Caravaggio

Created in homage to a key genius of the Italian Renaissance, Caravaggio is dedicated to gastronomic excellence, aiming to demonstrate the same dedication to quality and innovation in the field of food and drink as the great Italian masters brought to painting and sculpture.

Caravaggio is one of the city’s most well established fine dining restaurants, offering superb modern Italian cuisine in elegant art deco surroundings.

Formally opened by Luciano Pavarotti in 1996, Caravaggio is the most serious Italian restaurant in the City and a firm favourite with the movers and shakers of the square mile.

Occupying the imposing premises of what was formerly a banking hall, all that remains of the original interior is the ornate high ceiling, with its splendid Art Deco light fittings. The designer Tony Thomas has opened up the space and extended an existing gallery that now runs around the room at mezzanine level, providing a second tier of tables. A long, marble topped bar by the entrance provides a convenient holding area for what is, at lunch times, a very busy dining room and is also popular with single diners, many of whom prefer to eat at the bar.

Head Chef Jonathan Lees, has designed a menu that brings together dishes from various regions of Italy and its islands. The menu mixes time-honoured tradition with the odd contemporary twist. Antipasti includes the wonderful combination of Parma ham, matured over 22 months and accompanied by mozzarella and salsify, and sensational carpaccio with basil pesto, cep mushrooms and shaved parmesan.

Starters include roast beetroot carpaccio with Langhe goats’ cheese or a pleasing salad of baby spinach, mushrooms, Taggiasche olives, crumbled egg and apple in a Parmesan basket.

Pasta comes in two sizes, and market-fresh meaty mains include a well-cooked tender leg of rabbit stuffed with its own offal and served with sweet Chantenay carrots. City diners have a healthy appetite for meat dishes so expect an abundance of choice including, roasted belly of pork with crushed potatoes, broccoli, celeriac and a honey and cinnamon sauce fillet of veal with mixed wild mushrooms and Madeira sauce. But without a doubt, the best and fullest flavoured fillet steak to be found in the square mile is served here with aubergine and gorgonzola cheese – exquisite indulgence for the carnivores!

However, the freshest fish is also offered aplenty with fresh crab, wild sea bass and black Arctic cod featuring regularly so all tastes are catered for and the regulars, of which there are many, never get bored.

Desserts are a wholesome affair. Finish with a decadent tiramisu in a tall glass or delicious Amalfi lemon cake, served warm. The wine list at Caravaggio is probably the most comprehensive collection of Italian wines in all London, with more than a hundred bins ed from all the key regions.

The ideal place to take your lover this Valentine’s night as well as sign the all-important business deals at lunch time – both clients will undoubtedly fall for its charm and charisma.