Sycamore Vino Cucina, Middle Eight Hotel

Summary

If it hadn’t originally launched on 28 October 2020, days before the UK’s second national lockdown, this expensively designed Covent Garden hotel would have attracted more attention. In its all-day bar and restaurant occupying much of the ground floor (there’s also a mezzanine), executive chef Paul Robinson (ex-Temper and The Coal Shed) serves food from Northern Italy using British produce. Pizza and cicchetti feature alongside small plates, pasta and secondi. Early reports praise the “excellent food and service”, although there‘s some dispute as to whether the setting is “a bit too much like an hotel” or “lovely and chic”.