Murano by Angela Hartnett

I would like to start this review with the fact that the restaurant itself is physically stunning. Beautifully appointed from head to toe. When you walk in, your senses are softened by its cool crèmes, silvers, and touches of brass plating everywhere. The wooden chairs are extremely elegant but very comfortable and relaxing to sit in for a long dinner. When you arrive to wait to be seated, there is a lovely little bar and 1930’s style sofa set to sit upon. Briny plump Sicilian olives were served when we ordered some aperitif of champagne, and they absolutely incredible. At the center of the room there is a beautiful island for wine, cutting, and flowers. It is extremely tasteful, yet not to colorful and distracting so you can really focus on the food. The staff in this restaurant are amazing as well, charming and extremely accommodating.

Angela Hartnett is one of my favorite chefs. She is from an Italian background, but raised in England, and she has an extremely feminine and elegant touch to a rather rustic cuisine. I have often seen her on television and had always wanted to try her food, as I knew by watching that she was very talented.

The menu is sorted into two tasting menus, but if you do not want to do the tasting menu you can choose a few dishes and they will divide it appropriately for you. This is great, as it covers all options, and the waitress was very helpful in sorting out the timing for the courses.

First arrived parmesan crackers and some beautifully baked varieties of Italian breads. Then came a petite wooden board full of thinly sliced high quality charcuterie with tiny fried bread balls inserted with soft, warm, and very young melting cheese at the center.

My first course was a scallop ceviche, which was sliced into thin rounds and topped with shredded sea bream. There was a side of horseradish sauce and deep fried herb tempura that gave texture and a kick to this simple but extremely creative dish. The taste was soft and elegant, spiked ever so slightly with orange. I will say it was a little under seasoned however. I like the idea how she westernized Japanese hotate, or raw scallop, that would normally be served with a touch of wasabi which is in the horseradish family as well. The flavors were playful and interesting. A beautiful way to start the meal.

We ordered two vegetables, as they looked so lovely, and we were served them midway through our meal after our appetizer, which was well timed. We had the aubergine with melted mozzarella cheese and a little bit of a sundried tomato sauce. It was delicious and reminded me of the flavors of ratatouille. We also shared the celeriac and white truffle, which was pleasant but disappointing as there was not enough truffle to make a real impression and under seasoned again.

My main course was Turbot and it was served over a roasted cauliflower puree with very soft chunks of octopus and slivers of salty Iberico ham. The turbot was beautifully cooked and paired perfectly with all the additions, particularly the nuttiness and texture from the ham. The octopus and cauliflower were delicate and flowing within the flavors of the dish. My friend had the Partridge, which was served with pancetta and cumin. I only had a small bite, but it was again beautifully cooked and this time the seasoning was lively and perfectly balanced.

To end our meal, we were served a complimentary extremely tart orange sorbet which cleaned the palette and refreshed our mouths. Tiny little chocolate truffles were also served, and really completed an extremely excellent dinner.

Italian food can be done to this level only on occasion, as it is usually best to serve it as simple and fresh as possible with the barest minimum of ingredients. But sometimes someone comes along and defies that rule, and Angela Hartnett does just that.