Mari Vanna Reviews Summary

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Salted salmon, borscht, beetroot herring salad all taste just like at home."
• "The duck and apple main is excellent."
• "The traditional Russian food tastes great."
• "The food is very well prepared and traditional, exactly as I remember it in Russia but in some cases even better."
• "Food was excellent - hearty, meaty dishes that really taste great and fill you up."
• "The food was actually delicious."
• "Russian Sauerkraut, 'Borsch' Classic Russian Beef & Beetroot Soup, and the Fish Platter are all excellent quality."

Cons:

• "The famous honey cake, I was expecting its taste to be very high, but I did not like it."
• "The food is nice, but definitely not worth the price."
• "Me and my husband went there on our wedding anniversary, as he loves borsch. Unfortunately both his borsch and my blini was a disappointment."
• "The food itself also disappointed us."
• "The pelmenis are thick and gross, soups are bland and flavourless, meats are dry and tasteless."
• "Dumplings were over-boiled, so the meat was just falling from the dough. The fish cutlets were too hard and with unpleasant fishy aftertaste."
• "The borscht was too cold and lacked depth and flavour."

Service

Pros:

• "Just got a delivery from MariVanna Deli on a short notice, just in time for the New Year."
• "The service can be a bit slow but pleasant and professional."
• "The service is very efficient and welcoming."
• "Staff were attentive and courteous."
• "Service was excellent."
• "Waiting staff and staff in general are so lovely, friendly and professional."
• "The staff are friendly and make sure you are looked after."

Cons:

• "Service was a bit of disappointment as we were served the food and never been asked for the drinks."
• "We were waiting for the table that we reserved several weeks before for 45(!) minutes."
• "The service was also not the best. What I did not like is that the food was coming while we were eating starters with less than a half finished."
• "Waitress are quite unfriendly when serving and also quite biased."
• "The staff was supper rude to us."
• "The workers should learn professional manners and speak a little more politely."
• "Every single member of staff that we came across was serving with the attitude full of neglect and arrogance, literally on the verge of rudeness."

Ambiance and Decor

Pros:

• "It is expensive restaurant in rich location with truly beautiful interior and very tasty food."
• "Interesting interior and pleasant atmosphere."
• "The decor and atmosphere is so beautiful and different.. it's like dining in a stylish old Russian house."
• "The rastaurant's decoration is truly astonishing. Great ambience with a homey feeling."
• "The interior is second to none! I could spend hours enjoying this lovely Russian stuff, so pretty and authentic!"
• "This is a lovely Soviet-era themed restaurant, with a setting you'd imagine is a wealthy babushka's (grandma) house."
• "The most breathtaking thing about this restaurant is the decor. It’s like stepping into another world!"

Cons:

• "Atmosphere was typical, but that's not a good thing to me."
• "The restaurant is packed in the evening and the ventilation system doesn't seem to cope well with that."
• "However, an interior is poorly designed, outdated, and somewhere messy dirty furniture and stapled (!) down to a floorboard rug."
• "The interior just looks cheap and the chandelier is very random."
• "The decor is eccentric and odd but a bit stuffy."
• "From the entrance we could feel the unpleasant vibe in the restaurant. Receptionists were gloomy, haven’t smiled even once."
• "The decor as we walk in: we step back in time: it's a combination of USSR Russia and 1917 revolution era too the extravagance of the chandeliers combined with memorabilia and trinkets..."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "It wasn't overpriced at all, actually I am surprised it was a very reasonable price for what it was."
• "The food was actually delicious. I had chicken Kiev and a kvas, must admit both were excellent."
• "Delicious food, beautifully served and reasonably priced, given the quality and location."
• "Price is more than fair considering everything."
• "Not an overpriced restaurant that serves very good food."
• "Excellent price for the experience."
• "Food was expensive, but good."

Cons:

• "The food is nice, but definitely not worth the price."
• "High prices not meeting the food or service quality."
• "Very expensive, as you'd expect for Knightsbridge, though not necessarily good value for money."
• "We ordered 400g of horseradish vodka... We were charged £96 for it, as for 8 shots worth £12 each. This is just plain wrong."
• "Drinks are very expensive to be honest."
• "The prices are unfairly high. Expect to leave at least 45£ per person."
• "Our bill came down to almost £600... and nothing was impressive at all. Portions are ok, but the food is 200% overpriced."