Machiavelli

Machiavelli’s all-day repertoire stretches from buttermilk pancakes & ‘the full Italian’ for breakfast in the smart ground-floor ‘kitchen’ to grilled vegetable & pesto salad for lunch & seasonal sharing plates for dinner in the basement dining room. Dishes make the most of directly imported Italian provisions, as in a neatly textured ‘stack’ of roasted pear, pecorino & Sardinian bread, although seasoning can sometimes go awry: too much salt in a hearty mushroom ragù with cacio cheese; too little in a dish of tender roast pork cheeks with polenta, although both were big on robust Italian flavours. The short wine list ventures beyond the home country, but still offers quaffable bottles at reasonable prices. Machiavelli’s sharing set-up is great for groups, but its muted tones & snappy service also suit discreet working lunches.