Covent Garden’s Clos Maggiore

I’ve always been a bit wary of polls: ones conducted to find the best sitcom, the most annoying couple or the most excruciating injury ever suffered while gardening. It’s the floundering attempt to impose a definitive order on things which are meant to be enjoyed for their inherent qualities rather than their ability to be filed in line.

Can you really compare Is This It? by the Strokes to The Velvet Underground’s first album? Or definitively say that The Shawshank Redemption is a superior piece of art to The Bicycle Thieves?

I was thinking on this issue as I entered Clos Maggiore, a restaurant consistently voted as the most romantic restaurant in London. But how can you properly establish the qualities which constitute romance? Were the judges noting the amount of soft light that dapples the cheeks of the diners? Or calculating the amount of time spent gazing into each other’s eyes as the mounting passion between two people begins to surge and then multiply that by the number of occasions of footsie?

Perhaps I was wrong to concentrate on this particular facet of Clos Maggiore, a restaurant that has won a slew of awards since opening. Soon after starting on our food, my companion and I came to realise that the people handing out these awards are no fools.

I started with the shoulder of rabbit with sweet and sour black radish with wholegrain mustard mousseline, while my companion went for the chargrilled scallops. The rabbit was a delight, presented like a toffee apple. The meat peeled off and made for a sumptuous combination with the mousseline. My companion was equally effusive about the scallops, which were extremely juicy whilst avoiding any kind of overbearing saltiness.

An excess of salt rather hindered the main course of rib-eye steak, which was taken by both of us. The meat was of an excellent quality although it was betrayed by the accompanying fondant potatoes and oyster mushrooms, which had a little too much salt.

To finish off, my companion had a selection of sorbets whilst I ventured for an olive oil and lemon tiramisu, simply for the intrigue of how they would manage to accomplish the dish. In the end, it was quite pleasant; the smoothness of the olive oil competing well against the subtle lemon flavours. However, in spite of the curiousity factor, it didn’t have the richness of an orthodox tiramisu.

As for romance, it was hard to rouse much in the way of ardour after such a heavy meal. I sat back in my seat, unable to manage a single bat of an eyelid. Clos Maggiore comes highly recommended if you are after sumptuous cuisine. However, at around £75 per head, if you’re taking someone along on a date, make sure that it’s love.

Clos Maggiore
33 King Street
Covent Garden
WC2E 8JD

Tel: 020 7379 9696