The Guardian
Grace Dent – long a fan of Trullo in Islington – welcomed the decision of its chef and co-owner, Conor Gadd, to recreate its “small, bespoke loveliness” close to the heart of touristy Covent Garden, in premises that are “big but the opposite of brash” and with a menu that has elements of its senior sibling’s while “perhaps erring more on the elegant but hearty side”.
“For me, the highlight was Burro’s fettuccine with duck and porcini ragu – a spin on Trullo’s classic beef shin ragu – and it’s possibly one of the best dishes currently being served in this pasta-stuffed postcode. Rich, silky, decadent, fabulous.”
Grace’s only quibble was whether central London needed yet another Italian restaurant, following recent openings that include the “superb” Vibrato in Soho (see below), the “fantastic” Locatelli at the National Gallery, and even Jamie’s Italian, “back from the dead in Leicester Square”.
Grace Dent - 2026-04-05The Times
Giles Coren hailed the new opening from chef Conor Gadd as “one for the ages”: a “great, rustic Italian in a beautiful airy space with plenty of easy West End glamour.”
Long a fan of Trullo in Islington (which Conor co-founded), Giles reckoned that Burro is a bit smarter, while also being preferable to the “megapricey oligarchal Italians in Mayfair and Notting Hill, full of arrogant greedy waiters, foreign crooks and bald billionaires pawing their hired fluff.”
His meal started with “the finest beer snack of 2026 so far” – fried baby artichokes with bottarga, an ingredient Giles usually dislikes, but here contributing to an “utterly magnificent, shellfishy super-Wotsit”. Wafer-thin crostini with butter and anchovies; sloppy Venetian chicken livers on bruschetta and a “really wonderful piece of brill” all confirmed the view that a meal here was “just like being in Italy”.
Giles Coren - 2026-04-19The Daily Telegraph
William Sitwell seconded Giles’s view on Conor Gadd’s “crazily good” new venue – adding “divine”, “exceptional” and “truly delicious” to the list of superlatives.
All was “fun and frolics” apart from some ceiling spotlights inherited from the previous occupant (the in-town branch of Petersham Nurseries), “which should be taped over”, and a dessert of tiramisu bombolone (doughnuts) – denounced by William as “a cultural car crash of Italian elegance and US vulgarity”.
His dining companion ordered the monstrosity anyway. “So I made her pay for it as I refused to have any truck with such a foul concept. That it was delicious is immaterial.”
William Sitwell - 2026-04-19
