RestaurantsLondonClerkenwellEC1

survey result

Summary

£79
 ££££
4
Very Good
4
Very Good
3
Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“Have loved it forever!”“After all these years Sam and Sam Clark’s vanguard player in the 1990s British restaurant revolution still punches well up to its weight” (and scored much more consistently again this year, with one or two diners noting a “marked improvement” after a soggy couple of years). “Still packed, still pushing out creative Spanish/Moorish food, still surprisingly good value, and still in a minimalist space that’s fundamentally 1990s”; it’s a “heartwarming delight” for its big and ultra-loyal fan club. Other plusses include “excellent Spanish wine list and relaxed-but-efficient service”. The “only issue is the noise level, which can make it difficult to hear your companion, even on a small table”.

Summary

£77
 ££££
3
Good
3
Good
2
Average
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“Still going strong (after all these 25 years)… the only downside is that it can feel noisy when full” – that’s long been the classic view on Sam and Sam Clark’s “old favourite” on Exmouth Market, where an “interesting range of tasty”, “Spanish/Moorish-influenced dishes” are provided alongside an “oenological tour of Spain” from the extensive Iberian wine list (which has an “exciting selection of wines by the glass”). Its ratings have been drifting south, however, over a period of years, due to the minority who “really want to like it, but find the food lacking punch” nowadays. Top Tip – “on a weekday, at lunchtimes, Moro sets up a stall in the street outside the restaurant, and sells tagine with couscous to take away: some of the best street food in the UK!”

Summary

£73
  £££
4
Very Good
3
Good
3
Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“A firm favourite for years” – Sam & Sam Clark’s Exmouth Market stalwart helped put the area on London’s foodie map and maintains a huge fan club with its “vibrant” and “deliciously spiced” Spanish and Moroccan influenced dishes, “alongside an excellent list of Spanish wines and sherries!” That there’s “nothing poncy about the place” is much of its enduring appeal, although “what with all those hard surfaces, it’s always a bit noisy” (sometimes deafeningly so). There is a small minority who feel the experience here is “not quite what it was” in days gone by. Even they can feel it’s “still worth patronising”, though, and most reporters would go much further – “Every time I go, I vow to go more often!”

Summary

£67
  £££
3
Good
3
Good
2
Average
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“Still going strong twenty years on…”, “still stylish…”, “still needing acoustic engineering…!” – Samuel & Samantha Clark’s “unflashy” Exmouth Market legend has maintained an enormous loyal fanclub over the years. The draw is its “consistently excellent cooking, with distinctive Spanish and North African flavours” (“so fresh and vibrant”); plus “a great list of sherries and wines”, all delivered in a “relaxed and buzzy” (“always noisy”) setting. But, for a growing minority of regulars, it’s “not always as good as yesteryear”: service “if well-meaning is sometimes patchy”; and “though the old-favourite dishes are still cracked out with aplomb, they’re not as adventurous as they once seemed”. Such reservations tend to be quibbles, rather than full-on complaints, however, and the overall consensus is that it’s “still a real favourite!”

For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).

Have you eaten at Moro?

Restaurant details

Yes
Highchair
Yes
No dress code
98
Yes

Moro Restaurant Diner Reviews

Reviews of Moro Restaurant in EC1, London by users of Hardens.com. Also see the editors review of Moro restaurant.
N B
Meal was OK but completely spoiled by the a...
Reviewed 7 days ago

"Meal was OK but completely spoiled by the aggressive service. If you want tables back in 90 minutes you have to serve fast - they didn’t and we ended up feeling bullied by our waiter. An unpleasant experience."

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Jonathan M
Always love Moro but the lamb dish was amaz...
Reviewed 3 months, 16 days ago

"Always love Moro but the lamb dish was amazing. Fabulous lunch. "

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Bea R
Highs and lows as per our previous visit 5 ...
Reviewed 7 months, 27 days ago

"Highs and lows as per our previous visit 5 years ago. Bread and starters, girolles (on toast-why?) and chicken livers with cherries, were great, lamb main was beautifully tender perfectly cooked but no flavour except too much salt and paprika, tomato sauce across the grain accompaniment was strong and bitter, the yoghourt sauce on the potatas bravas was vinegary with unpleasant shiny texture. The cookery book recipes (first one), which we use regularly, are better than the restaurant. Ambience was a bit rushed and noisy, feels like a lot going on but no particular focus on the customer.It's a shame, we really love the idea of Moro but not the reality."

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Prices

Traditional European menu

Starter Main Pudding
£10.80 £31.00 £9.50
Drinks  
Wine per bottle £32.00
Filter Coffee £3.00
Extras  
Bread £0.00
Service 12.50%
34-36 Exmouth Mkt, London, EC1R 4QE
Opening hours
Monday12 pm‑2:15 pm, 5:15 pm‑10:30 pm
Tuesday12 pm‑2:15 pm, 5:15 pm‑10:30 pm
Wednesday12 pm‑2:15 pm, 5:15 pm‑10:30 pm
Thursday12 pm‑2:15 pm, 5:15 pm‑10:30 pm
Friday12 pm‑2:15 pm, 5:15 pm‑10:30 pm
Saturday12 pm‑2:15 pm, 5:15 pm‑10:30 pm
Sunday12 pm‑3 pm

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