Restaurant in London, United Kingdom
Refined Mayfair dining, worth booking ahead.
Angela Hartnett's Mayfair restaurant has run at ££££ since 2008 and ranked #261 in Opinionated About Dining's Classical in Europe list for 2025. The Italian-inflected modern European cooking is seasonal and technically assured, with a flexible à la carte format that runs from three to six courses. Book three to four weeks out minimum — this is a hard reservation, particularly in autumn.
Murano has held its position at 20 Queen Street since 2008, and a Google rating of 4.6 across 883 reviews tells you it is not coasting on reputation alone. Angela Hartnett's modern European cooking — shaped by her Italian heritage and a commitment to prime British ingredients — sits at the ££££ tier, which in Mayfair means you should expect to spend seriously. The question is whether it justifies that spend over nearby alternatives. The short answer: yes, if you want cooking of real assurance in a room that feels genuinely comfortable rather than performatively grand, and no, if you need the theatre of a full tasting menu format.
Murano is quiet in a way that few Mayfair restaurants manage. The lushly carpeted room, muted tones, and pattern of rolling waves across the walls create an atmosphere designed for conversation rather than spectacle. Staff are attentive without being intrusive. If you have been once before, you already know that this is a room where the evening slows down pleasantly, not one that buzzes with the energy of a room trying to be seen. That is a deliberate choice, and it works. For a second visit, it is worth booking specifically for dinner when the pace settles further , the room feels more cohesive at night than at lunch, when it can edge toward the corporate.
Hartnett's menu is shaped by seasonal British produce alongside Italian-influenced preparations, and the combination is more thoughtful than the description suggests. The kitchen rotates through prime materials , Dorset crab, Herdwick lamb, Scottish venison, partridge , so what you encounter will depend on the time of year. In autumn and winter, the game-forward dishes (venison with beetroot and pickled walnuts, partridge with cauliflower purée and pickled blackberries) are where the kitchen shows its depth. Spring and summer bring the lighter end: pasta preparations like pappa al pomodoro agnolotti and dishes built around British seafood.
If you have already visited and worked through the obvious choices, the menu structure rewards deeper exploration. The carte runs from a standard three courses to a six-course taster-like format depending on appetite, which gives returning diners a logical way to extend the experience without committing to a full tasting menu. The sweetbreads , crumbed and fried with carrot variations and toasted hazelnuts in a soy dressing , are a good test of the kitchen's confidence: it is a preparation that treats the ingredient seriously rather than softening it into something safer.
One dish that has remained constant across seasons: the Amalfi lemon tart. Caramelised, zesty, presented with confident simplicity, it is one of those rare desserts that earns its permanent status. On a return visit, do not skip it in favour of something new unless the seasonal alternatives are genuinely compelling. The mandarin soufflé , stuffed tableside with orange and Grand Marnier compote before pancake ice cream is added , is the seasonal showpiece dessert when available, and worth ordering if you catch it on the menu.
Murano is a hard booking. At the ££££ level in Mayfair, demand is consistent year-round, and peak periods (autumn game season, pre-Christmas, Valentine's period) tighten availability further. Plan a minimum of three to four weeks out for dinner, longer if you have a fixed date. Lunch is the more accessible entry point, with a fixed-price offering that gives you the kitchen's quality at a more manageable price point , useful context if this is a first visit or you are bringing someone who needs convincing on the spend. The restaurant is closed Sunday and Monday, so factor that into any weekend planning.
| Detail | Murano | CORE by Clare Smyth | The Ledbury |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price range | ££££ | ££££ | ££££ |
| Lunch service | Tue–Sat | Yes | Yes |
| Dinner service | Tue–Sat | Yes | Yes |
| Closed days | Sun & Mon | Varies | Varies |
| Booking difficulty | Hard | Very Hard | Hard |
| Format | À la carte / 6-course option | Tasting menu | À la carte / tasting |
| Cuisine | Modern European, Italian | Modern British | Modern European |
Murano is part of our full London restaurants guide. For more London planning, see our London hotels guide, London bars guide, London wineries guide, and London experiences guide.
Murano is ranked #261 in Opinionated About Dining's Classical in Europe list for 2025 (it was ranked #195 in 2024). OAD's Classical list is a useful trust signal here: it tracks consistency and technique rather than novelty, which aligns with what Murano actually delivers. A ranking in this list alongside venues like The Fat Duck in Bray, L'Enclume in Cartmel, Moor Hall in Aughton, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, Hand and Flowers in Marlow, and hide and fox in Saltwood places it firmly in the tier of serious, technically grounded cooking. For international context, it sits in a comparable register to Le Bernardin in New York City and Atomix in New York City in terms of the type of diner it rewards , those who prioritise precision and restraint over spectacle.
Anchor your order around the seasonal produce. In autumn and winter, the game dishes , Scottish venison, partridge , are where the kitchen is at its most confident. In spring and summer, the pasta plates (pappa al pomodoro agnolotti) and seafood like Dorset crab are the better choices. Always finish with the Amalfi lemon tart; it is one of the few permanent fixtures on the menu and earns its place. If the mandarin soufflé appears as a seasonal option, it is worth the table time.
Murano is not a tasting-menu-only restaurant, which gives you more control over spend at the ££££ level. The fixed-price lunch is the most accessible entry point , you get the kitchen's full quality without committing to the full dinner outlay. The room is calm and unhurried, which surprises some first-timers who expect more energy from a high-profile Mayfair address. Come for the cooking and the atmosphere, not for showmanship. Book at least three weeks out; shorter lead times risk limited availability.
Murano does not operate a strict tasting menu format. Instead, the carte runs from three courses up to six, so you can extend the experience without locking into a set sequence. For returning diners at the ££££ level, this flexibility is one of Murano's advantages over nearby competitors like CORE by Clare Smyth, where the tasting menu is mandatory. If you want the full six-course range, plan for autumn when the game menu is at its most complete , the seasonal depth makes the extended format worth the additional spend.
It is a viable solo option , the room and service style are professional enough to handle solo diners without awkwardness, and the à la carte format means you are not locked into a lengthy tasting menu experience alone. That said, Murano is not specifically configured for solo dining the way a counter-format restaurant would be. If solo dining is your primary consideration, the lunch service gives you a more comfortable entry: shorter duration, fixed-price structure, and a quieter room than dinner. At ££££, solo dinner is a real spend, so weigh that against whether you would prefer a shorter format elsewhere.
Lunch is the better value option: the fixed-price format makes the ££££ tier more accessible, and the kitchen delivers the same quality of cooking. Dinner is the better atmospheric choice , the room settles into its leading version in the evening, and the extended six-course option feels more natural over a longer dinner. If you are returning and have already done the fixed-price lunch, dinner with the extended format is the logical next step. For a first visit on a tighter budget, lunch on Tuesday through Friday is the practical call. Note that Murano is closed on Sundays and Mondays, so weekend lunch means Friday or Saturday only.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Murano | Angela Hartnett’s bright, stylish restaurant has been a Mayfair fixture since 2008 – and it's easy to see why. Her Italian heritage informs an appealing à la carte of dishes bursting with punchy yet harmoniously balanced flavours, from pasta plates like pappa al pomodoro agnolotti to those showcasing prime British ingredients such as Dorset crab and Herdwick lamb. The Amalfi lemon tart remains a reassuringly permanent fixture on the dessert menu and should never be ignored – a beautiful finish to any meal, presented with confident simplicity.; Angela Hartnett's Murano fits its Mayfair environs to a nicety. It's a civilised, expansive, lushly carpeted room patrolled by attentive staff, the muted decorative tone risking no jolts to visual tranquillity. Even the pattern of rolling waves on the walls has a lulling effect. The cooking, hitherto more studiedly Italian in origin than it is these days, opts for assurance and refinement rather than showy gastronomic effect, with soothing textures (silky purées make regular appearances), gently wrought counterpoints of flavour, and the unarguable quality of prime raw materials. The carte exists in a zone of indeterminacy between the standard three courses and a more taster-like six, according to keenness of appetite, and there is a fixed-price lunch offering too. A mosaic of cured salmon bound with dulse comes with shaved fennel in a bright elderflower dressing with sea herbs. The crumbing and frying of sweetbreads allows the main ingredient a rarely seen integrity here, its texture for once not reduced to something from the fried chicken shop, its accompaniments of carrot variations and toasted hazelnuts in a soy dressing completing a satisfying dish. We might wonder whether the rice-crusted breasts of partridge, together with a slender confit leg, could benefit from a little old-fashioned gaminess, but the accoutrements of cauliflower purée and pickled blackberries make sense, while Scottish venison comes with an array of beetroot, pickled walnuts and a ball of braised venison and pork. Dessert could be something as eye-popping as a broad-beamed mandarin soufflé, stuffed at the table first with orange and Grand Marnier compote, then with pancake ice cream; otherwise, you might gravitate towards the unadorned zesty heaven of the caramelised Amalfi lemon tart. Wines are assiduously well-chosen, with some excellent selections by the glass, though our hankering for a dry sherry revealed there isn't a drop in the building.; Opinionated About Dining Classical in Europe Ranked #261 (2025); Angela Hartnett’s bright, stylish restaurant has been a Mayfair fixture since 2008 – and it's easy to see why. Her Italian heritage informs an appealing à la carte of dishes bursting with punchy yet harmoniously balanced flavours, from pasta plates like pappa al pomodoro agnolotti to those showcasing prime British ingredients such as Dorset crab and Herdwick lamb. The Amalfi lemon tart remains a reassuringly permanent fixture on the dessert menu and should never be ignored – a beautiful finish to any meal, presented with confident simplicity.; Opinionated About Dining Classical in Europe Ranked #195 (2024); Michelin 1 Star (2024); Opinionated About Dining Classical in Europe Recommended (2023); {"wbwl_source": {"slug": "murano", "page_type": "star_accreditation", "category_slug": "star-accreditation", "award_result": "Accredited", "is_global_winner": "False"}, "scraped_details": {"hero_image": "", "page_title": "3-Star Accreditation", "page_url": ""}, "source_row_snapshot": {"raw_name": "Murano"}} | ££££ | — |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| The Ledbury | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Order the Amalfi lemon tart without question — it is a permanent fixture on the dessert menu and consistently praised across multiple critical assessments of the restaurant. For mains, the kitchen's strength is prime British produce with Italian-inflected preparation: dishes built around ingredients like Dorset crab, Herdwick lamb, and Scottish venison appear in this register. The pasta course is worth adding if appetite allows, with pappa al pomodoro agnolotti representing Hartnett's Italian heritage most directly.
Murano is closed Sunday and Monday, so plan around a Tuesday to Saturday window. At ££££ in Mayfair, the format is formal-leaning without being stiff — lushly carpeted room, attentive service, and a menu that spans à la carte through to a longer six-course format depending on appetite. The kitchen leans on seasonal British produce shaped by Italian technique, so expect restraint and precision rather than bold theatrical presentation. It has held its position at 20 Queen Street since 2008, and OAD ranks it #261 in its Classical Europe list for 2025.
Murano's menu sits in a flexible zone between three and six courses, so you are not locked into a fixed tasting format — you can eat shorter if the ££££ price point gives you pause. The longer format is worth it if you want to move through Hartnett's range: the cooking rewards pacing, with soothing textures and carefully counterpointed flavours that build across courses rather than front-loading impact. If you want a tighter, more urgent tasting experience, CORE by Clare Smyth or The Ledbury are better fits at comparable price points.
Murano is a viable solo booking, particularly at lunch when the fixed-price option keeps the bill more manageable at the ££££ level. The room is calm and unhurried rather than counter-facing, so solo diners will not feel on display, but you also will not get the bar-seat energy some solo diners prefer. If solo counter dining is the priority, it is not the format here.
Lunch is the stronger value case: a fixed-price menu is available Tuesday to Saturday, which brings the ££££ pricing into a more accessible range without compromising the kitchen. Dinner runs later into the evening and suits occasions where you want to spend more time across the full menu range. For a first visit, lunch is the practical entry point — you get the full room and kitchen at lower spend.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
