Café Murano - Covent Garden

Food was ok but fell well below expectations. The service left a lot to be desired. (Plates taken away from table before both of us finished.) Also our aperitif to have with our cocktails arrived after we finished our drink.
We have had better food and service at our local Italian ‘chain’ restaurant. Unfortunately will not be recommending or visiting again anytime soon.

I am a great fan of cafe Murano , both Covent Garden and st James . Great seasonal food well prepared and good value . Live in the north east but will dine there x4 a year . Only request is to bring back the muscovado tart !! To die for

Salt cod fritters and braised veal risotto were outstanding. Sausage rigatoni was very nice, as was the octopus salad. The pork t-bone was tasty but a little dry and a bit disappointing compared to the other dishes we tried. Service was great. We were seated upstairs, which was a bit noisy due to a large party at one table and young children at another, and the ambiance was not as good as downstairs.

We got there early before the theatre so it wasn't too busy. Had an excellent table and the service was really good. Food was delicious - all 3 courses. Would highly recommend and can't wait to go back.

The restaurant was ok - first of all we couldn't book a table before 7.45 but we got there early and they were able to seat us at 7.10 - not all the tables were taken (although I see they may have had cancellations). The staff were friendly, but the food was average and one of us felt ill later that night (not clear that it's their fault so not blaming them). For what it was, the food felt highly priced, and was not as good as on a visit approximately a year ago (that was for lunch, and it seemed excellent then).

Slightly mean with pasta portions surprisingly. Also you now alway need at least two sides which makes it more expensive

It was very noisy. The wine was off and service was slow. The starter was very nice and the main course was OK. Lamb was chewy and the accompaniment rather dull.

We had a wonderful lunch and felt very welcome. The restaurant was well sited and comfortable, the service was exceptional, staff friendly and helpful, the food beautifully cooked, well presented and delicious. We had an early table which was perfect as by the time we finished our lunch it was getting very noisy which for people with hearing difficulties can be problematic. We'll be back very soon. Many thanks .

We went Café Murano after a day out and about in London. Staff were most welcoming on arrival, even though we were early for our booked table. One of our party needed a gluten-free diet and it would have been good if we could have got a GF beer at the bar, there are Italian GF beers available, so you may like to consider that for the future. After our drink at the bar we were shown to our table. Our meal was excellent and we found the staff to be most helpful and engaging. However (sorry about this), it would be useful to have GF foods identified on the menu, we know that there are many dietary considerations to take into account nowadays, but having it identified on the menu will save staff having to refer to the kitchen before making a recommendation and additionally make the customer less uncomfortable about asking. Having said all that, the lady at the bar was very helpful and keen to make sure that we got the right information. So, all good and a lovely evening. Thanks very much.

We booked a table for lunch prior to attending a backstage tour at the ROH and a performance in the evening, as part of a birthday celebration.
We managed to book a table easily. The young lady (Stephanie) who looked after us during our lunch was welcoming and attentive throughout. All the dishes were tasty with an overall 'homemade' feel to them and the wine we selected was a good pairing. At the end of our meal the young lady looking after us surprised us with an enormous slice of tiramisu with a birthday candle on, which was quite emotional and the tiramisu itself was excellent. We enjoyed the overall ambiance and the personal touch at the end. Thank you very much Café Murano (and Stephanie). We will recommend you to our friends and family and we will come back to try more dishes!

Very enjoyable pre theatre supper. Welcoming staff and excellent service.

Food was very very oily, risotto was swimming in litters of olive oil and the waiter was coming literally every 3 minutes interrupting the conversation. There is a thin line between the top service and feeling uncomfortable when the attention keeps going to the waiter over and over again. There are better places for the Italian food in town.

We arrived at 930pm and were seated in a largely empty section by the door and next to a table with a child playing a video without speakers. When we asked to be moved they played the “restaurant is fully booked card” but miraculously a table had just left and we were re-seated at the back. Not another table arrived during the 1.5 hours we were there - why do they pull this nonsense?

We ordered a bottle of wine from the back of the food menu, and when the bill arrived it was £11 more than the price on the menu. When I asked to see the menu again it became clear that the price quoted was for a carafe, not a bottle. The waiter had not pointed this out, and the manger - while agreeing to reduce the charge - also tried to argue that there was just no room to put the price of a bottle on the page! While she made good the extra charge, her argumentative stance made me wonder why she bothered as she lost all goodwill.

The food was mixed but on whole food: pasta starter above average; chicken Milanese very good, lamb rump disappointing; tiramisu average, orange polenta cake excellent.

So based on service alone I will not go back, and I’ve changed my mind about wanting to try the branch in Bermondsey Street.

Very helpful in terms of allergy but a very limited menu and extremely expensive for what you get. Could have had similar at pizza express for less than half the price.
Service was slow and by the end of the night service was no existent.

Lovely food and ambience. Waiters didn’t have a clue how to serve an elderflower drink 🙄. I had to explain

Café Murano is a lovely experience. The food is flavourful and the staff attentive. I'd certainly go here again.

We took our 3 and 8 year old for lunch on a busy saterday . Lovely food great service child friendly with childrens menu a brilliant grown up restaurant with a comfortable family vibe perfect I loved it

Food quite tasty but very tiny portions and overpriced for what you got

Arancini were just rice balls -seriously zero taste of mushrooms in it and deserts were simply a shame!
Tiramisu has liquid base it was like soup so moist ;( only chocolate on top was great; we had strudel - the pastry was simply raw ...inside was great...
Overall we won’t go back, and never recommend this place to anyone ..the Murano restaurant is great, but cafe Murano is clearly neglected...

Fantastic food, great service, dog friendly. Hard to beat.

We felt very rushed the table was for 5.45 pm and although we arrived early we were told the table must be vacated by 8.00pm. We were rushed along with the meal and our wine was constantly topped up this was not attentive service we were rushed along and the meal was completed in an hour 2 courses and a bottle of wine. The food was adequate but no different to any other chain Italian sadly

Food is outstandingly delicious, fresh and bursting with flavour, barperson happy to create new cocktail for us, Jason and Stefanie both fun, engaged, gentle and efficient team members. Really lovely evening.

Excellent food not our first visit. Staff very attentive I was unwell and couldn't eat very much but my husband enjoyed his meal. Thank you for the earl grey tea and attention. We will be back. PS Orange and Polenta Cake 10/10 to die for.

Delicious food, good service. Relaxed dining

WE LIKED THE OVERALL FEEL OF THE RESTAURANT AND THE FOOD WAS GOOD. TABLES RATHER SMALL AND CRAMMED TOGETHER

I’ve been here a number of times over the last two years but the ser

Portions were minuscule and it was so over priced

Angela Hartnett's food and the service at Cafe Murano (Covent Garden) never fails to impress. The menu of the day is particularly good value.

The lady on the door was very sour and unwelcoming which wasn't a great start but everyone else was lovely and the food was as great as always.

An underwhelming experience. The menu was uninventive and the food was actually not good at all. My beef carpaccio was tasteless and the texture was off - too thick, the gnocchi was overcooked. In a restaurant with a good reputation like Cafe Murano I expect the food to blow me away - it didn’t even reach general standard. Very disappointing.

Had an enjoyable evening, food and service very good but the I considered the wine was overpriced at £38 a bottle,I also think service charge should not be added to wine and drinks when sat at the bar as we were.

pre-theatre for us and a really good experience will try again when we have more time. The staff we attentive and took care to ask us about our timings. The food was excellent and the whole experience was most enjoyable. It would be good to go back with a bigger group of people next time.

All good apart from the noise level.

Great food and a really great team. We were initially sat at the top of the restaurant which was a little cramped, but we moved to the bar. Was a nice social spot.

It was the perfect pre-theatre place to meet and eat. Good atmosphere. Busy but not over-crowded. Very attentive waiting staff. Only a tiny bit overly attentive which meant our conversation was quite stop start. Food choice was excellent. Something for everyone with gluten free and vegetarian options too. Very happy with our meal and would definitely go again.

Nice meal ,had the set menu, portion size could have been bigger for me except for sweet which was enough enjoyed our experience

We had another lovely evening at Café Murano in Covent Garden. The highlight is the service, which was warm, welcoming and attentive. The food is terrific too, but perhaps one notch below the food served at the St James location, another favourite of ours. But make no mistake, the food is very good here, and you will be very well fed!

This is a lovely place to eat pre theatre. Delicious food. Friendly and attentive staff. The only slight problem was timing for pre-theatre. We arrived at 6pm and had the two course menu with coffees. It was tight getting to the Opera House for 7.30pm. But we would certainly eat here again.

A great experience and much better quality than the tourist traps around Covent Garden. Have also been to Mayfair Murano, which we loved.
Highly recommend, fresh, well cooked and great looking food, with excellent friendly service also.
We had a baby in a buggy and were very well looked after! Thank you

Very disappointing visit. I booked it for a pre-theatre supper and was excited to try a venue associated with Angela Hartnett. We were a party of six people. Firstly, our table was in a brightly lit ‘corridor’ near the entrance which didn’t feel like part of the whole restaurant. Every time the door opened there was a blast of cold air, despite the curtain covering the door. The real restaurant and nicer tables with better lighting appeared to be at the back beyond the bar. We chose two courses from the set menu as it appeared to be good value. How wrong we were. The mushroom bruschetta consisted of two very small portions of bread with a grey pile on the top. The other option was a soft Treviso cheese and picked pear salad. The ratio of leaves to cheese and pear was very mean. Once I had found the 2 slivers of pear and about 3 tiny blobs of cheese, I had to contend with a remaining pile of boring leaves. This didn’t auger well for the next courses. The Strangolapreti spinach dumplings with Cabbage and sage sounded promising, but on arrival was just a bowl of green lumps, quite dry, with a strong sagey flavour and no contrasting taste or texture. We agreed that the dish could have been lifted with the addition of roasted tomatoes to provide moisture and a contrasting flavour. The beef stew with polenta was liked by those who had it, but again, it was a very plain dish. Everything just felt mean... the portions, the ingredients. We left feeling hungry and cheated.
The staff, however, were very polite and efficient, and I couldn’t fault the service. Overall, however, I would probably not return.
Also, a quick footnote that unless you just want salad, the menu is not vegan-friendly.