Jonesy's review of Murano

I dined at Angela's new joint for an ‘a la carte’ luncheon priced at £55 for three courses, and I was pleased to see that the transition from The Connaught to this smart location seems to have gone very smoothly on all fronts. The decor is a tad bland, or what an interior designer might call modern-minimalist-Art Deco-chic, but I liked it. It follows the slick modern formula that many top restaurants are now adopting.

The food, inspired by Angela’s Welsh-Italian roots, was excellent, though my partner’s starter of squid ink tagliolini was overpowered by lemon and chilli. My starter of quail agnolotti with a white onion puree, truffle and Savoy cabbage was nothing short of perfect.

For a main I had roasted halibut with a potato galette, wild mushroom duxelle and cep veloute, which again was executed perfectly. To accompany all of this, we chose a reasonably priced Rioja that went down very well indeed.

Service was predictably smooth, though beware of their mirrored toilets; apparently there is a gents loo and a ladies loo, but there are no symbols on the mirrored doors to indicate this. I won’t tell you how I found this out, but let’s just say that I still have nightmares about it.

In all it was a great meal and lived up to expectations. It may not be anything out of the ordinary or pushing any culinary boundaries, but like most of Ramsay’s haute cuisine restaurants, they do classic cooking very well indeed. Don't expect to be dazzled, just expect to be pleased.

Murano offers a set lunch menu at £25 for three courses, and I shall be returning here later in the year with the chaps from The Arbuturian to give it another run.