Santini Restaurant Review

Taken by work, too expensive for my normal budget by far, but the food was incredible and top service

We came for Valentines Day. The staff were friendly. The food was good though my friend who ordered the Fritto Misto wasn't happy. He said it wasn't at all crunchy but rather quite soggy. My Dover Sole was good and the Carbonara excellent.

Very disappointing experience. The food was mediocre at best, the service poor and overall it was really over prized.
This is supposed to be "fine dining", and it may have been a good restaurant once. But it's not good by any standard any longer.


The service was despondent, rude and slow. Even after all the dishes we sent back, they still tried to make us pay for fries and salad (that was part of the steak meal) and they didn't apologize once for the many mistakes they made, both in terms of service and cooking.



Don't spend you money in this place, Santini doesn't deserve it!

Mixed outcome; not bad but not great.They try very hard but ..but but.. our lovely server seemed to have just arrive to the UK from Italy. She kept getting our orders wrong. She was keen and that was the saving grace.

We have looked forward to trying Santini as it is in a very nice situation with outside dining. Dining there last night was a huge disappointment. The food was good without being outstanding - my wife enjoyed the calves liver main course and I was happy with the sea bass which although slightly overcooked and presented on a bed of nicely seasoned lentils.

The service, however, was dreadful and the atmosphere -- dominated by the twenty-something children of the local ambassadors was unpleasant. Several couples moved tables to avoid this, the staff were aware but refused to take control so as diners we had the uncomfortable job of taking control ourselves. Not the relaxing night out we hoped for.

Been going here for years. The standard of food, and attention given by the staff, cannot be equalled. Don t go if you are not really hungry ! Although I am not a smoker, it is worth mentioning that there is a large patio area, with heaters, for those who need to.

Lets start with the positives - nice venue, above average service, and carbonara was good.

OK the negatives - I was told to try the italian smoked haddock cakes - for 20 pounds i thought it must be creative - it was a crusty pub meal deep fried two inch long stick of haddock with a couple of leaves of rocket and a small jar of tomato paste to dip that tasted like bertolli (no offence unilever). Once I paid I told the manager who basically showed no interest in his poor product, although he agree it was not his favourite.

Then they attempt to charge 12.5 percent discretionary service charge on top of the meal, plus a cover charge which they also don't disclose before you sit down.

Poor product that does not deserve to be in business.

Little bit pricey. but Food and portion is good. Pasta is bit salty for me.

Consistently great place for lunch or dinner. I have eaten here since 1999 and always been great

Elegant and romantic restaurant with a good wine selection and good italian food. It feels a bit overpriced, but you get excellent service. Fish in general was quite good.

Lovely restaurant, excellent decor and the staff are just exceptionally polite, attentive and nice. The cheesecake is outstanding and I highly recommend saving space for it. A wonderful evening meal.

Italian Restaurant among the most famous in London ...... you can often find important people

Everything was perfect. the guy who comes every time to pour the water in the glass, make me fell awkward. I mean I can do it by my self.

Gorgeous setting and ambiance. Food was incredibly tasty, if a little on the salty side for my personal preference.

The staff were fantastic.

It is expensive but it's beautiful.

Great food and Excellent service. Will definitely go again

Short version: DO NOT GO HERE! THERE ARE PLENTY OF BETTER PLACES.

Long version :

Really poor service. If I had a choice between self service based restaurant and Santini, I would always choose self service. The waiters barely understand English, the management doesn't really care unless there is a problem and there absolutely is no attention to the detail. The last one is especially strange for the price you pay. The waiters are also very careless and rude. This restaurant is the antonym of the Italian hospitality.

The food is a strong 2/5 for the price you pay. There are many better restaurants that serve something much tastier and flavoursome for the same price.

The wine list is simply poor. The sommelier should conduct "sepuku" if he has any honour.

To conclude: I'd rather pay the same price at McDonald's the go here ever again!

One of the great Italian restaurants in London
Try to find taple outdoor

We have just stopped by for a few drinks with my bf and had a very pleasant evening there. The barman was helpful, our cocktails were perfect!!! ^^

Very very disappointed... My wife and I used to love to come to this place and used to come almost every week, because we used to love the quality of the food here about 20 years ago before we had to move to outside the UK for business.
We now came back to the UK and revisited Santini to enjoy the food but it was not the same Santini used be anymore.
They changed the decor of the restaurant (obviously after 20 years), which we didn't like very much and had suspicious feeling by the atmosphere been created by new interior.
We ordered just simple pasta dishes for lunch and the quality of the food was speechlessly bad... more like rubbish!
We were aware from the past, the price here was very high but we didn't mind because the quality of the food was excellent.
Not anymore... it's not even worth going back there to try again. Very sad, really...

It is a high-quality Italian restaurant recommended by the Concierge at the Goling Hotel.
Casual smart is OK, but the atmosphere is good, it is a restaurant worth going to be fashionable.
There are a wide variety of wines and you can enjoy according to your cooking order.
I ordered the crab Linguini pasta, but he also responded to the request at spaghetti.
The steak was also delicious.
It is the service and cooking that are appropriate for the price.

Way too overpriced and pretentious for my liking ... service was meh!

Service was excellent but the food was mediocre. The dessert was excellent.

Great atmosphere, friendly service very good dessert.

Bit pricy but nice relaxed atmosphere, polite staff, tasty dishes AND it's 1 min walk from Victoria tube.

The food is very nice, but not necessarily worth the price. The wine selection is extensive, which was nice. The staff were very friendly and I was overall impressed with the staff other than a minor mistake. The best asset to this business is the staff, the food was somewhat overpriced and I would expect better based on other reviews.

Amazing experience in the heart of London. Delicious food and world class service!

Fab Italian with a beautiful terrace. Food and atmosphere exceptional

I visited Santini as a guest for business. It's located on a quiet road off of Buckingham Palace Road. Decor is lovely. It's very luxe. Staff are very friendly. One of our servers was wearing a kind of boiler suit getup. Wasn't sure if he was a chef or something but I liked it. The food was delicious. I had scallops to start and lobster linguine. I didn't have dessert as I was rather full but did have a dessert wine and biscotti. Italian is my favourite cuisine and I really enjoyed it here. I'm not sure I would come back of my own accord but that is largely because Victoria is not a desirable area to me, especially as it's a mass construction site at the moment plus I prefer local homely Italian restaurants.

I love the Mango salad sooo yummmy try the lobster pasta too
The staff is extremely friendly ;)

Lovely restaurant. Good service. 13.5% service charge as standard. Felt rude asking to not pay all of this, but think that 12.5% as standard is a bit much, now it's 13.5%! Let people tip themselves or pay staff more.

Good for outdoor seating. Food average, lemon spaghetti is nice.

Service was as expected and all staff were very nice but I was quite unimpressed with the food. We made reservations and had no problem being seated. The staff were professional and the food was served quickly. I thought the bread was fine More

Non existent service. Called prior to coming, to be told no table available but That I should come and have a drink and something would open up. 1h 15 and 3 drinks later I just gave up. A group of 6 arriving 30min after me and my wife were given priority and in more than an hour nobody rly cared we were there waiting. I'm sure if we got to the food part would have been fine, but easier said than done it seems. Just don't bother with this pretentious no good place, plenty of nice family italian places around.

I've been for lunch a couple of times and once for dinner. It is definitely on the expensive side but every time I've been I've really enjoyed it - a great place for al fresco dining in their enclosed terrace at the back of the restaurant, surrounded by olive trees.



I've tried a couple of the main courses, and my favourite is the pappardelle salsa cruda. The sauce is very flavoursome, fresh and perfectly seasoned. The pasta is perfectly cooked.

The staff were also very friendly and attentive - both the chap who I assumed to be the head waiter, and the maitre d' were lovely on our most recent visit.

Great food, large portions, wine list could be better!

Beautiful place amazing food!!! Table of 17, excellent service!!

The service and food was superb but I should have allowed more time prior to seeing Wicked so I could have had their deserts. My family enjoyed dinner greatly.

Relaxed setting with a nice ambiance and good quality food

Some dishes are very very good (like the liver) other good but all the pasta is drenching olive oil. The service was a bit disorganized.

Pasta was delicious, really tasty, I've got nothing to say about the food

I think the service could use a little enhancement

An elegant and comfortable location. The food was excellent and service friendly.
The beef carpaccio with truffle was superb.

Love the food there ..... i come here evry visit to london .... artichoke is a must

A good restaurant, for those who love eating Italian even outside Italy

Italian classics and Venetian specials in an elegant restaurant that appeals to well-heeled diners.

Good italian restaurant. Real Italians. Good dessert menu. Nice personel. Would love to come back !!!

Great Italian restaurant in London where you can eat just like in Italy in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere thanks to the manager and waiters.

Not great. Big lump of brisket in polenta was a definite miss.

Santini Restaurant recommended by Mohamed Heikal. He always told me about the founder Mr. Gino Santini (Maestro has several books on Italian cuisine and Venice specifically)..
Heikal met in the elegant restaurant, many goers such as Princess Diana and shiny constellation of her friends, and King Hussein and his wife, Queen Noor, and Mrs. Margaret Thatcher and her husband, Dennis..

Not at all impressed with the food or staff. I went with my sister there in July and two other friends. The food is simple and overpriced, and the staff very rude. My sister posted a review on tripadvisor and the owner of Santini Restaurant just posted a reply just as rude as her staff. No wonder that the staff behaves like the owner, Laura Santini. Laura confused my sister with her neighbour following what appears to be a dispute between the neighbour and her rude staff. Laura Santini appears not to get along with her neighbours as she is 'washing her laundry in public'. Quite low class, I would say. This is bad for her business as it cannot even attract the customers next door. We came from Chelsea as we wanted a nice posh place with outdoor sitting. We were disappointed by our experience. After reading Laura's reply to my sister's review, we are now wondering if Santini Restaurant unlawfully stores the customers' personal data. Laura Santini made reference to the person she confused my sister with that she knows that that person did not attend at her Restaurant. Our reservation was made by our friend and we are now concerned if her name and credit card details were unlawfully stored by Santini Restaurant. I would not recommend this Restaurant. From simple and overpriced food, rude staff and owner, and now to probably unlawful storage of personal data (credit cards and names).

Nice relaxed setting, food good and service prompt and efficient

It is currently my favorite restaurant ... great service and a spectacular menu.

This was a short walk from our hotel and the menu looked great. There is outside seating with heaters and it looked very romantic. We are from USA and found the waiters could barely understand us, also smoking is allowed in the outdoor seating area (it is NOT in the USA) so the whole time we were eating every table around was smoking!!! The food was delicious but they were not wanting to bring us the check! We had to ask three times for the check and after about 20 minutes it finally came. It is pricey and wasn't a great experience.

Excellent food and service for a quick lunch with two work colleagues.

Great food and service at a good price. They also know how to deal with medically diagnosed #coeliac S. Would recommend it to anyone. #glutenfree

Excellent food at a reasonable price with good service.

So disappointed. Had a lunch meeting here during the week. I ordered the chargrilled rib eye. Cooked medium. It was tougher than the devils father. The pesto was ok, pepper sauce was tasteless and oily. I also had mash on the side. It was also terrible. Should have ordered some sea food as it didn t look too bad.

Traditional Italian restaurant close to Victoria. Always busy at lunchtime particularly in summer as it has a wonderful terrace. Food is always good but as there is no special menu at lunchtime so it can work out expensive. Had the smoked tuna to start, generous portion, followed by the clam spaghettini.

An Italian restaurant prefers to book in advance when you want to try it The design of the place is very beautiful and there are outdoor sessions that have free Wi-Fi and private bathrooms The service is ok You need to improve the reservation was made and on arrival mention the wit There is no reservation? To that dish, it was too late to be served, and upon request to present the salad in my dishes, the waitress refused!
The menu of food is varied and the prices are high. Appetizers were ordered, and the dish of spaghetti with lobster was delicious.

Italian restaurant but they don't have PIZZA in their menue ! I just taste the worst mashroom Rosetto in the whole world ! Sorry for being honest but I don't recommend it at all ..

Service at Santini is first class, superb menu with classical Italian dishes cooked to perfection, I have had the pleasure to dine at this fine Italian restaurant maybe 5 or 6 times over the last 3 years and every time the service and quality of food has been excellent. Highly recommended, they also have a fine outside area for an alfresco dining experience. My favs are the minestrone soup and sea food risotto. In the heart of Belgravia and less than 5 minutes from Victoria station.

I used to love this restaurant and have always recommended it as the best Italian in London but visited tonight after a long break and was very, very disappointed. Very poor service, bland, overpriced food and every extra charge under the sun. No wonder it was half empty on a Saturday night. It s a shame but I won t be going back.

Excellent pizza and exquisite Italian first courses.
Friendly and helpful staff.
I recommend this restaurant.