Murano

We landed in London on my birthday and celebrated the next day with lunch at Murano. At the time of visit Gordon Ramsay was part of the team running the restaurant although Angela Hartnett was the Executive Chef. Murano has also received a 1 Michelin Star rating. Now Gordon Ramsay is no longer part of the team at Murano and this restaurant is run by Angela Hartnett. Prior to our visit, we've not heard much about Angela herself and later found out that she worked under the wings of Gordon Ramsay and she became famous from her TV appearances with him.

Murano is in Mayfair and it wasn't hard to find. With advance reservations made before we left for London and a map in arm, it was easy. We walked through the alleys of Shepherd Market which by the way is a lovely pedestrian-only area with boutiques, restaurants, and pubs, and then landed ourselves on Queen Street where the restaurant is located. Murano's elegant decor and ambience was well suited with its fine dining cuisine. Service was professional throughout and the noise level of the restaurant was low. The lunch crowd was a mixed of people in working professional attire who were probably there for a business lunch and there were also people like us who dined with our significant others.

We ordered a glass of wine to go with our 3-course prix-fixe. To start every table was given a platter of cured meats and a basket of assorted bread and crackers. The thinly sliced meats were a perfect way to start lunch.

Cured meats, bread, and crackers

£30 for a 3-course meal was actually a really good deal considering that Murano has a 1 Michelin Star rating. The food was well thought out and prepared. Some of the dishes we had still stick to our minds. The chicken ravioli was large enough to be presented with just a piece of it as a starter. It was sprinkled with black and white sesame seeds and drizzled with soy vinaigrette. I generally am not much of a ravioli person (when it comes to types of pasta, I go for the long noodles) but this was lovely.

Chicken ravioli

The braised mutton was very tender and soft to bite, with a couple slices of potatoes and zucchini to accompany it. After eating 3/4 of the mutton, I felt like I probably couldn't stomach much more of it. Maybe it was the gaminess of the meat itself. My husband T is always a great fan of salmon no matter the way it is prepared and claimed he loved the smoked salmon.

Braised mutton

Smoked salmon

The manager knew we were visiting from Chicago and chatted with us about Alinea, the very well known restaurant run by Chef Grant Achatz himself in Chicago. Incidentally, Alinea received a 3 Michelin Star rating. He told us that he had heard about Grant Achatz, although this is not surprising because alot of foodies have heard about Achatz and his wonders and creations in his food. Nevertheless it feels good to have someone from Murano recognize Chicago for that.

Enjoying his wine

Dessert was pure indulgence. Right after our meal, we were presented with an assortment of sorbet to act as a palate cleanser after the main entrees and before our desserts were served. We were presented with two tiers of sorbets. Each scoop was a different flavor as reflected by their range of colors on the platter. The chocolate ganache and coffee ice-cream was a perfect blend for the husband T as chocolate and coffee are his two favorite things.

Assortment of sorbets

Chocolate ganache with coffee ice-cream

Assortment of nougat and chocolate pieces

The food and level of service at Murano well deserved the Michelin star recognition. Now that Angela Hartnett has fully taken the reins of Murano, we hope to see Murano continuing to succeed.



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Murano
20 Queen Street
London W1J 5PR, England