There are very few restaurant groups out there that I look at and think 'they are committed to the same message as their first restaurant'. It's fair to say that as the money stacks up from multiple site, many chains can lose their honesty; their message. Carluccio's, I feel, however, bucks this trend; led by the eponymous Antonio Carluccio, the chain of over 100 restaurants still promotes the original message of brining the Italian la dolce vita to the UK. Be it coffee and biscotti or loving bowls of pasta, Carluccio's knows how to hit that perfect comfort spot that all Brits have for a great Italian restaurante!
This week, I was invited to visit the newly refurbished Garrick Street resturant in the heart of Covent Garden. Reopened just three weeks ago the expansive and airy restaurant is now bedecked in Christmassy decorations, a clean white colour palette dotted with blues and a delightfully refreshed menu too. The decorations throughout the space really warm the heart, whether you're perusing the goods in the deli or, as we did, tucking into breakfast in the beautifully lit dining room.
We began with that Italian sustenance, coffee - two cappucinos with the rich Milano blend espresso. Creamy yet strong with coffee flavour, these pretty cups kept us going all morning. Of course we added a glass of fresh juice, peach for me and orange for my guest, both of which were zingy in flavour and really refreshing while we waited for our brekkies to arrive!
I went for eggs and smoked salmon. The eggs were scrambled and perfectly yellow with specks of green chive showing through. The salmon too was a touch cooked, which I found a little strange but perfectly tasty. The bread could have enjoyed a little olive oil, or butter, on top, but to be fair this a really rich breakfast, especially after I added sides of buttery spinach and garlicky mushrooms.
My guest chose the eggs, scrambled again, with pancetta. The eggs again were beautifully done and the pancetta was incredibly salty against their richness. My guest found it a touch overwhelming, perhaps salt had been added on top of the meat while it was cooking, but overall an enjoyable breakfast. It's the Italian version of eggs and bacon!
We added veggie sides to help with our later gym session! Butterly, garlicky, herby mushrooms came in three guises and were absolutely delicious with my eggs and salmon. The spinach too was nice with plenty of butter but a touch watery, which is quite unavoidable due to the watery nature of the vegetable.
Every breakfast needs something sweet; it's all about balance after all! We ended our breakfast in style with slices of pannetone served with butter and apricot jam. I normally reserve this classic Italian fruit bread for Christmas but it was actually the perfect treat after our rich breakfast. The bread was slightly toasted giving it a crispness and the butter just melted joyously into the warm bread. What more do you want from breakfast?
Thank you to Carluccio's for hosting this review! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. All images and opinions are my own.
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