Murano

Good competent Italian-inspired food, excellent service. The food didn't blow us away as much as we expected but it was tasty and had a few really standout pieces.

Angela Hartnett was in the kitchen and it was good to see her coming out occasionally to check things. A few people went in to the kitchen to look round - which was a nice touch to be allowed to do [if a little cheesy].

The prices are very reasonable for the food but of course any alcohol can easily double the bill so watch out!

Overall a good meal but not sure it was impressive enough for us to return. Just so many good places to eat in London we might as well keep trying different places.
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cut2qwik
9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Saturday, January 21, 2012

In December 2011, we went to Murano for my hubby's birthday. We went to Angela Harnett's restaurant when she was still at the Connaught but we had never been to Murano. We were looking forward to our meal as we enjoyed our meal at the Connaught when Angela Harnett was Head Chef there.

For dinner, the restaurant offers a Piemonte Tasting Menu at £85 or A la Carte. For the menu a la Carte, we had the choice of having 3 courses for £65 or 4 courses for £75, and they left the choice of the courses entirely to us as they are very flexible. We chose to go for the 4 courses A La Carte as my hubby didn't fancy what was on the Piemonte Tasting Menu and it was his birthday afterall!

We chose a starter, a fish course, a meat course and a dessert. Both of us chose different dishes so we had a good idea by the end of our meal about the kind of food they served.

As Amuse Bouche, they brought us some kind of deep fried croquettes which were very nice. Then they brought us some charcuterie presented on a little board with a basket of bread. The charcuterie was very nice. The bread was OK. One thing I would say is that for restaurants of this standard, generally we expect them to give us some warm bread (as if they were baking just for us) but it wasn't the case.

Still the Amuse Bouche followed by the Charcuterie and the bread were a nice surprise and we were looking forward to the rest of our dinner.

For starter, my hubby ordered Pumpkin, Tortelli, sage butter, crushed amaretti - the Tortelli was itself adequate but the whole dish in itself was very dry.

The starter I chose was Scallops Castelfiorito lentils, apple, fennel, Pata Negra - this was a disappointing dish. I was wondering why they decided to put a tiny bit of apple fennel salad and very tiny piece of Pata Negra on the top of the scallops as it didn't go together. It didn't bring anything to the dish and OMG the tiny piece of Pata Negra wasn't even of the best quality!!!

For the fish course, my hubby ordered Monkfish Braised, baby leeks, cuttlefish "risotto", salsify - The monkfish itself was good but rather on the small side. This dish overall was OK but not more.

My fish course consisted of Halibut Bread purée, pear compote, white onion fondue, scallop velouté - The Halibut was good but the bread puree, the pear compote and the white onion fondue didn't really work altogether! There was too much on the plate and it gets too confusing for the palate.

For the meat course, my hubby ordered Venison Grilled foie gras, parsnip, pancetta, pearl barley - this dish was much better than my meat course but in terms of originality, there wasn't anything to write home about.

My meat course consisted of Partridge Jerusalem artichoke, wild mushrooms, walnuts - this dish was extremely disappointing as the Partridge was very dry. In fact, a few days before we went to Magdalen and my hubby ordered Partridge which was much better cooked than at Murano. The Partridge at Magdalen was moist and juicy unlike at Murano.

For dessert, we ordered two different desserts to share between us:

A Soufflé Caramel, fresh mint chantilly - this was probably the best dish of the evening as it was enjoyable but having said that it was not the best soufflé I ever had!

A Buttermilk Pannacotta, sorrel granité, hazelnut mousse - This dessert was very weird, it was like having three desserts on the same plate! We didn't quite know why they decided to put these three components on the same plate as they didn't go with each other! It reminded us of Masterchef, we were wondering what Michel Roux, Greg Wallace or the food critics would think about this combination!!

When I booked a table for this occasion, I mentioned to them that it was to celebrate my husband's birthday. Just to show that they know about my husband's birthday, when they served the dessert they just wrote in chocolate on the plate: Happy Birthday. I thought that was very cheap, they may just as well not bothered! At other restaurants of this standard, they generally give us an extra dessert to celebrate the occasion.

Another bad point that I would like to mention was the fact that one of my dishes was served on a chipped plate (actually the plate was chipped at two places even!). A Michelin star restaurant serving food on a chipped plate???? I was wondering what a Michelin inspector would think about that!

The service was nice, efficient and friendly...but sorry this is not enough to make us come back as the food was ordinary and so unmemorable! The dinner was rather expensive for a meal of such ordinary quality. The bill came to around £240 for the two of us including half a bottle of red wine (and we had tap water). Not cheap for ordinary Italian food or even sub-standard food!

My husband thought that the wine list was on the expensive side comparing with other Michelin star restaurants. The mark up on wine was enormous.

Needless to say, our dinner at Murano was very disappointing. Maybe Angela Hartnett is too busy writing books and appearing on TV programmes etc... and doesn't have the time to keep an eye on the standard of food served at her restaurant???
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Kim
5 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 2
Thursday, January 19, 2012

I love this restaurant. This was our second visit, and a second taster menu, and we weren't disappointed. We gave up all pretence of responsibility, and took wine recommendations on every course from the enthusiastic and knowledgeable sommelier. Absolutely delicious all round - too many highlights to mention all, but the lamb and the pumpkin parfait were particularly extraordinarly. Expensive but worth every penny.
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Michelle
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Saturday, November 05, 2011

Weird how the reviews lurch between 2 star bitter -- really bitter -- disappointments and unreserved wow. It suggests that we all come to an event like fine dining with our own expectations and preconceptions. Variations in service and food can't -- surely -- be that great. On the basis of the reviews, amateur and otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered -- but that would have been a terrible mistake. First: Angela herself was there, on an ordinary Thursday evening. She happened to be at the reception desk as we were leaving and we had a couple of minutes of amusing chat: utterly unpretentious. Second: Yotam Ottolenghi happened to be at the next table with three friends. Nobody else recognised him, and the city boys nearby didn't look up from their plates (average clearing time about 4 minutes) or their Chateuneuf (disappearance time rather similar). I don't think Ottolenghi would dine at a disappointing venue; apart from a brief visit to the table from Angela (again unnoticed by the city boys) and an offer of a complimentary glass of champagne, I don't think the red carpet was specially rolled out for him -- nor would there be any need.

The place was jammed by 8-30. Funny how I never seem to get to one of these places to find it half empty. Must be my galvanic personality.

Lovely, friendly staff, genuinely smiley; but perhaps I missed the bitter, twisted, casual and uncaring undertones that others have apparently detected.

Food breathtaking, and almost brought me to tears of pleasure. I've never lingered over dishes so long (though Le Gavroche has run it a close second). Artichoke risotto barely of this world, likewise pumpkin tortelli, and I'm not sure what elysian field the beef was reared in (the combination of flavours assembled round it was startling -- water cress puree, bone marrow, tiny capers and a caramelised onion jam). Just the merest pause for thought over the Tonka bean souffle and balsamic vinegar macaroons, though I was smitten. And what's this carping about portion size? Nando's this ain't. Glorious fluorescent green olives with the aperitif; bread, herb bread sticks and charcuterie with a very special Sicilian olive oil to start; two amuses bouche (including a wonderful refined mini rice pudding); a slice of fabulous sicilian lemon tart thrown in for my birthday; and exquisite liquid chocolate truffles with coffee (which we couldn't finish because we were full).

£65 for three courses at an establishment like this doesn't strike me as murderously expensive. We had a very modest amount of wine, so it came out at just over £200 for two. To be repeated with variations every 6 months, just to reassure myself that there are wonderful things in this world, and of course to do the official experiment to catch out the place on one of its apparently many off nights..

Food too refined, not refined enough; service servile, service uncaring; decor too 50s, too 80s, too 90s; lighting too harsh, not enough to read the menu. Nothing can be to our perfect individual liking. But in a world full of humans, this comes pretty damn close for my money.
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David Levy
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Friday, October 14, 2011

I liked this restaurant - and not my normal kind of thing. Good value lunch and really nice staff.
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eat my sauce - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Thursday, September 01, 2011

Our meal at the Murano was the finest dining experience we had ever had. The food was utterly sensational. The enjoyment set the mood for the whole day and has been a great inspiration to seek great food and fantastic combinations of flavours & ingredients ever since. The friendliness and warmth of the highly attentative staff further enhanced our enjoyment as they guided us through the menu beautifully.

The crab salad blended wonderful flavours and above all exuded the perfect taste of crab. My red mullet was not only a feast to the eye but was done to the point of perfection, the tempura vegetable accompaniment was crisp and the finest I have ever had. The monkfish and beef main dishes were both incredible: both had a combination of flavours that complimented each perfectly and were a delight to eat. The chocolate dessert was a sensation we will not quickly forget. Indeed, the whole meal was a joy and a celebration & showcase for great talent. So very highly recommended.
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CP Wong
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Good food presented well but not the best we've had. This restaurant is unfortunately let down by the staff - we found them to be very indifferent to us and they were certainly not very friendly, in fact the sommelier (who is supposedly world-renowned) was actually downright rude.

Having paid upwards of £350 for 2 of us we expected a really special experience but left feeling cheated and certainly won't be going back.
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P McGann
5 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Sunday, July 24, 2011

I was sadly really quite disappointed in Murano. When you go to a formal restaurant and spend nigh on 500 quid for two you expect to be blown away by highly skilled dishes that you wouldn't even be able to contemplate making at home. At Murano there is a dichotomy in being served immensely plain Italian food in tiny portions whilst sitting in a formal, hushed dining room filled with international businessmen, and it rendered the whole experience rather unconvincing. Locanda Locatelli and the River Cafe are both leagues ahead in serving vibrant Italian food that does not jar with the setting.

If you took any of the dishes I had at Murano and re-plated them informally using twice the amount, then served them in a buzzy, bistro style location at half the price, I would have been singing its praises. As it stands, the sense of warmth, conviviality and generosity you associate with Italian food is totally lacking here, yet simultaneously there is no wonderment in the level of cooking skill one would expect from a restaurant with obvious michellin aspirations and the solemn, almost reverential atmosphere that typically accompanies them.
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Murray
3 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Saturday, July 16, 2011

Nine of us went to the Chef's table. Totally historic! Service was friendly, very knowledgable, and highly considerate.

The food was superb; using first class ingredients, excellent preparation and perfect cooking.

Of course it is expensive...but it is the best.
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Rodger Slape - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, July 04, 2011

Amazing - totally blown away. We went for a blow out, so £280 for two - but it was a special occasion.

All good. Service top notch. Nice atmosphere as well. Nice big table for two (really a table for 4 - we got lucky).

Bread - superb. Arancini. Sweetbreads - almost perfect. Salami/Ham - I could have eaten it all night. Lamb Pappadelle - just right. Hake (too salty). Passion fruit tart - incredible

Wines to match - some highly unusual stuff. The sommelier is very good and enthusiatic without an ounce of pretence.

Reccommended unreservedly. Magic.
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Coops
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Thursday, April 21, 2011