I love vegetarian restaurants - and love upscale ones even more. This is a lame addition to the upscale vegetarian category. Vegetarian cooking is British cooking taken to the highest level. Good ingredients - Simply but Expertly Prepared. Good ingredients are critical and flavor retention in the kitchen is life and death. We did a mixed vegetable soup. (Fancy name - Tuscan soup . Simpler reality - vegetables boiled in a stock and then pureed.) Done right - this is one of the staples of vegetarian comfort food - and places like Planet Organic do terrific versions of the dish. The Carnevale version was tasteless brown stuff with orange flecks. A plate of artichokes (not a fancy one drowning in flavored bread stuffing. The pure up and simple - here is your artichoke - buy a good one and cook it to keep the taste.) The artichokes came out small and tasteless. Admittedly artichokes were not in season when I ate here .... but if this is the case - why are they on the menu? Manchego with quince and biscuits were lovely - but then the kitchen did nothing here. But at least they bought good cheese, quince and biscuits. The room itself shows the same sloppiness of execution that is shown in the cooking. On the night we were there one fluorescent like fixture was broken with the bulb stinking out of the fixture at a 30 degree angle. Packages of napkins were piled up in the dining room for storage as if we were eating in a cleaning goods closet. Yes the place is small and storage is at a premium. But even if one must store goods in the dining room - can't one at least cover it up so it doesn't look like your paper depository? Add to this that the place charges Barbican Banker prices. If I am paying this much for vegetables, please buy good ones - and actually take some care in their preparation - rather than just blasting them through and covering up the results with sauce.. read more

Came for dinner on a Tuesday evening around 7ish. There was no wait to get a table, but the restaurant was not empty, either. It's so nice to come to a restaurant where I can eat everything. I know that all-veg places can get a bad reputation, but Carnevale will appeal to veggies and omnivores alike. As opposed to trying to imitate meat, the menu is a celebration of plant-based foods in their natural state. I ordered the haloumi kebabs over lentil curry. 13.50 may seem expensive, but the portion size was very large, and it was a quality dish. They also provided free bread - I had olive bread, which was delicious as well. Service was very friendly, although by american standards a little slow. It is nice to be left alone to have uninterrupted conversation, but budget 1.5 hours in total for a meal here to be safe. read more

I was a vegetarian and pescatorian for nearly 8 years. This was one of my favourite restaurants in London when I had lived there from 2005-2010. The owner and staff were always extremely friendly, and this was my little safehaven in London which I used to go to after work at night for takeaway. In 2009 I started eating meat again, but I never stopped eating at this place, because it's truly one of the best restaurants in London, whether you're a vegetarian or not. The ambiance and atmosphere feels like you're in some secret garden, hidden away from all the chaos of the city. In 2010 I took my sister here, and she said it was one of the best Italian-Mediterranean meals she has ever eaten. Quite a statement considering she's a real foodie and has been to hundreds if not thousands of different restaurants in Italy among other places. If you don't have the time or a date to eat at this quaint restaurant, I would highly suggest getting takeaway. This is what I did at least once or twice a week for five years (yes the food was that good). The takeaway was about half the price of eating in, although you only got the special of the day, which changed often. The halloumi egg piadine is to die for, as is the risotto and pretty much everything they serve. The sandwiches they make at lunch are awesome such as the eggplant and mozzarella and the brownies and drinks are really good too. This is one of the places I miss the most in London. I still crave that Halloumi and Egg sandwich almost on a daily basis, I hope I get to eat it again some day. read more

As a lifetime steak enthusiast it has taken me many years to reconcile with the idea of going to a vegetarian restaurant, and on the various occasions I have done it's usually worked out pretty well, although with the thought, "Perhaps there's still time to grab a burger on the way home" making its presence felt. Carnevale on Whitecross Street is a different kettle of mung beans entirely. Everything on the menu sounds tantalising, but without the normal sense of "ah, that's a dish that normally has meat in it". The starters we had of Goats Cheese Parcels served with Orange and Almond Salad, and Pumpkin Gnocchi with Spinach in Roasted Garlic Cream were nothing short of spectacular, and the portions were just enough that you didn't feel underserved or overstuffed. The decor's not going to win any awards, but the place displays no pretensions of any sort - it seems that the business of Carnevale is purely serving up amazing food. When we asked the host how long the restaurant had been open, he said "About 15 years", so clearly it's an approach that works. Sipping our very tasty Chianti & chatting away in the homey low-key environment, I was delighted when my main course of Chickpea, lentil & spinach curry arrived, which comes served with halloumi & fig kebabs topped with a yogurt & mint dressing. WOW. I love halloumi, and I've had some really nice bits of it in the past. I've no idea what these people did to this halloumi, but it was the best I've ever had. In fact the whole dish was so spectacular that I had the same thing the next time we went back there. It was so good it almost seemed a pity to dismiss the sumptuous aftertaste with the first mouthful of creme brulee. Almost... read more

My wife and I ended up here for dinner on a weekend night. While the food was ok, it wasn't anything special, especially given the price, ambiance and quality of service provided. I got the savoury pancakes as an appetiser (which ended up being just one pancake) which was a bit bland, and the chickpea curry as a main, which was well-spiced, however the portion was a bit small and it seemed like it had been heated up in a microwave. We watched our food sit on the counter for several minutes while the server/host seated two other tables, and the place lacked music, which created a weird ambiance. While this place might be alright for a take away lunch, I wouldn't recommend it as an eat in or dinner spot. read more

Pint sized vegetarian restaurant that serves up the goods! Carnevale has a deli area out front, and a small but very adequate restaurant space out back. Tip: if you get there early enough you can sit at one of the tables at the very back in the sun room. The menu features a solid selection of dishes and a good variety of drinks including wine, beer, and aperitifs. On our visit we eagerly tucked into the goat cheese and pumpkin ravioli (love the seasoned lentils!), and rice stuffed red pepper. Both dishes were wonderful and were readily scoffed by our toddler, who has previously repeatedly rejected rice... My only disappointment was that I was too full for dessert! Oh, well, next time :) Child friendly note: great food, but no high chair or baby change available. read more

Would give it 3'5. Very nice waiter, but not very cosy.. (No music playing). Very good quality of my main course (ravioli with goat cheese and butternut) but rather small portion. Quality of my dessert, crême brulée was rather poor. Price is good. Not a lot going on in the neighbourhood No need to make a reservation. Vegetarian restaurant but also vegan and glutenfree options read more

I was delighted once again to have a fresh, delicious, vegan meal in London. Priced were very steep and the staff was not very pleasant for someone just walking in off the street, but they accommodated. read more

I love this tiny little vegetarian restaurant tucked away on Whitecross Street. It comes a close second after Rasa for my favourite veggie restaurant in London. But they definitely do the best salad boxes in town. I always pop in for a takeaway lunch if I'm in the area. Try their homemade lemonade if it's available. Their soups are good too and the sandwiches come in an imaginative variety of fillings and a choice of bread. But the salad boxes are my fave. If you go in the evening, try to take advantage of the early evening menu set menu it's much more affordable than the a la carte. They have a lovely English white wine on their wine list too. It's very handy for the Barbican, so it's easy to combine a meal at Carnevale with a concert/film there. read more

This place is wonderful - I thought I'd already found every last vegetarian eaterie in town until I had a meeting in Barbican and discovered Carnevale lurking down a back street. The restaurant itself is small and cosy, but there's a lovely little covered courtyard at the back where you can sit come rain or shine. The food is imaginative, tasty and great value for money, and they have some pretty decent organic wines here, too. Will definitely be going back for more! read more

If you're a vegetarian, then this is THE place for you! Even if you're not, it's worth a trip. The restaurant itself is charming to say the least, and it's difficult to describe why, except that there's seating outside for about 4 people in a tiny little patio garden. The food is 'absolutely fabulous' darling, with a wide range and seasoned to a tee. Having spent many a lunch here I can happily say that I never had an even close to bad experience. The staff are friendly too, and it's licenced which is always important! And girls, the desserts are literally to die for! read more

So came here on Tastecard with my Vegan friend, I always worry about finding suitable places to eat out with her so thought we'd try this place. Location is good, short walks from Moorgate and Old Street, without the price tag. The menu is varied, for mains I had the Goats Cheese and Butternut Squash Ravioli with puy lentils, it was really good but there was not nearly enough of it, the portion was definitely under what I imagined the main size to be. My friends Potato Cakes with Fennel portion looked more adequate. For the dessert I tried the Bread and Butter pudding fused with White Chocolate and Apricot Compot, now to me bread and butter pudding is more a dish served in a bowl and is a lot softer, this arrived looking like a slice of cake, it was nice but definitely not what I expected. My friend had Chocolate Roulade, filled with Raspberries, Earl Grey Truffles and Vanilla Soya Cream, which was the only vegan dessert available, she was pretty excited not to just get sorbet but I feel they could definitely expand their vegan desserts. Service was really good, we got some complimentary bread which was delicious, the atmosphere was pretty weird, we did go mid week but it was odd, there is a focus on booking (this could be due to Tastecard) but the place was pretty empty. There was no background music, so it felt a little like a furniture store where you felt the need to speak in hushed voices. Not a place I'm in a hurry to go back to perhaps the weekend nights are a little more lively? read more

Excellent meal. The vegan sausage was only sausage in shape. The ingredients are some kind of state secret. The one star downgrade was because the waitress didn't have a clue about how the food is prepared. read more

I have been going to this place for a few years now and it never disappoints. I am not veggie myself, but food here is very tasty. This is as far away from stodgy veggie food you can get. Changing menu, which always offers new flavours and ingredients I hadn't come across. No music and nice atmosphere read more