Harden's says
If it hadn’t originally launched on 28 October 2020, this expensively designed Covent Garden hotel would have attracted more attention. In its all-day bar and restaurant occupying much of the ground floor (there’s also a mezzanine), Executive Chef Gary Lee (ex The Ivy Restaurant) serves food from Northern Italy using British produce. Pizza and cicchetti feature alongside small plates, pasta and secondi.
Harden's survey result
Summary
The timing of its debut, during Covid 19, couldn’t have been harder for this Covent Garden three-year-old, and it has yet to attract a huge volume of feedback or a settled view from diners. One fan says “you get a twist on Italian cooking, and boy do they get it right” in a “superb, light and airy space that’s ideal for a business meal”. To a critic it’s “bizarre eating in what feels like, and actually is, a hotel lobby, with some dishes very clumsily seasoned”.
Summary
This “stylish” two-year-old in Covent Garden, “puts a different, modern spin on the usual Italian type offerings”. Service is only “good in parts”, though, and that it can feel compromised by being “too near the hotel lobby” (or “too integral to the lively bar of the hip hotel it’s part of”) is a repeat complaint.
Summary
If it hadn’t originally launched on 28 October 2020, days before the UK’s second national lockdown, this expensively designed Covent Garden hotel would have attracted more attention. In its all-day bar and restaurant occupying much of the ground floor (there’s also a mezzanine), executive chef Paul Robinson (ex-Temper and The Coal Shed) serves food from Northern Italy using British produce. Pizza and cicchetti feature alongside small plates, pasta and secondi. Early reports praise the “excellent food and service”, although there‘s some dispute as to whether the setting is “a bit too much like an hotel” or “lovely and chic”.
For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Sycamore Vino Cucina, Middle Eight Hotel?
Middle Eight Hotel, 66 Great Queen Street, London, WC2B 5BX
Restaurant details
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £30.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £4.00 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Bread | £7.00 |
| Service | 12.50% |
Middle Eight Hotel, 66 Great Queen Street, London, WC2B 5BX
Opening hours
| Monday | 7 am‑11 pm |
| Tuesday | 7 am‑11 pm |
| Wednesday | 7 am‑11 pm |
| Thursday | 7 am‑11 pm |
| Friday | 7 am‑11 pm |
| Saturday | 7:30 am‑11 pm |
| Sunday | 7:30 am‑5 pm |
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