Violas - Restaurant in Covent Garden — Restaurant in London

We’ve visited Violas before and had a really lovely experience with great food, so we returned with high expectations. Unfortunately, this visit didn’t quite meet the standard we had previously enjoyed.

We were seated quickly, which was a good start, but from then on the service felt noticeably slow. After sitting for around 10 minutes with no one approaching, we had to catch a staff member’s attention ourselves to place our food and drink order.

When the food eventually arrived—about 20 minutes later—the Eggs Benedict was cold, suggesting they had been sitting out for a while. The other dishes were only just warm, which was disappointing.

We also ordered the loaded fries, which were described on the menu as being topped with braised beef and onion. However, they came covered in a very spicy sauce that made them difficult to eat for any of our party. It would have been helpful if the menu had mentioned this, as not everyone enjoys or expects that level of heat.

Later, we decided to order dessert. The cheesecake arrived almost instantly, but we waited another 20 minutes for two portions of donuts. After asking where they were, a member of staff returned but then walked off without explanation. In the end, we had to cancel the donuts as we were heading to the theatre and couldn’t wait any longer. The staff didn’t seem very understanding, and we were told they make the donuts fresh—which we appreciate, but it would have helped to be informed of the delay upfront.

We had to ask for the bill after the cancelled dessert and even then, we watched as they tapped a few things on the till and then walk off and start serving other people. Again after another 5 minutes we had to ask for the bill!

Overall, it was a mixed experience. The atmosphere is nice and we know the café is capable of better, but the slow service and lack of communication really let it...

DO NOT EAT HERE IF VEGETARIAN/VEGAN/ALLERGIES

i went with my mum for an afternoon tea experince as a little treat and she called ahead and booked us a table for 2. she specifically said we were coming in to have the afternoon tea and that she wanted the normal one and i wanted the vegetarian one.

we went and told them we wanted that when we got there (they seemed to have forgotten) and again specified that half was going to be vegetarian and they said they would make sure half was on the three tier tray it came out on.

it took quite a while (even though it wasn’t busy at all) and when it came out none of it was vegetarian (minus the cakes). we asked the server if she was sure it was and she said she didn’t know and walked off (it obviously wasn’t). we caught another servers attention and he said if we ordered it it would be but we insisted he checked and it turned out it was not.

To fix this instead of bringing the usual vegetarian menu out they just brought me 2 bits of mushroom toast which was barely toasted bread with some cheese and mushrooms on, definitely not worth the large price tag! after that they stopped checking on our table all together and even when my mum asked for more tea she did not get it. we eventually asked for the bill and we obviously didn’t pay the service charge as it was £10 on top of a £76order (each afternoon tea was £38). the food other than that was just fine. definitely not worth the money at all felt like a spot for instagram photos.

they didn’t care about my dietary preference i can’t imagine how terrible they are with allergies. please be aware before booking and go somewhere else that...

We visited Violas a few weeks ago after being drawn in by the beautiful photos of their food and decor — but sadly, the experience didn’t quite live up to the expectations.

We ordered the breakfast tacos, tiramisu French toast, eggs benedict, and a stunning pink latte. From what we could tell, most tables had all their food brought out at the same time, but when it came to our order, they had somehow forgotten my eggs benedict. I clearly remember ordering it, and when we mentioned the missing item, there wasn’t much of an apology, nor did they seem in any hurry to fix it. I watched a few plates of eggs benedict being served to other tables before mine eventually showed up — much later than the rest.

Because of the delay, my friend’s food had gone cold since she was being polite and waiting for mine to arrive. While I could maybe overlook that, what really put me off was how they reminded customers about how much time they had left at their table.

A girl sitting next to us was waiting for her friend, and a server kept pushing her to order. They even asked if she could send a photo of the money to her friend so she could place the order — because they "only had 40 minutes left in their booking." Honestly, that was uncomfortable to hear and felt incredibly pushy.

If I could suggest one change, it would be this: don’t rush your customers to order or finish their meal just to get the next booking in. I understand the need for time limits with reservations, but there’s a more respectful way to handle it.

That said, on a positive note — the tiramisu French toast was incredible! Definitely the highlight...