A Cena

Lovely date night dinner - go hungry as portions were generous!

Lovely restaurant, great food and service

Lovely romantic setting, friendly staff and delicious food - really recommend the cacio e pepe!

Just popped in this lovely restaurant 'A Cena' to see if they served Irish Coffee with Tia Maria, and to our surprise they did :) We were greeted by the owner and his wife, such a warm welcome. Professional, friendly along with a lovely setting, clean and kept well. The delicious homemade Italian bread with quality Olive oil was superb, the best I've tasted in a long time. Earl grey tea served in a pot, was lovely. We will definitely be visiting again, I highly recommend.

Superb experience today. Came in just after closing at lunch, but chef kept the kitchen open for us. Food was fantastic, atmosphere lovely (oasis of calm in a busy area), service superb (great chat and informative aswell), and chef made a point of coming to talk to us as he was leaving. Will definitely keep coming back 😀

Enjoyed a fantastic family meal here, with all 4 courses a massive credit to Head Chef Tom and his team. The 5 star food quality, attentive and friendly service, added to such a lovely ambience, really did make it a meal and occasion to truly treasure. Owners and hosts Tom and Jade have made this authentic Italian food restaurant an absolute must visit, when in the area.

Overall one of the best meals I've had in a long time. The rib-eye steak in particular was amazing! Super friendly staff and owner. I will be back soon!

I can't say enough good things about this place. The service is out of this world: everybody with a smile, friendly, quick and absolutely on top of everything. The food, authentically Italian, is beautifully presented, incredibly tasty and very reasonably priced. The venue is tidy, comfortable and cozy. You can't go wrong.

Gorgeous Italian in Richmond! One of the best we’ve been to in London in terms of both food and value. Gorgeous pastas and secondi too - more elevated than run of the mill Italian without being pretentious. Elegant timeless aesthetic. We will be back!

We went on a Tuesday evening, so it was quite quiet, but we had a lovely evening. The food was delicious and very reasonably priced (especially for Richmond). We all particularly enjoyed our starters (burrata and beetroot) and our pasta mains. There was a good number of options, so there would be something for everyone. The ingredients seemed very fresh and classic of Italian cooking. The waitress was friendly and also knew exactly when to come to the table or leave us be, which was perfect. I'd definitely recommend popping in, especially for their lunch menu deal.

A Cena is a wonderful Italian restaurant. The food is fantastic, the atmosphere perfect for that special meal and the staff really kind and attentive.

Been 3 times over recent years - food always good from the burrata, the pasta mains through to the tiramisu and gelato. Staff are lovely and the espresso martini is one of the best I’ve ever had. Lovely local family run friendly restaurant

Your so called 'tall blonde manager' gave us the best service ever! Jokes are very intelligent. Me and my girlfriend had a lot of fun last Saturday. Food was just incredible! It is very surprising to see many negative comments about that one person who made our evening, sad that people not sharing more positive experiences! Definitely coming back and will bring friends and family!

Superb, ingredient-focused food with professional, quality service! We go here on a regular basis. The unassuming location and interior make it a great spot for enjoying a very high quality food without any pretentiousness or fuss. Their vegetarian dishes are given as much thought and attention as their meat-based options (oyster mushroom dish is AMAZING). And their craft cocktails are ideal - with just the right balance of bitter, sweet, and bite. Menu prices definitely match the quality of ingredients and preparation. Never feel over charged and underwhelmed here like many at other ‘foodie’ restaurants that over prepare their dishes. A wonderful gem right next to Richmond bridge!

What a great place. One of those local places that people always talk highly of and it definitely lives up to its name. The staff are great and really look after you, the cocktails (and wine list) are fabulous, and the food is great. Really well thought through menu with lots of exciting additions. Feels more like you could be in a well know central London restaurant - but a real gem in our local area! A must visit.

Exceptional food in a gorgeous environment. We got “the tall blond manager” and she couldnt have been any better. Impeccable service and some of the the best Italian food we have ever eaten. Definitely will go again. Recommend the orangecello and don’t pass up the fresh focaccia!

Would highly recommend. Beautiful restaurant, the food is unreal and beautifully presented , and the staff are so professional, welcoming and lovely. One of the best places you could visit in London

Having changed hands a little over 10 months ago. The new team are doing a great job. The food is the same high level as it was before, if not a bit better. The atmosphere is calm and relaxing. I particularly enjoyed the Zucchini Fritters! Cocktails and wine list is good and fairly priced.

One of the best Italian restaurants that I have ever tried! This is not the typical pizzeria or pasta restaurant, this is a place where you have delicious and high quality Italian dishes. You can choose great pasta options as starters, I had the Linguine Vongole and it was just…amazing! Then, for the main course, there are some delicious options as well. I had a tasty pan fried sea bass with corn and spinach. Wonderful options! The facilities are excellent, the atmosphere is perfect and the staff is the best of the best. They are very friendly and welcoming since the moment you arrive to the restaurant. Regarding the parking, people can park in the street just in front of the restaurant. Very convenient. I really recommend eating here and I am sure that you will have a fantastic experience!

First time here. Lunch for 8, pre-Twickenham game. Fixed match-day menu was excellent and choice for meat and veggie lovers. Service was top notch and well paced. Such a more chilled vibe than the usual Gaucho stuff and the steaks are just as good. Smart place, loved the atmosphere and booking comms were smooth. 8/8 of us said they’d like to return!

The best of the best. We were so happy to have our wedding lunch at A Cena. A local institution. Jade and Tom were great through the planning process and smashed it on the day. Food was delicious. Special place.

Best restaurant in the Richmond . Authentic Italian cuisine quality Ingredients . We have an amazing experience with stuff and service. Im bit fussy even the chef comes out and explained about the food and alternative ingredients that we want to change. .keep it up guys and see you soon .

Booked a table for my friends birthday 20.30 sat 7th Feb, Atmosphere was nice, lady owner was super friendly, small easy selection of food which was fantastic 😀 would definitely Recommend, Overall service very Good 👍

Very relaxed and welcoming place. As the evening went on more locals came in and enjoyed the laid back atmosphere and excellent food. We loved the decor and service as much as the food. Would definitely come back.

This is probably some of the best food I've ever had, the fish and seafood are ridicously fresh. The skate wing might have been the most interesting meal I've ever tried and the service was really friendly aswell but my portion of linguine was ridicously small and the portion of fish by itself really needed an accompniment to balance it out since the flavours were so strong.

"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."

Service was excellent and very attentive. Ambience and decor great as well. Entrees were great (Had the Risotto and Linguini). Steak was okay (Butter infused with Pesto was not my jam... Beef was great quality).

Lovely meal, good service. The set menu is good value for money.

The pasta dishes we ordered were nice but the main and the desserts were disappointing for the reputation of the restaurant. We ordered sea bass for main and we had stone bass at the end, no one told us we had to ask what type of fish that was. The desserts were very simple - good tasting food overall but didn’t meet my expectations.

Lovely setting with good food that is of home standards. Children run around freely which for some is not wanted as you may be enjoying a child free day. Pretentious names for dishes, for example, I ordered the tagliatelle with beef. This turned out to be good old Spaghetti bolognese. The steak ordered was very salty. The waitress did offer to change it but we were all too far into our meals. Her service was very much appreciated. Great attention to customer satisfaction and service.

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.

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).

3.5 Stars. The staff and atmosphere were lovely but the food was average and on the expensive side. Supposedly its one of the top ten Italian restaurants in London but there's at least 2 others in Richmond that are better than this. Not the worst but not the best.

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.

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.

Had a lovely first meal at this local restaurant. The pasta dishes were very good, though the general meal was let down by the very cold burrata, fresh out the fridge. Ambience very good, though the music is a little too loud and didn’t match the atmosphere. Will be back for another chance!

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.

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!

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.

Entered the restaurant with my wife, coldly greeted as if we were a burden by a waiter. Our drinks orders were taken promptly and delivered to the table promptly. However after half an hour no one had taken our food orders, when we finally did order we waited another hour for it to arrive despite the restaurant being half empty. When we mentioned this to the waiter she told us the 'chef' was very busy with orders. When i replied that he cant be a very good chef if he cant even handle a half full restaurant we were told the chef was the owner and sometimes meals were bought out slower to allow guests to 'savour the atmosphere'. Not sure if this was an attempt to keep the restaurant looking full or just incompetence on the chefs part. When the food did arrive it was cold and slimy. We both ordered the same thing. The pasta was barely cooked and the chicken was rubber with a cold sauce slopped over. After complaining our food was inedible we were told we could take it to go but because we had eaten part of the meal they wouldnt remove it from the bill. How could we tell the food was bad unless wed tried a bite. This lead to the 'chef' owner appearing an telling us clearly we werent used to 'fine dining' and that al dente was standard for pasta in this dish. Im fairly sure pasta shouldnt crunch no matter what level of cooked it is. When we explained we werent going to be paying suddenly the irate toddler owner appeared to argue and tell us loudly if we didnt pay he would lock the doors and phone the police. At this point i realised i recognised him, jerry moran. The guy who was accused of grooming pre teen girls a few years back. (All of a sudden the no children rule made sense) After i said this to him he immediately changed tune, told the waitress to go handle the table, continued to be aggressive but in more hushed tones and the smugness dropped from his face, the redness stayed but he clearly now wanted us gone as quickly as possible. Wouldnt eat here again, he clearly thinks he has a fine dining establishment and was furious we werent playing along. I wont say anymore anout the accusations, as they are only accusations. But i wouldnt want any of my friends daughters working there