Locanda Locatelli

For my thirty-first birthday, I paid a visit to Locanda Locatelli, Giorgio Locatelli's One Michelin-Star in Marylebone. Having been to Florence and sampled a fabulous Michelin-starred restaurant there, I wanted to see what one of London's few Italians of a similar pedigree had to offer.

The restaurant has a suitably refined air that caters well to family gatherings or business meetings, but I found it a little old-school, not quite as inviting as some of the newer high-end restaurants in London. 

I had three courses from the a la carte. To start, I had the calamarata pasta with tomatoes and fish. The pasta was on the tougher side of al dente, the overall dish being something quite uninspiring, one I feel you could handily receive at many lesser restaurants.

For the fish course, I had a fillet of plaice with a basil crust, served with tomatoes, black olives and potatoes. The fish was nice but really, has the person who conceptualised putting this dish on the menu been living under a rock? This feels antiquated, and tasted it to boot, the tomatoes being cooked for so long that they had grown incredibly bitter. 

The final course was the only one I really enjoyed, it being the collection of chocolate desserts. Even then, whilst lovably presented, there wasn't much nuance to it; chocolate next to chocolate. 

Overall, a disappointing meal (perhaps the most disappointing from a Michelin star I've had thus far), one that does not hold a candle to the exceptional offering by La Leggenda dei Frati of Florence. 

Value for money? C. £100 for three courses including wine and service charge. The food is just poor, so no.

Would I return? Not if you paid me.