The Franklin Restaurant is the fine dining experience found on the ground floor of the boutique Knightsbridge hotel with the same name. Helmed by Head Chef Roberto Roncolato, its menu takes contemporary Italian cuisine and adds a global influence.
Interior wise, this restaurant is certainly somewhere that would suit an important occassion with sumptuous seating, stand-out lighting and a glamorous colour palette of rich, charcoal greys accented with metallic and mirrored accessories, inspired in part by Venetian style. Thanks to its capacity of only 30 diners, it has an intimate atmosphere which makes spending the evening here even more special.
The menu is split into traditional Italian-style courses starting with salads, soups and antipasti. Some examples to whet your appetite include wild sea trout ceviche with mango, citrus and chilli, and a slow-cooked rabbit terrine with roasted vegetables and rocket pesto. The wine list is also select, picking out bottles mostly from Italy and a few from France, to complement the menu.
The primi selection is carefully curated so as not to overwhelm the diner while ensuring there is something for everyone. The homemade ricotta gnocchi with black truffle and aged Monte Veronese cheese foam, for example, makes for a beautiful vegetarian option, while the homemade spaghettoni with clams and bottarga leans into something more classic but still luxurious. If there's still room for secondi, dishes show the same attention to detail and adventurous spirit, with dishes at the time of writing including roast duck breast with bok choi, roasted grapes and pine nuts, and roasted ribeye with parsley root puree and yuzu kosho jus.
We'd recommend saving room for the impressively creative and indulgent desserts: there's a classic tiramisu, of course, as well as some more innovative ideas, like a dark chocolate pudding with edamame and wasabi, a pink grapefruit and rosemary sorbet, and a blueberry, mango and lemongrass pavlova.