Murano

The best Italian cooking in London? 

Murano, the flagship restaurant of one of the industry's biggest name in Angela Hartnett, is a fine dining Italian restaurant on the quiet side of Mayfair in Queen Street. Fresh from winning four AA Rosettes and retaining its Michelin star, Murano was the very first Michelin restaurant I visited in London back in 2012 and I was so impressed with the high standard in terms of both the food and services. So for my birthday dinner I decided to visit Murano again to experience its wonderful Italian food one more time.

Murano

The menu concept here is very different to other high end restaurants in London, you basically have a choice of up to 5 courses but can play around with all the dishes on the list. For example, you can have a meat course as a starter and a salad as main should you wish to do so, which gives you high flexibility of choices. We were given some bread and Italian cured meat while we were browsing the menu. The bread was of very high quality, soft and fresh with a lovely olive oil to dip in.

amuse bouche

dry cured meats and bread

For my starter I went for the honey and sherry marinated quail, sweetcorn, Ibérico ham. The quail was sweet and tender, beautifully marinated with the lovely fruity notes coming through nicely from the sherry, the thinly sliced Iberico ham on top added a good depth of earthiness. Scallop ceviche spiced avocado purée, candied kumquat, coriander was a refreshing dish, the scallop was very fresh and sweet, the avocado puree was wonderfully blended, not overly creamy with a hint of mild spices. Both dishes were absolutely amazing and I couldn't find fault at all.

honey and sherry marinated quail,
sweetcorn, Ibérico ham

Scallop ceviche spiced avocado purée,
candied kumquat, coriander

Pappardelle Hogget bolognese,
green olives, tomato

Turbot with purple sprouting broccoli, almond purée, shaved Parmesan was a stunning dish, the fish was cooked to the perfect level, meaty and moist. Lovely nutty and earthy aroma from the almond and Parmesan, the texture of the broccoli worked wonders with the fish and I enjoyed every mouthful on the plate. The Fillet of beef in broth was also top notch, I had the beef rare but it wasn't chewy at all, very robust flavours and lovely texture. The bone marrow and Jerusalem artichokes offered a good depth of richness to the dish and the curly kale balanced it off with its dedicate bitterness.

Turbot with purple sprouting broccoli,
almond purée, shaved Parmesan

Fillet of beef in broth, bone marrow and Jerusalem artichokes 

For dessert, I had the greengage and brown butter tart vanilla ice cream with fresh pistachios, it was a very light dessert, the greengage had a good balance of sweetness and bitterness. The vanilla ice cream with fresh pistachios was a match made in heaven, a nice clean dessert to finish off the evening. Then the kitchen surprised us with a birthday treat of toffee and banana dessert which was a lovely touch.

basil granita

greengage and brown butter tart vanilla ice cream
with fresh pistachios

Vanilla roasted pineapple Lychee parfait,
pineapple sorbet, hazelnut

Birthday treat!

All in all I found Murano's cooking is the best Italian I've encountered in London, not even the dinner at Apsleys in the Lanesborough Hotel can match it. The whole experience at Murano was truly special, service was just at the right level, not too formal but with great attention to detail. This is the place to go for a high end gastronomic Italian experience in London, I can't think of a better place.

Food 4/5

Executive chef: 
Angela Hartnett

What I paid: 
£98 per head with 1 glass of wine

Average cost without drinks and services:
£33 lunch menu
£65 dinner menu


20 Queen St, City of London, London

http://www.muranolondon.com/