Harden's survey result
Summary
Angela Hartnett’s chain continues to split opinion in our annual diners survey. To their very many fans, these comfortable and well-located Italians (in Covent Garden, St James’s, and now also in Borough) are a real “favourite” thanks to their “buzzy” atmosphere, staff who are “always friendly and helpful” and their “wonderful” trattoria food (“gutsy peasant-type dishes, including good pasta”). Even fans, though, can feel that “prices are only just about OK for the quality” and harsher sceptics just feel they “trade on the Murano name” with a formula that’s just too “unimaginative”.
Summary
“Perhaps hopes were too high?” – Angela Hartnett’s spin-off Italians in Covent Garden and St James’s inspire a lot of feedback, but much of it is mixed. Fans do applaud her for “succeeding where most others fail in establishing a couple of cheaper ventures that follow her style, but do not feel part of a factory-made chain; and which provide some excellent, simple Italian cooking and carefully chosen wines”. But for many sceptics, the gloss is taken off the experience either by “food that’s fine but not exceptional; not-wholly-interested service; or a lack of ambience” (WC2 can be “very noisy”). She must be doing something right however, as in June 2019 she submitted plans to take over the Bermondsey site some will recall as Zucca (RIP) to become her next outlet. Top Tip – “a useful stop pre-theatre but the set menu never seems to meet expectations, so it’s better to stick with the à la carte”.
Summary
“Perhaps hopes were too high?” – Angela Hartnett’s spin-off Italians in Covent Garden and St James’s inspire a lot of feedback, but much of it is mixed. Fans do applaud her for “succeeding where most others fail in establishing a couple of cheaper ventures that follow her style, but do not feel part of a factory-made chain; and which provide some excellent, simple Italian cooking and carefully chosen wines”. But for many sceptics, the gloss is taken off the experience either by “food that’s fine but not exceptional; not-wholly-interested service; or a lack of ambience” (WC2 can be “very noisy”). She must be doing something right however, as in June 2019 she submitted plans to take over the Bermondsey site some will recall as Zucca (RIP) to become her next outlet. Top Tip – “a useful stop pre-theatre but the set menu never seems to meet expectations, so it’s better to stick with the à la carte”.
Summary
“For a handy pre-theatre option, light lunch or mid-afternoon snack; meeting someone for a coffee or glass of bubbles; or for an informal, relaxed business rendezvous”, Angela Hartnett’s massively popular “relatively casual” spin-offs provide conveniently located venues, which – at their best – deliver a “lovely, regional Italian menu” and “a well-priced, exclusively Italian wine list” in a “pleasantly vibrant” atmosphere. Ratings dipped this year though, with increasing gripes about food that’s “decent but lacking that extra sparkle”, or decor that’s “slightly cramped and nothing special”. Higher marks though for the “charming and engaging service”.
For 31 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 Café Murano?
Restaurant details
Opening hours
Last orders: 10 pm
Best Italian restaurants nearby
Italian restaurant in Covent Garden
Spanish restaurant in Covent Garden
Italian restaurant in Covent Garden
Best similarly priced restaurants nearby
Italian restaurant in Covent Garden
Fish & seafood restaurant in Covent Garden
American restaurant in Covent Garden
