MARGOT
This Italian venue in Covent Garden is the first collaboration from restaurateurs Nicolas Jaouen and Paulo de Tarso, who previously worked together at Scott’s in Mayfair. Executive chef Maurizio Morelli is formerly of fine-dining Italian restaurant Latium in Fitzrovia. Margot opened last October.
The restaurant is split across two levels – the main ground floor with a bar across the back, and a basement floor with a smaller bar. De Tarso said that they tried to avoid the “stuffy” feel of many high-end eateries – to this end opting for lots of low-height, curved booth seating, allowing an open feel.
The menu is extensive. Pasta dishes can be ordered in small (starting from £9.50) or large (from £13.50) portions. My starter of tagliolini with Sicilian red prawns, artichokes and torpedino tomatoes was delicious – the pasta perfectly cooked, the sauce rich, and the prawns juicy and bursting with flavour. A main of roast Cornish monkfish wrapped in pancetta, cannellini beans, black truffle and quail eggs was well cooked, although the flavours didn’t quite hit the heights of the tagliolini.
My companion started with burrata from Puglia, with a heritage tomato salad and basil pesto, followed by the ricotta and lemon ravioli, fresh tomatoes and basil sauce – probably among the most simple dishes on the menu, but both fresh and flavoursome.
The service was attentive yet discreet throughout, and we were impressed at how smoothly the restaurant ran on a busy night. Combine that with the superb pasta dishes and buzzing atmosphere, and Nicolas and Paulo have created a welcoming venue that should appeal to business travellers and theatregoers alike. Mark Caswell