Wildwood Restaurants Covent Garden — Restaurant in London

Wildwood bills itself as having 'the best Italian food'. However when I came here at 5pm on 30.11.23 it didn't provide me with a hot meal, and the staff were efficient but not particularly friendly, so it is nothing like an Italian restaurant (such as Ciao Bella down the road, which has excellent food, is run by Italians, and the welcome is off the scale). I was eating alone before attending a ROH opera nearby. I was seated near another solo diner who was working - no problem in itself, but it might have been nice to have been asked where I'd like to sit. One feels conspicuous enough as a solo diner without being bunged in with other such, which they had to make space for suddenly as a huge party had just left. And then the wife of the couple who were later seated next to me hummed intermittently during their meal, which was grating. I got the impression the staff were up against it and could have done with some more staff, but they themselves did well to accommodate diners and their orders. They (including the manager) checked on me during the meal but in a 'how quickly can I do this' type of way. Not genuinely interested. The restaurant has a lovely atmosphere of very pleasant, low lighting, and quite a nice layout. The drawback was random pop music (not even good hits) in the background (light jazz eg Diana Krall would have been much nicer and more appropriate after 5pm), which inexplicably they turned up after 6pm - just as the families were leaving and more adults were turning up. That was very annoying. But it had a good mix of all ages in the restaurant, which I think is a good sign. I had already been hankering after a burger so that's what I chose. I had the tempranillo wine (turned out to be the house red), which came at a perfect temperature and very reasonable price given the location. The food and drink were served in good time. However the room-temperature water I'd requested came with ice in it - I was barely looked at when the waiter (Samir) took my order so I didn't feel I mattered. I was one of the many people they were trying to process. I wasn't asked how I'd like my burger. It took about 15-20 mins to arrive (perfectly normal) but the (nicely crispy) chips were barely luke-warm (absolutely not hot) and the burger tasted very average to on the dry side. I couldn't see any gherkins or other goodies in there either. I'd say I'm a skilled cook so can say with confidence that all this meal lacked was some love in the making. It may also have needed the waiter to serve it sooner - I don't know whether the kitchen or waiter was at fault for its temperature. I hadn't ordered the (extra item) Monterey cheese in the burger but it was provided as 'complementary' - interesting, given I may not have felt like cheese. I ate it anyway. I was asked about condiments but I prefer someone just bringing ketchup and mayo to the table as those are normal accompaniments. I didn't have pudding but the espresso was delicious: a perfect temperature and flavoursome. When given my bill, I was (slightly pushily) asked to review Samir using a QR code on the receipt but I dislike such things, and usually review on here. I also had to get to the Opera House. If the food had been hot, the staff had been genuinely friendly and listening (not being just as quick and efficient as possible), and the music different, I could easily have given this place 4 stars. As it is it must remain at 2 because the food wasn't juicy and hot, and I wasn't listened to about my water - simple tasks when someone is paying for a meal. Oh, and I don't think a service charge was appropriate but one feels unable to say...

Wow, I have never left a post in here before but the terrible food in here forced me to. I don’t even know where to start... Kids eat free was a bonus because I would never have paid for their food; starter of bread sticks (were fresh once upon a time) with no dip or olive oil or anything else just “here’s some breadsticks kids”.... when ordering we asked if they could cook a plain cheesey pasta for the kids as it wasn’t on the menu, expecting some kind of plain carbonara or a bechamel sauce kinda deal a tomato based pasta turned up, we politely turned it back and requested plain cheesey pasta maybe cream based like a carbonara... what turned up next was literally plain boiled pasta and the waiter offered to grate fresh Parmesan over it for them... I sent it back a second time explaining that a carbonara sauce would be fine... what came back can only be described as the same pasta that hadn’t even moved on their plate with a drizzle of cream and fresh Parmesan over the top, completely unseasoned and by this point stone cold... I couldn’t be bothered to send it back a third time as the kids were starving... our mains consisted of dry, over cooked and almost grey Piri piri chicken and a “special” of crispy speck and tomato pasta. Imagine getting some tagliatelle, leaving it on the side for a while then sprinkling some dry prosciutto and fresh chopped tomato on the top then serving... bland, unseasoned, no sauce it literally just tasted like plain pasta out of the pan... any true Italian chef or any Italian would be outraged by the level of cooking skill on show here.

It is busy because it is in Covent Garden do not be fooled that it is busy because the food is good... the two stars given are for the front of house staff who have to deal with the shocking food and for taking the price of the “special” off our final bill.

Do not go here if you...

My daughter and i visited on a hot Saturday afternoon in April when Covent Garden and all the tourist trap restaurants in the square were heaving. I've been here once before when visiting London. Always for a late lunch. I consider it a bit of a find if you are willing to walk a few feet out of the back of Covent Garden onto Bow Street a stone's throw from the stunning facade of the Royal Opera House which you dont see from inside Covent Garden. Make an effort to seek this restaurant out. Great value for money for London. Seems to appeal to all including famillies and couples. Food, and especially the pizza is amazing. Pizza crust is to die for, thin yet so tasty and perfectly cooked. My daughter opted for an unusual white pizza with bechamel sauce, bacon and artichokes plus a perfectly cooked but runny egg on top. To die for. I had an appetiser portion of mussels in a sweet pepper sauce with a side salad. I could have drunk the sauce. A bit sweet, a little hot but not too much of either. The portion was large and came with a couple of slices of grilled bread which was in the same league as the pizza dough. Only missing detail was no finger bowl. Its impossible to eat mussles and not get messy. I then struggled to get waitress's attention to ask for more napkins. A bit of a negative. We also struggled to get her attention when we needed more water. Anyway, all in all the food here was great. Pasta dishes on other tables also made me envious. Drinks, virgin mojito and glass of wine did the job. Value for money good too for London and the vibe was good; leather banquettes, wall of clocks, collections of newspapers etc. They could just polish a few minor details but i...