 3/5 in our personal circumstances.

DRINKS: We ordered non-alcoholic mixers and also some wine for our guests and everything was amazing including the coffee. 5/5

FACILITIES: The restaurant is small but looks lovely and welcome, the toilets are clean and whole place looks just right for the dining experience. 5/5

VALUE FOR MONEY: The price was reasonable and I also gave a 10% tip, I will not share the price because it could have been personalised and not a standard so I don't want to create any confusion or expectations. In general, the value for money was 4/5, for us it was like 3/5.

SUMMARY: Would I book it if I could have known what I know now? Yes, but I would ask for clarifications about food choices and portions. I would definitely want to have the private dining experience once again in this place.

In my opinion there's a general problem in the UK where weddings are mainly seen as huge, over-expensive and larger than life events and people like us have not much of a choice for private, quiet, short wedding lunch. Luckily there are places like Covino and it was a great private dining as a part of our...

My recent visit to the Chester site of this restaurant was unfortunately quite disappointing. Despite being regular guests at the Manchester Climate location, we were met with a lack of interest from the staff. The place was empty when we arrived on a Thursday, and although we were seated at the bar promptly, the service fell short. The staff seemed disinterested, merely taking our order and then leaving us to ourselves. This lack of attentiveness was shocking, especially considering our excitement to visit this new location. While the food was acceptable, it certainly could have been better.

One aspect that particularly irked us was the 12.5% service charge added to the bill. It's unclear what this charge was for, especially given the subpar service experience we encountered. The staff appeared more focused on socializing amongst themselves and with the chef, rather than catering to the guests' needs.

Overall, this visit was very disappointing. We believe that with proper attention and dedication to customer service, this establishment could do much better. I would recommend management to visit their Manchester site to understand the level of service that should be...

Overall I highly rated this place. Food flavours were amazing. Only a few quibbles. The musical selection was classic hip hop, which I love, but the volume was too loud at some stages to comfortably talk to someone seated right next to me (this was eventually corrected). Our server also forgot to order one of our dishes which then came later after we mentioned the omission. It probably would have been better served earlier with the bread as it was an oil/sauce heavy dish (I did see that a table near us received this dish at the same time as the focaccia in their case, and I was a tad jealous. The sauce was really tasty and I would have liked the excuse to eat more of it). Can't fault the server's friendliness and knowledge of the menu. It's a small restaurant so bookings are probably essential. We were sat on stools which was fine but not sure whether there were other seating options so worth checking if you have any mobility concerns. I would...