March 2024 by William Frankel
Super inhospitable experience. Never again. Menu very limited, mainly pasta. Front of house staff busy folding napkins & making drinks to bring back to the kitchen. Ice cream for dessert was way too frozen. The bill contained several minor rip-offs, not worth disputing but the message was clear: don?t come back!
February 2024 by E S
Avoid. Extraordinarily rude manager who informed me that waiting nearly 50 minutes for 2 pasta main courses in a virtually empty restaurant was my fault for ordering olives and bread as a starter (which took the best part of 30 minutes to come). This was despite us saying we had a theatre booking and needed to leave at a certain time. When the food did come it was pretty average. The linguine had chewy overcooked prawns, and the sauce was like Heinz spaghetti hoops in terms of sweetness. Couldn?t taste much if any nduja. A lot of money for what it is - surly service and average food.
February 2024 by Marco Scognamiglio
Had a fantastic meal there with my family. Food was wonderful, great wine list and brilliant service. Thank you!
December 2023 by Adam Jacobs
First time visiting the restaurant but we'd walked past a number of times and were keen to try it.The service was mixed - the blonde front of house lady was a bit cold one minute but then wanting to have a laugh the next. The ladies serving were very friendly which helped.Food was very disappointing overall. The burrata starter was shared and yummy, no complaints although not cheap.We ordered 2 pasta dishes for main course at £22 each. There is no reason why a bowl of pasta should cost this much unless there is an expensive ingredient like shaved truffle or lobster on it. Ours had neither - small portions, the prawns were more like shrimp accompanied by a bland, not very authentic tasting tomato sauce, and the pulled pork was very sweet and didn't quite work with pasta. Definitely not worth £44 for the two bowls!Nice atmosphere and decor but won't be in a rush to go back there.
December 2023 by Sally Prescott
Acena has been our ?go to? choice for special occasions over the past few yearsFood always excellent ( although an occasional change of menu would have been welcomed )Lovely friendly staff in a stylish setting?.HOWEVER our previous two experiences have not been quite so good.I visited with my husband in October, the Maitre d/ manager ( tall blonde woman) was cold, unfriendly and makes you feel as if she?s doing you a massive favour by being there.My last visit was on Wednesday, I took a friend as my guest.Long story short Apple Pay was unable to connect, Amex card was unable to connect? ( no one?s fault) I used another card ( only wanted to put £100 on) and £40 cash ( bill was £135 inc gratuity, not cheap and with only one glass of wine for myself, I am not complaining about the price, just highlighting the cost ) ?I was given back change of £.4.87 in twenty pence pieces and 3p..I didn?t make a fuss in front of my guest ( even thought she commented on all the coins) and the young lady serving was lovely and didn?t want to embarrass her.I returned yesterday evening and spoke to the Maitre d? a trivial problem became a huge issue? I asked for a refund of £15 gratuity? which IS discretionary and left the 20pence pieces there, so really only requesting £10 refund. The fuss this rude woman made was aggressive and upsetting.. her response simply could/should have been ? my sincere apologies , yes of course? (and with a smile) and we would?ve returned as usual for our next special occasion, sadly we shall never go back again.A huge shame.
December 2023 by Chloe Colliver
We had a lovely time at A Cena. The staff were friendly and efficient and we enjoyed our meal. The starters were the highlight (the anchovies and the burrata). Tasty mains, though not particularly memorable, and all in all quite good value (we had the early dinner menu for £22).
December 2023 by Lucus
"The restaurant has good flavors, but the meat sauce spaghetti is a bit salty. The waitstaff is very friendly, but the manager, a lady with glasses, seems not very pleased. It's challenging to provide happy customer service if you're not happy yourself."
December 2023 by Jonathan Lewis
The waiting staff were excellent and engaging. The food was well cooked and delicious. The ambience was bright and busy rather than cosy and romantic. The manageress was sadly unwelcoming which made us rather uncomfortable.
December 2023 by C A
We won't probably go back, it wasn't as nice as you'd expect for the prices they charge. The Linguine with prawns were unfortunately very bland, the tomato sauce too much on the pinky side to be truly Italian and the seafood had lost all flavour, amazingly. But other things weren't right, again, given their prices. The waitresses were lovely, but too much walking around without taking notice of people waiting to order or to have their plates cleared and move to the next dish. Also a lengthy wait from the moment you get the bill to when someone remembers to bring over the card reader across... Last, but not least, when you pay these prices, you really don't want to receive 1 slice of bread per person, not in what should be an Italian restaurant. Bit of a disappointment sadly.
December 2023 by Olga
Manager (a tall blonde woman with glasses) was unwelcoming and made us feel uncomfortable. When serving food she placed a dish on a side of a table without introducing the dish or talking to us as if she was just passing by and decided to drop a dish on our table on her way somewhere else. Also, nobody asked if we liked the food.Food was acceptable, but not good value for money, and it took longer than usual to arrive. Waitresses were friendly.
October 2023 by A B
I had been to A Cena about 10 years ago. I recall the food being very good and the ambience needed work. Now I would rate it the opposite. The food was not truly Italian and the decor and atmosphere was much better except for the air conditioning that was blowing strait at my table. My pulled pork pasta was too sweet and rather spicy. The ingredients used for the dish did not seem mediterranean style, more like Indian (even though I like Indian food) and the portions were off - not what you would expect at a true Italian restaurant especially if you enjoy the simplicity and natural flavors of Italian cuisine. Did not meet my expectations. The polenta dessert was too sweet as well.The staff was friendly and nice, however not sure if they really understood the menu and the food took longer than usual to arrive.
October 2023 by Mani S
Lovely restaurant, great food and
September 2023 by SUZUKA S
My Italian friend recommendation.Most of the food are very tasty. Main was salty for us, but still enjoyed the flavor.Sorbet was lovely. Hope they will have chocolate dessert in future.Good cost performance.We will return.
September 2023 by Ian Molanphy
Great experience and the food was perfect ..
September 2023 by Matthew Wray
Had a pre rugby lunch here. The service was excellent and the food was very good.
