How to order smart at Burro, Covent Garden

Burro is the newest Italian restaurant in Covent Garden from the people behind Trullo, and I’ve arrived on opening week.

I’m here for a solo lunch, which feels good at first and slightly misguided by the end. That’s because the Burro menu is built for sharing and lingering.

You’ll also want company when you fall into the inevitable post-meal stupor, the kind that comes from eating butter and olive oil in generous quantities.

I’m here on day one, so I’m not here to be too sharp about the little wobbles. New openings always need a moment to settle.

Instead, I focus on what matters, which is the food, the mood, and the overall sense of whether Burro Covent Garden is somewhere I’d come back to.

The short answer is yes. I’d just bring someone with me next time, and order better than I have today.

Let’s get into it.

Quick info on Burro, Covent Garden

• Restaurant: Burro
• Location: Covent Garden, London
• Format: traditional Italian – antipasti, primi, secondi, contorni, dolci
• Best enjoyed: with company, sharing plates of rich food
• Rough spend: around £80 per person if you do four courses
• Must order: rhubarb granita
• Tip: don’t stack the meal with meat on meat on meat like I did

Read the full Burro restaurant review below to find out more.

Burro isn’t for solo dining

Let’s get this out of the way early, because it shapes the whole experience.

Burro Covent Garden is not the best format for a solo diner, and that’s not a criticism. It’s simply the nature of the Burro menu.

Everything leans rich, butter-smothered, and deeply comforting. That’s to say, it makes most sense when you’re sharing a few dishes, splitting two pastas between three people for example, or ordering one antipasti for the table and passing plates around.

As a solo diner, I end up leaving plates half-eaten, not because they aren’t good, but because the richness builds and I want to save room for the next course.

In hindsight, I could have ordered a lighter combination, but the menu pulls you towards the heavy hitters, especially on a first visit.

If you’re specifically looking for solo dining Italian in London, I’d point you towards Canteen instead. The counter seating wrapped around the open kitchen works beautifully when you’re on your own, and watching the chefs plate feels like dinner and a show.

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It also has that local restaurant energy where your neighbours might chat if you’re in the mood, and if you’re not, you can happily keep to yourself.

Burro, by contrast, feels like a place for a third or fourth date, or close friends, or anyone you’re comfortable eating rich food with until you slip into a butter induced haze.

The mood at Burro Covent Garden

The restaurant space reinforces that proper restaurant feeling.

There are tables swathed in thick white tablecloths. There’s chequered velvet banquette seating in toffee and caramel tones, and heavy curtains that soften parts of the room.

The only thing I’d tweak is lighting, which leans a bit too heavily on spotlights. I’d kill for a table near a window.

Still, it’s comfortable and inviting, and it encourages you to settle in rather than rush through lunch.

The Burro menu and the four course rhythm

One of the joys of Burro Covent Garden is how committed it is to a traditional Italian structure.  The menu forms around antipasti, primi, secondi, contorni, and dolci. It invites you to eat slowly and in stages, which is exactly how this food wants to be eaten.

I decide to take the Burro menu for a proper spin by ordering one from each section, and I choose the things I think I won’t easily replicate at home.

The only problem is that, in hindsight, my choices stack richness on top of richness. It’s delicious, but it’s also a lot.

Next time, I’d balance what I order more thoughtfully, and I’d definitely share.

Bruschetta of Venetian chicken livers

This is a simple thing to look at – chopped liver atop a hefty wedge of toasted bread with a crust that requires a carving knife. It’s dramatic in a simple way, and it signals immediately that Burro Covent Garden is not playing around.

The livers are thick, smooth, and deeply savoury, drizzled with good olive oil that adds earthiness and a luxurious gloss. It reminds me of that St John offal energy, hearty and honest, but here it’s a touch more refined.

It’s also extremely rich for a starter. I end up leaving half so I can keep going, and then later I return to it because it’s the sort of thing you don’t eat often and don’t want to waste.

If you like livers, you’ll like this. If you’re on your own, though, it’s a lot.

Tagliatelle with duck and porcini ragu

This is a nice dish, but I wouldn’t rush to order it again.

The tagliatelle is tossed with glossy porcini mushrooms that bring a deep umami hum. There’s also duck ragu, which is mince-like, sauteed, and clings nicely to the pasta ribbons.

Because I’ve already eaten livers, this becomes another layer of meaty richness. If I’m honest in this Burro review, this is the dish I’d be most likely to skip next time, simply to create a better balance across the meal.

It’s alright – I just don’t need it alongside everything else I chose.

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Braised beef shin with polenta and wilted cicoria

Instead of getting the duck ragu tagliatelle, I’d save room for the beef shin with polenta.

The beef shin is deeply meaty with a lovely crust and tender interior, and it sits alongside wilted cicoria, which brings a bitter edge that feels grown up and intentional, even if bitterness isn’t my personal favourite flavour note.

The tiny blistered onions are my favourite detail, sweetened into near jammy intensity. They add a soft sweetness that plays beautifully against the beef.

The polenta is interesting too. Instead of being a silky mash, it reads more like cooked grains, giving texture and something to chew, and it’s doused in olive oil in a way that is starting to feel entirely on brand for Burro Covent Garden.

Is it the most tender beef shin I’ve ever had? No, it doesn’t exactly fall apart. But it’s an interesting dish.

Rhubarb granita is the winning dessert at Burro

The tiramisu bombolone is a fluffy sugared donut topped with tiramisu cream. It’s comforting, nicely executed, and very much a dessert for people who enjoy leaning into richness until the very end.

But the dessert that matters most here is the rhubarb granita with vanilla cream.

It is such a relief to eat something sharp, cold and zingy, after all that butter, meat and oil. And rhubarb is a personal favourite of mine.

The granita is a little like shaved ice, flavoured beautifully here with zesty rhubarb. It cleanses the palate and lifts the whole meal, which, given how rich the rest of the Burro menu is, becomes not just enjoyable but necessary.

Whatever else you eat here, make sure you end with the granita.

Final thoughts on Burro

Burro in Covent Garden is not the sort of restaurant you pop into for a light lunch. It serves a rich Italian feast, heavy on butter and olive oil, and it wants to be shared slowly across multiple courses.

Would I come back? I think so.

Next time, I’d bring a friend, order lighter choices alongside the rich ones, and let Burro do what it wants to. Which is to be a long, indulgent Italian meal.

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Burro Covent Garden restaurant review
Address – 2 Floral Court, Floral Street, London, WC2E 9FB
Nearest Tube – Covent Garden