Angela Hartnett OBE, a Michelin-starred chef and the inaugural winner of the 2018 AYALA SquareMeal Female Chef of the Year Award, has partnered with the Royal Opera House to open Cicoria by Angela Hartnett. It's a replacement for the current flagship restaurant, Piazza, which, after its 2018 debut, initially operated on a ticket-holder-only policy before opening to the general public after a 2022 relaunch.
Located on the fifth floor, Cicoria by Angela Hartnett is to follow Hartnett’s hallmark approach: dishes rooted in Italian tradition, prepared with precision and a light touch, alongside an unpretentious wine list. The concept also features an easy-going Turin-style rooftop bar with panoramic views over Covent Garden.
Of the restaurant, Hartnett said: ‘We’re creating something entirely new for the space: relaxed, with food that celebrates exceptional produce and simplicity. Most of all, we want the restaurant and bar to be for everyone, not just for those attending a performance.’
One of the UK’s most celebrated chefs, Hartnett is best known for her flagship Mayfair restaurant, Murano, which earned a Michelin star in 2009. Since then, Hartnett has expanded her portfolio with a series of more approachable and relaxed Murano offshoots: Cafe Murano St James’s, Cafe Murano Bermondsey, and Cafe Murano Covent Garden, just around the corner in Tavistock Street.
Hartnett cut her teeth under Gordon Ramsay at Aubergine, before working up to a head chef role at Pétrus, which secured a Michelin star soon after. Later, in 2003, she won SquareMeal’s BMW Best New Restaurant Award for Menu at The Connaught (now closed). In 2007, she was awarded an MBE for services to the hospitality industry, followed by an OBE in 2022 for contributions to hospitality and the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic.