Café Murano

Café Murano is the Covent Garden restaurant of chef Angela Hartnett, set on Tavistock Street a short walk from the Piazza and the Strand. It is one of four Café Murano sites in London, alongside St James's, Bermondsey and Marylebone, and it applies her stated philosophy of really good, simple, tasty food to northern Italian cooking served in a relaxed, welcoming room.

Hartnett is one of Britain's best-known chefs, with a Michelin star at her flagship Murano in Mayfair, and the Café Murano restaurants are the more informal side of her group. The Covent Garden room has leather banquettes and a long marble dining bar, and next door sits the Pastificio, the group's pasta shop and Italian deli, which doubles as an intimate private space. The team also runs pasta workshops, supper clubs, a wine club and regional Sunday lunches across the sites.

Italian restaurant in Covent Garden for pasta and cicchetti

The cooking is northern Italian: cicchetti to start, fresh pasta made on site, seasonal main courses and an Italian-led wine list. The a la carte runs alongside a set menu, served at lunch, early dinner and later in the evening from Monday to Saturday, which makes it one of the better-value ways to eat cooking of this standard before a show. Sunday service is lunch only, from noon until 4pm.

What to expect on a visit

Two private rooms are available. The first-floor dining room, with natural light from a skylight roof and its own bar, seats 20 to 50 guests, while the Pastificio next door takes smaller groups. Lunch runs from noon to 3pm on weekdays with dinner from 5pm; Saturdays are served straight through. Tavistock Street is a few minutes from the Royal Opera House, the Lyceum and the Strand theatres, and pre-theatre tables go quickly, so book ahead. Browse more restaurants in Covent Garden, or for French cooking in a conservatory nearby see Clos Maggiore on King Street.