London - Cecconi's

Opening for breakfast at 8.00am, Cecconi's undergoes daily metamorphosis as it moves from morning coffee to lunch, afternoon tea and formal dinner before finally passing out at 1.00am.

Positioned on the corner of Burlington Gardens with lots of glass, the restaurant is a goldfish bowl for passers by.   A large bar is the central focus.   Part of Soho House which is now owned by Richard Caring, it has similarities to Scott’s, except that the clientele are a little more chic and “hooray”.  A little better healed perhaps?  The Bond Street influence, perhaps?

The décor is pleasant, but the acoustics are terrible.  With tables close together and no soft furnishing we found ourselves repeating everything at least twice, even to the waiters.  Looking around it appeared that everyone had the same problem. Lots of shouting. There are probably some shocking food order cock-ups each day.

The food was interesting. I wanted to order the pasta with black truffles which the waiter offered as a special that evening.  It was not on the menu and he didn’t mention the price.  I could not bear to holler ‘How much?’ (These truffle pasta dishes can cost upwards of £35 in London).  I therefore opted for a chichetti plate (Italian tapas) to start.  Claiming to be the only restaurant in London to serve chichette, the tapas Cecconi's offers includes sweet and sour sardines at £5.50, Umbrian sausage with red pepper at £6.50 and grilled tuna with chilli mint at £6.00.  We also ordered a rather disappointing chicken liver pate, four pieces of which were pasted onto French bread with large capers as decoration. They were much too large to handle elegantly.

The starters and main courses were what one would expect from a good Italian restaurant, not expensive but not exceptional either.  The breaded veal resembled a cartoon character who had been splatted by a passing car.  It covered most of the plate and was wafer thin.

Cecconi's is clearly a canteen for a number of people who work in the area.  Great if it’s on your doorstep, but don’t bother if a taxi ride is required.

Spring 2009 Update

Cecconi's has now opened in West Hollywood (Cecconi's LA review).

Cecconi
Burlington Gardens
London W1

0871 332 8585