Moreno is the fine dining Italian restaurant led by the Italian Chef Moreno Cedroni located on the ground floor of the Baglioni Hotel. The decor is pretty lavish with gold velvet armchairs and glass candelabras – very swish indeed! Even the humble basket of breads is pimped up, served with a Parmesan mousse and a Parmesan crust, and what’s more the 500 bin wine list comes on an Ipad.
To start we had the Tempura scallops infused with cuttlefish black ink, served with a clam and zucchini sauce and the Octopus salad dressed with “mayonnaise”, jelly bread and steamed vegetables. The scallops were huge, meaty morsels coated in a delicate black batter. The octopus served with a “low fat mayo” was fresh and light, but a word of warning we spotted a few tentacles in there so if you’re a bit squeamish you may want to avoid.
We were informed by the waiter that the pasta was not to be missed, and so we ordered the white seafood lasagne with coconut, parsley sauce and lime peel and the tortellini. The tortellini filled with 24 month aged liquid Parmesan, raw beef, tomato sauce and a balsamic jam certainly lived up to its reputation as “one of the best things on the menu”. An explosion of cheese it was our favourite dish of the night.
For mains we hit the meat ordering the “Rossini” fillet of beef with foie gras, black truffle sauce and shiitake mushrooms served a side of salad which resembled a piece of art; dressed with flower petals and a marzipan tasting sauce, it tasted as good as it looked. Whilst the tender roast duck leg was well complemented by a zingy caramel raspberry vinegar and cabbage sauce.
For dessert we were recommended the strange sounding Fragrance by Moschino “Funny!”. A mixture of pansy ice cream, spiced crumble and bergamot flower water, the dish inspired by Moschino perfume (the chef’s mate) was more of a smell than a taste, light and fragrant it’s a real girly choice. We also ordered the Crispy celeriac, gianduja chocolate, buffalo mozzarella, Nutella and ginger ice cream which might sound like a mega mix but as we cut through the layers and hit with the crunchy celeriac, smooth ginger ice cream, strong dark chocolate and creamy mozzarella we understood the concoction.
The service was great, second to none and a true reflection of the whole experience. Perfect location if you’re wanting to treat the other half….did someone say it was Valentines day in a few weeks?
60 Hyde Park Gate, SW7 5BB
www.baglionihotels.com