Covino

Really lovely little restaurant. The plates were more substantial than they looked and very tasty. I get there impression that the wine is a real feature of the place but neither of us were drinking and that did not detract from the experience at all. In fact, the non alcoholic IPA was off an unusually high standard. Very nice, I hope to go again

👌Michelin Star quality food by the Chester city walls. Brilliant food and drink and great location.

+1

Amazing place - found via Michelin Guide. Food quality was beyond expectations - particularly the foccaccia was super tasty. Variety was perfect and everything was very fresh. Location and the atmosphere of the restaurant are perfect too! Highly recommended to visit - worth to make a reservation.

Was nice to sit by the window watching passerbies. Liked the fact that wine is served by glass or carafe by default, since the two of us never manage to actually finish a bottle. All the dishes were classics with a twist, such as Caesar salad, but with ox tongue. Service was friendly and unimposing. Overall, great experience. The place is tiny, so book in advance.

+2

Our group of four came here on two consecutive nights, and both times the service was excellent. The staff were warm and attentive, the vibe was great, and the food and cocktails were outstanding. Definitely recommend!

Lovely reataurant staff very attentive and knowledgeable about the wine and food. Food was amazing not something you see or eat everyday. The only issue was they don't take cash which to me is awful they were very lucky we had our card otherwise they would of been forced to take cash. And to be honest this type of issue is part of the problem which will eventually have us being a cashless society which I totally don't agree with.

+4

Spectacular food, friendly service a unique wine list in a fresh, bright setting; a stand out in the Chester dining scene. Bold, bright and fresh flavours; Black pudding and pork fritters delicious, whipped cod roe was a top dish with banging flavours, gnocchi was heavenly! A top meal and should be on your list if you visit or live in Chester.

+1

Dont often do recommendations. This place was a gem. Small restaurant which made for a wonderful atmosphere. The service was great and the food was absolutely delicious. Fantastic.

Fantastic risotto and fabulous seating at bar! Great service abs wine was 10/ 10 too! Could do with more desert options though.

The food was delicious. What makes this restaurant appealing is a smaller menu that results in top class food. Very relaxed and friendly atmosphere to the point that you feel like you’re dining with friends. Cannot recommend Convino more highly and we will be making return visits.

One of the best places to eat and drink great wine in the North West, go and try it for yourselves. Dishes are created with care, attention and a plate culture that is exceptionally well thought out whilst the wine selection is overall incredible. It's not about the quantity, the quality here is what matters and you get that all in a setting that wants you to discover new flavours without any labels of associated pretentiousness. Big kudos to all the team.

This was the best meal we had during our 4 day foodie weekend. The cauliflower with chard, kimchee butter and katsuobishi was incredible (I don't normally like chard). The staff are lovely and we were lucky enough to get a table where we could watch the chef & sous chef at work: we were very impressed at the multi-tasking!!

THE BEST FOOD I've ever had. Would happily go every single day with the forever changing menu and the most welcoming and friendly staff you could ask for. Literally can't give enough credit to this place, just phenomenal thank you guys so so much.

+2

Fabulous food, each small plate unique and delicious. Nice staff. Will be back.

By far my favourite restaurant in Chester. Emily and Becky do a sterling job of choosing great wines to go with George’s wonderful food under the tutelage of Luc and Chris, who make an occasional appearance when they’re not in Manchester driving the new place to great critical acclaim.

Wow, what an absolutely lovely dining experience. Great atmosphere, good music, perfect service (the right balance of attentive but not too much) and out of this world food. Oh and spot on wine recommendations! The style and food reminded me of my favourite restaurants back in Sydney. Perfect date night location. We’ll be back!

Back again after 2 years and still some of the best food I've ever had, they even managed to make Kale taste good! :-D Also excellent, friendly staff.

+1

Covino is an amazing spot and a great find in Chester city center with great small plates and a thoughtful wine list. The food is excellent. The ragu in particular was outstanding — and I’m a tough critic when it comes to ragu. Rich, balanced, and clearly made with care. The open kitchen adds nice energy to the space, and the staff was attentive and helpful with information when needed. The by-the-glass wine selection is well curated, with interesting choices beyond the usual safe options. Great for a relaxed glass of vine with some fantastic bites.

Loved this place. So much so after the concert we went to, we returned. Had lots of sharing plates, some cheap, some quite expensive, all amazing. Kitchen only opened at 1800, even though we had booked for 1730. No issue for our personal time limits. Defiantly returning!

Not what we'd expected. The food was nicely prepared for you each course was presented to share.

Absolute treat of a place. Wonderful staff and wonderful, interesting food and wines

The food was excellent and the service was great a high standard and I will be going back

Overall I highly rated this place. Food flavours were amazing. Only a few quibbles. The musical selection was classic hip hop, which I love, but the volume was too loud at some stages to comfortably talk to someone seated right next to me (this was eventually corrected). Our server also forgot to order one of our dishes which then came later after we mentioned the omission. It probably would have been better served earlier with the bread as it was an oil/sauce heavy dish (I did see that a table near us received this dish at the same time as the focaccia in their case, and I was a tad jealous. The sauce was really tasty and I would have liked the excuse to eat more of it). Can't fault the server's friendliness and knowledge of the menu. It's a small restaurant so bookings are probably essential. We were sat on stools which was fine but not sure whether there were other seating options so worth checking if you have any mobility concerns. I would definitely go again.

The food and wine are delicious, with fresh ingredients and well balanced flavours. The staff have an innate skill for interacting in a way that augments without overwhelming your meal and understand the pace of plate delivery which creates a brilliant atmosphere and experience. Go for a special occasion (as we did) or to celebrate a Friday night. One of my favourite restaurant experiences in the UK.

We had a table of 8 in the private dining room and absolutely loved it. Really flexible in what they could do for us - we settled on a set menu with matched wines. The food was brilliant, wines just as good and we were hosted perfectly. We'll definitely be back very soon.

Very good food, which makes up for the expense. The staff were ok - could be better, but not bad. It is quite a small space so don’t bring a family of four - we had four and could barely fit around the little tables that were pushed together.

Very tasty small dishes with a very varied menu. Nice little secluded seating area out the back as well. Wine was nice and it's great seeing the food being prepared. Everything was cooked to perfection!

This was the most amazing food!! We eat out frequently in great restaurants in London and this competes with the very top! Such interesting flavour combinations. Incredibly friendly staff. Farm sourced food! We wanted the focaccia again for dessert! Outstanding!

A wonderful, local, independent restaurant and wine cellar. A true gem in Chester’s restaurant list with high quality freshly cooked small plates accompanied by tremendous wine. A lovely intimate setting with friendly hosts serving an ever evolving menu and specials board. I absolutely love going here.

Afraid it's another 5 star review for a fabulous restaurant/wine bar! A very casual dining experience (booking recommended) and some divine food and wine. It is a very cosy venue and you feel like friends by the end of the meal, great explanations of the food and wine and a really great experience. Thanks to the staff and chef for a great evening.

Delicious food, lamb dish was one of the nicest I have had. I have food envy 🙄, sp was looking at the other dishes coming out, they looked great. Wine selection brilliant and priced for all budgets… great atmosphere and staff. Coming back as soon as

Fantastic selection of small plates. Delicious flavours. Wonderful service and staff recommendations were spot on. Great place to go to when in Chester, small intimate restaurant, well recommended!

Claire and I enjoyed a wonderful small plates medley accompanied by some exquisite wine yesterday evening at Covino. Chris the owner and his team did their usual great job. So, great food, beautiful wine, a relaxed atmosphere and friendly service. What more could you want ?? One of our absolute favourite Chester restaurants. Thank you guys !!

We've had our micro-wedding lunch in the form of private dining in Covino. BOOKING: That was the only restaurant in Chester which responded promptly and organised the private dining experience, the booking process was effortless and all communication was simply brilliant and it's a book example how the process should look like. 5/5 DIRECTIONS AND PARKING: The restaurant is extremely easy to find and it's at the heart of Chester and close to town hall. There is no customer car park for obvious reasons, the location simply doesn't allow for any car parks, there are many car parks in Chester to use but they are really expensive. ROOM/TABLE: The private dining room is located in the cellar which looks a little bit like wine cellar, there are no windows, the lighting is just right and it's spacious enough for at least 10 people. Two stars taken out for the music which was way too loud and also there were no proper doors, only some half-closed curtain so we could see the staff going in and out of the other rooms which looked like a storage with a door that slammed loud every time. It wasn't terrible but simply distracting and could be looked into. 3/5 SERVICE: The staff was very attentive, polite, caring, punctual and organised they were asking the right questions and cared about us but without this false, over the top smiling if you know what I mean, it was authentic and honest customer care, they were also giving us the information about the food itself which was actually interesting. Maybe they would be dressed better for this occasion but it's the common problem in the UK with the dressing code in restaurants nowadays. 5/5 FOOD: The food itself was very good and cooked by the book, the quality and the presentation were absolutely great. The portions sizes were a bit of an issue though. Most of the portions were divided into two bowls or plates only but there were four of us. While I obviously didn't mind sharing my plate with my newlywed wife, our guests were friends but maybe not ready to do the same with their portions. The main part was a beef steak which looked and tasted amazing but mainly for me - and I couldn't eat this enormous portion, so the staff packed it to take away which was very nice gesture. My wife and my guests were a little bit hungry and disappointed and it was a problem, I didn't feel good with the choice I've made in the day of my wedding. The portion sizes were distributed like this ratio: 1-1-1-2-6-1, which in my opinion should be more like 1-2-3-3-4-1, so everyone could have something to eat, instead of sharing (for example) two small carrots and then have nothing to eat. My opinion could be seen as unfair though - first of all, I agreed for private dining so I knew there was an element of surprise and the second, the food could be great and filling for anyone else who loved beef steaks. The dessert was ok but not what I would choose. All in all, I'd give it 3/5 in our personal circumstances. DRINKS: We ordered non-alcoholic mixers and also some wine for our guests and everything was amazing including the coffee. 5/5 FACILITIES: The restaurant is small but looks lovely and welcome, the toilets are clean and whole place looks just right for the dining experience. 5/5 VALUE FOR MONEY: The price was reasonable and I also gave a 10% tip, I will not share the price because it could have been personalised and not a standard so I don't want to create any confusion or expectations. In general, the value for money was 4/5, for us it was like 3/5. SUMMARY: Would I book it if I could have known what I know now? Yes, but I would ask for clarifications about food choices and portions. I would definitely want to have the private dining experience once again in this place. In my opinion there's a general problem in the UK where weddings are mainly seen as huge, over-expensive and larger than life events and people like us have not much of a choice for private, quiet, short wedding lunch. Luckily there are places like Covino and it was a great private dining as a part of our wedding. Thank you.

Aww man. Went here last year and was that impressed, me, my partner and 12 year old son ate the whole menu. We were all blown away and would dine there again in a heartbeat. We will return to Chester and we will dine here again. This is food at its best. Faultless and the atmosphere was perfect. If your un Chester and looking for somewhere to eat I insist you go here. One of the best restaurants I ever been to. It was all about the food and the price all being very fair was irrelevant.

Visited on a Saturday night with some chums. We had all the plates and the food was superb - not a duff note amongst them and some things were revelatory eg the beef tartare with a crunchy crumb. Wine was excellent, as one would expect, and it's great to have the 500ml carafes that allow 2/3 wines to be enjoyed over a meal; I do wish more places in Chester offered this. The vibe is laid back and fairly informal - don't come here if you want linen tablecloths and silver service. Service more generally was a bit inconsistent, the welcome wasn't as generous as it could have been and to have suggested a £52 bottle of Albariño as an aperitif seemed a bit sharp, though matters improved with a change of personnel who balanced informality with warmth just right. Any self respecting foodie finding themselves in Chester should go to Covino to sample some of the best, if not the best food in the city.

A cute, somewhat cramped, restaurant specialising in small plates and seems to have a passion for food, however I was left a bit disappointed by the whole experience. I ordered the tagliatelle in a mustard sauce but the mustard was very overpowering. Then croquets which were delicious and perfectly cooked and Welsh Beef which sadly never arrived. For dessert I orders the tiramisu but this was mostly cream and very underwhelming. Others on our table had mixed reviews but we all left with one common thought - very overpriced!! Service, in general, was very good but sadly my beef dish was missed.

The place looks really nice. We didn’t eat here, but we each had a drink. The wine tasted really good, with the server recommending a nice Chardonnay that didn’t break the bank. It was a lovely drink. They also provided us with a nice house red. However, we didn’t realize that just a glass of the white was £16, and the table red was £13 a glass! This meant our bill for six people was £80. They added a 12.5% service charge, which I disagree with for just drinks. All in all, just for these tactics alone, I will not be going here again.

Couldn't safely or legally travel due to a red weather warning, so informed the restaurant as soon as possible that we couldn't attend as its the right thing to do. Imagine my surprise.. Charging a 'late cancellation charge' under such instances leaves an incredibly bitter taste in ones mouth. We wont be visiting, after-all.

My recent visit to the Chester site of this restaurant was unfortunately quite disappointing. Despite being regular guests at the Manchester Climate location, we were met with a lack of interest from the staff. The place was empty when we arrived on a Thursday, and although we were seated at the bar promptly, the service fell short. The staff seemed disinterested, merely taking our order and then leaving us to ourselves. This lack of attentiveness was shocking, especially considering our excitement to visit this new location. While the food was acceptable, it certainly could have been better. One aspect that particularly irked us was the 12.5% service charge added to the bill. It's unclear what this charge was for, especially given the subpar service experience we encountered. The staff appeared more focused on socializing amongst themselves and with the chef, rather than catering to the guests' needs. Overall, this visit was very disappointing. We believe that with proper attention and dedication to customer service, this establishment could do much better. I would recommend management to visit their Manchester site to understand the level of service that should be provided to guests.

Food decent, service diabolical , wine corked but aggressively insisted it wasn’t , insisted we paid for it. Aggressive owner , avoid at all costs disgusting attitude as per many experiences posted