New Café Murano opening date confirmed

Michelin-starred chef Angela Hartnett has confirmed that the second Café Murano, in London's Covent Garden, will open on 29 June.

News of the 140-cover location, which will launch in Tavistock Street alongside a pasta and deli shop, was first announced in March this year, with Hartnett confirming her intention to open between five and eight sites in total.

With the kitchen led by head chef Richard Lloyd, former sous chef at Hartnett, Holder & Co, the site will serve an a la carte menu, plus pre- and post-theatre menus of two (£16.50) or three courses (£21), in appreciation of the venue's West End-Opera House location.

Dishes will include octopus with potatoes, capers and paprika; and ricotta courgettes with preserved lemon honey. There will also be pasta options such as farfalle, rabbit, peas and girolles; and gnocchi, feta, rosemary and olive oil.

Favourites carried over from the original St James's site will include chicken Milanese, and lobster linguine. The all-Italian wine list has been created by former sommelier at the River Café and wine buyer for the Zetter Group, Emily Harman. There will also be a selection of cocktails created especially for the Covent Garden location.

The restaurant will feature a pastificio, a pasta shop and delicatessen next door, where the restaurant's pasta will be made fresh every day and which diners will be able to purchase to take home, alongside salami, fresh pasta sauces, and wine.

The original brasserie-style Café Murano opened in St James's in autumn 2013, under head chef Pip Lacey, and is a spin-off to Hartnett's higher-end flagship site Murano.

Speaking at The Caterer's third An Audience with… event last month, Hartnett confirmed plans to expand the Café Murano group and said it was a "roll out concept, where we could make money", with "popular, consistent" dishes that "sell like the clappers".

Hartnett's career has included working with Gordon Ramsay, Jason Atherton and Marcus Wareing. She is now a partner in the Lime Wood hotel restaurant Hartnett, Holder & Co in Hampshire, as well as running Murano.

Angela Hartnett confirms expansion plans for Café Murano >>

Angela Hartnett to open second Café Murano >>

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