Test Driving Burro, where Trullo chef Conor Gadd has created a warm, inviting Covent Garden Italian

Inside Burro. If you've been to The Petersham, you can see the same structure here, but the room has still had quite an overhaul. The new lighting and design make it a warmer space, we thought. 

What can you tell us about Burro?

This is the second restaurant from Conor Gadd, the chef-owner of Trullo, one of Islington's most popular restaurants, founded by Tim Siadatan and Jordan Frieda. Trullo is an Italian neighbourhood restaurant that remains one of the best Italian restaurants in the whole of London. Burro sees Gadd opening his second restaurant in a much larger space in the centre of town. He's also said he wants to bring some of his Irish background into Burro too. 

Where is it?

If you were familiar with The Petersham when it was in Covent Garden, that's the space that Burro has taken over. A few minutes' walk from Covent Garden tube, it's hidden away on Floral Court, a little hidden courtyard that joins Floral Street with King Street. When you step into the court, it's like an oasis of calm away from the throngs of Covent Garden. There's a sizeable terrace, and when the weather warms up, that'll be a fantastic place for lunch. 

Inside, the overall structure of the restaurant remains the same from its days as the Petersham, with the key changes to the furnishings and a slightly more traditional look, with the addition of tablecloths (which seem to be back in vogue, as far as many new central London restaurants are concerned). Ultimately, it's a comfortable, warm environment, with most of the tables nicely spaced apart. If you're looking for relaxed comfort, with a warm, welcoming staff, this fits that bill nicely. 

The bar at Burro, perfect for pre/post-dinner drinks. 

Where could we go for a drink first?

In the immediate area, Oriole is one of the best bars, and Bedford Street Wines (from The Oystermen) is also a good bet if you're after a wine bar. There is also a small bar area in Burro, so if you're waiting for a fellow diner to arrive, getting a sneaky cocktail in there would be a good choice. 

As for ourselves, we actually popped into the Lamb and Flag around the corner before the meal, surprisingly nabbing a seat in the always-packed pub. That's an option, but don't expect to be as lucky as we were.

What can we expect from the menu?

London has seen a lot of Italian restaurants opening recently. But so far, most of them, like Tiella and Osteria Vibrato, are bringing something unique to the scene and that's once again the case with Burro. It's a larger affair than the other big openings and, with Gadd behind it, happens to have one of the best chefs working with Italian food in London today. It's also very well priced, given its very handy central location. 

They say that the menu will change daily, but we can already see some signature dishes remaining on the menu long term. One of these is undoubtedly the ragu. The beef shin ragu has been a hit at Trullo, and Gadd takes his ragu in a very different direction at Burro.

Fettuccine with duck and porcini ragu (£19.50) - taking the idea of the signature ragu dish at Trullo and amping it up for Burro. An absolutely fantastic pasta dish. It's great for sharing, although you may also want the whole thing to yourself...

As for the menu in general, it's the standard Italian approach of Antipasti, Primi (pasta), Secondi (mains) and Dolci (dessert). What is noticeable is that there isn't anything that you could immediately say "that's been on every Italian menu recently", with perhaps the exception of some excellent focaccia. In general, everything here feels like it has touches that are unique to Burro. There's a lot we couldn't get to as a result (we hear good things about the bruschetta of Venetian chicken livers), but here are our highlights:

Fried artichoke with bottarga (£10) - the grated bottarga (and indeed the texture of the artichoke) makes this (almost) a vegetarian take on calamari fritti. A great snacking dish, so order this while you're looking over the menu. 

Braised rabbit, rocket, tardivo and dragoncello dressing (£15) - a lighter starter, with the rabbit scattered between the leaves. 

Vitello al burro (£36) - Their take on a veal Milanese is very, very good. Fried and finished in lots of butter and served with wilted spinach, the veal is really tender goes very well with the potatoes below. 

Whole lemon sole with prosecco, butter and caviar (£37) - an almost unseemly buttery sauce, and notably well priced for a seafood and caviar dish. 

There are a few sides too and it's here where we can perhaps see some of Conor Gadd's Irish heritage popping in, mainly with the potato dish:

Roseval potatoes with sage and garlic (£7) - honestly, this gives us flashbacks to a point where every meal in Ireland came with a stack of potatoes like this. They were nowhere near as buttery or garlicky as these though...

What about desserts?

The above is quite a lot, so if you go for something similar, you might want to try sharing a dessert. Both of the below should fit that bill very well, albeit for different reasons:

Tiramisu doughnuts (£10). You really should not think of leaving without having these. We've seen a fair bit of tiramisu on London's menus of late, but this simple reinvention beats them all hands down. They're made from a ricotta dough with sugar and vanilla, coated with sugar and crushed ladyfingers and served with a zabaglione made with coffee and marsala. You'll want more. 

Rhubarb granita with vanilla cream (£4.50) - a much lighter option but also highly recommended. The deeply flavoured granita and the cream make for a perfect combo. 

What about drinks?

The wine list, mainly organised by region, has a strong Italian slant, as you might expect. What is also noticeable is that the entry-level wine at £36 a bottle (Saveroni, Bianco 2024) is really very good value for central London right now, particularly in such a great restaurant as Burro. You can, of course, spend into the £100s, but it's a great entry-level price. We'd also highly recommend that you try the cocktails - both were very, very well made and again, extremely well priced. 

The Marsala Martini's use of 30-year marsala instantly make it one of London's best new martinis (left , £13), while the Donkey's Kick (right, £13) hints at Gadd's Irish roots, made with whiskey, chartreuse, lime juice and poitín.

Overall thoughts

We had fairly high hopes for Burro. Trullo is right at the bottom of my street, and while that's obviously incredibly easy to get to, I was keen to see what Gadd would make with a very different beast of a space in Covent Garden. All those high expectations were easily met. The space is warm and comfortable, the staff are great (helpful, friendly and not overbearing), and Burro is another restaurant proving that the current Italian revolution in London's food is a great thing. It's incredibly easy to recommend - just don't leave without ordering those doughnuts.