Cuisine: Modern European
Cost:
Rating:
Where?: 33, King’s Street, Covent Garden. London. WC2E 8JD
Closest station(s): Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Charring Cross.
Telephone: 0207 379 9696
Website: www.closmaggiore.com
Covent Garden is pretty dire for eating out, pandering to tourists it is full of chain restaurants - it is a shame that such a popular area has such a penury of decent eating establishments. Finding Clos Maggiore is the exception to this rule however. It is without doubt one of the most beautiful restaurants in London and deserves the accolade it repeatedly wins of most romantic restaurant in London.
The food is modern European that takes influence from around the Mediterranean – I have never had a bad dish at Clos Maggiore and can’t imagine doing so. Being someone who rarely eats soup in restaurants I was shocked to find that the onion soup (the first dish I ever tried there) was one of the most delicious dishes I have ever had the pleasure of putting in my mouth; it was simply mesmerising.
The waiting staff compliment the stunning looking restaurant, providing excellent, discreet service throughout your dining experience. The main room at the back of the restaurant is by far the best place to be seated and when reserving a table I would always ask to be seated there – in summer the roof of that room is able to slide back allowing you to sit in a Mediterranean courtyard when the weather is suitably kind.
The wine list is truly encyclopaedic; previously picking up awards for wine list of the year. Previously I have griped about the expensive house wine; this however has now been remedied and you can get a bottle for around £23 which I don’t feel is unreasonable for such stunning surroundings. I have had the tasting menu on a couple of occasions and whilst extremely enjoyable I would in future certainly stick to the a la carte. The tasting menu rarely has a selection of dishes that come up to the brilliance of the rest of the menu.
The a la carte is around £35 for 2 courses which is extremely reasonable for the quality of the food; it is the prixe fixe menus however that shine. These are to my mind the best pre-theatre menus in London - for under £22 you get a surprisingly large choice of stunning food, now available at Sunday lunchtime too.