Cafe Murano to expand to fourth site

Chef and restaurateur Angela Hartnett will be bringing Cafe Murano to Marylebone this summer, marking the fourth location for the casual eatery concept.

 

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Hartnett, whose Murano restaurant, opened on Queen Street in 2008, holds one Michelin star, opened the first Cafe Murano in St James's in 2013. This was then followed by Cafe Murano openings in Covent Garden (2015) and Bermondsey (2019). Now, after a six year stint without a new restaurant opening, a fourth Cafe Murano will join the fold, with it due to begin operating on Dorset Street in Marylebone this summer, according to a report from Restaurant. Whereas Murano holds a Michelin Star and offers six courses from its a la carte menu for £155, or three for £95, Cafe Murano features simpler Italian fare, at notably less expensive price points than its fine dining older brother, with two courses from the pre-theatre/lunch menu costing £27, or £32 for three. The menu of the new location in Marylebone will fall under the remit of group executive chef Shaun Francome. Francome joined Murano in 2017 and became head chef of the St James's site in 2019. He was later promoted to the role of group executive chef.

Casual dining comeback

The announcement of the opening of a new Cafe Murano site is a further signal that higher-end casual dining restaurants are expanding their presence in London. After acquiring upmarket tapas chain Ibérica, Camino Group, known for its Spanish-inspired bars and restaurants, now has five locations of its Camino brand operating in London, with the newest openings in Farringdon and Victoria. When the news broke, group co-founder Richard Bigg told db that this growth would make a "significant difference to us and dilute our central office expenses which we had already cut back last summer".