Margot, Covent Garden – tried and tasted

An Italian which prides itself on impeccable service has landed in Covent Garden
Tagliallini: Pasta features prominently at Margot
Ben Norum31 January 2018

While most restaurants of a certain level would agree that slick service was an absolutely integral part of their offering, it is unusual for a new opening’s pre-publicity to almost entirely focus on it in the way it has done for Margot.

The restaurant is a collaboration between Paulo de Tarso and Nicolas Jaouën. The former is one of London’s best known maître d’s having worked at Bar Boulud, The Wolseley and Scott’s, while the latter was previously general manager at Balthazar and most recently a director at Alain Ducasse’s Rivea in Knightsbridge.

The pair have enlisted chef Maurizio Morelli, who has experience at numerous restaurants in both Rome and London including at Marylebone deli Briciole which he launched. His menu spans charcuterie and cheeses, carpaccios and tartares, pastas and larger plates centred around grilled meat and fish.

Despite the Italian cooking there’s something rather Parisian about the space, with deep blue banquettes, shiny fixtures and a shinier tiled floor setting a plush brasserie-style backdrop.

Here to serve: Paulo de Tarso (left) and Nicolas Jaouën

The much-hyped service — thankfully for the restaurant — delivers on the promise. It is at once doting but not overbearing, with classical touches but a modern conviviality.

Of many dishes tried there are several high points, led by a steak tartare served with scrambled eggs and truffle shavings. Scrambled eggs and tartare, you might shout in disgust — but wait. It works. The eggs are incredibly lightly cooked, so as to provide the same silky, emulsifying effect that a raw egg yolk does on a traditional tartare, blanketing the deeply-flavoured meat in soft creaminess.

What follows is less controversial — and, in honesty, less exciting — but incredibly well executed. Small, fluffy-textured gnocchi come in a vibrant and slightly smoky amatriciana tomato sauce. A sirloin steak lavished with wild mushrooms competes with its fungal counterparts for earthy flavour. And plump pieces of monkfish wrapped in pancetta bathe in a buoyant parsley-led broth laden with cannellini beans: farmhouse cooking adapted for the West End.

Bathing in broth: Monkfish wrapped in pancetta

Less of a winner is the stewed octopus which is tender and fragrant from marjoram but buried in a thick chickpea purée that verges on the cloying.

The pudding selection is headlined by a twist on pistacchio cannolo — don’t use the word deconstructed — presented as a stack rather than tubes. Whatever you do, pop in for one of those and a glass of wine at the bar next time you’re in the area. It should be mandatory, even if you’re not in the market for anything else.

As for wine, there’s plenty to choose from. Italy is, naturally, well represented, but the rest of the world gets a good showing too. Around 25 options by the glass give plenty room to try something new, while the team are well-versed in answering questions and enthusing about favourites — another score for the much-hyped service, then.

Margot: The Lowdown

Final flavour: A slick Italian that oozes conviviality.

At what cost? Small plates and starters hover between £5 and £15, and main courses £17.50 and £29.

Visit if you like: Café Murano, Trullo, Scott’s.

See more of the Best Italian Restaurants

Visit standard.co.uk/restaurants for the latest news and reviews from London’s food scene.

Follow Ben Norum on Twitter @BenNorum

Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in