Zafferano

Excellent place for lunch! Very tasty Italian food with very professional service. Superb location close to Sloan Street and Knightsbridge. Love this place!

I recently went back to zafferano and was disappointed by the staff and food I walked in and was coldly greeted by the inattentive staff the last time i was their we were put in a big spacious room this time in a cramped small area then the food took over 25 mins to come and when it did it was nothing was special not worth the huge price

Comment dites-​vous fantastique en Italien?!
**Insert Clap Clap Clap emojis here**
Best Italian food I have had in a very long time! All of the food is outstanding… Enough for me to go twice in a 3 day visit. Ha.(By no means am I partial to Italian either. My heart solely lies with Mexican food FACT)
My first visit was as heavenly as all of the food we had ordered.*Kisses my scrunched finger tips and spreading joy*
Food Report:
Burrata w/​artichokes |A|– Anything cheese, especially burrata is divine and mouthwatering.
Minestrone Misto |B-​|– Again the battle with the English flavoring… Could use a bit of seasoning
Crab Salad w/​lemon & pesto dressing |A+|– So delectable I felt selfish for not sharing.
Pan-​Fried Seabass w/​califlower cream |A+|– If my name were Precious, I would have ordered 3 in one seating.
Merluzzo arrosto con ceci |A|– A roasted cod that had a hint of a honey flavor and cooked to perfection.
All of this topped off with an espresso that was dulcet in every way imaginable…
While dining here may cost a pretty pound… Just remember the saying.“Love dont cost a thang.“
Molte grazie a ottimo ristorante e fare il mio cuore e lo stomaco pieno allo stesso tempo!

We made it back to Zafferano a few months ago and were fortunate to be there while they had a black truffle menu. The tagliolini truffle was out of this world. Buttery, creamy, amazing with the flavor and texture contrast of the black truffle. And they did not spare any truffle. The Carpaccio I had as an appetizer was good but the meat was too thick for my taste. I prefer a thinner carpaccio but again the flavor was great and there was a ton of black truffle on the plate so I could hardly complain about that!
We had a 2007 brunello with dinner that was very nice and opened up after about 30 minutes

Easy Zone 1 spot with very solid food and subtle atmosphere. The wine offerings were strong and the pasta was a highlight. Prices aren’t cheap, even for London, but overall it is a good destination.

Good place, generous portions. Tiramisu was really good. Unilocal won’t let me close this review window on my homepage so I’m forced to write this review.

Went here with a friend when we were here for business. We had thought they still had a Michelin Star (plainly, it wasn’t all that important to us), and when I mentioned to him the next day that they had lost their star, he looked at me and said «yeah, that sounds about right.»
In other words, this place is good, but it is *not* the very top echelon by any means. Most critically, the food was uneven. So, my buddy’s mullet was super bland (contrast: the burrata was awesome), and my crab salad tasted less than fresh (basically: either they saved it from the day before or the crab had been sitting out for a few hours that night. either way, super disappointing in what should have been a great dish based on everything else that was in it.)
It was also very, very, very loud. I like louder restaurants, but this was nuts. Part of the problem is that we were next to a loud table of drunk 50-​somethings, and everyone else seemed happy when they left. But here’s the thing – this is now the type of establishment that attracts drunk 50-​somethings. That’s unfortunate.
Next, while the hostess was great, the service at the table was mediocre at best. Not bad, exactly, but not good either – for example, when we had questions about the menu, the descriptions we received din’t really help much, and I’m still bummed that the waiter recommended the «off» crab salad…
Bottom line, you could do worse if you happen to be in the neighborhood, but this is not the restaurant it seems to have once been.

Attractive restaurant on a classic London Street. Service excellent, but I
was very irritated by the wine steward having taken
a large class of wine from my bottle to taste without asking. I know wine and don’t need that. Food was ok not great. Given the prices, I would expect to be more impressed. The English may not demand better, but a New Yorker does.

Solid food and service. I had a two course meal of prosciutto and pasta for dinner. Both were very good. One of the people in our group is vegetarian and they were very good about it. Service by the waitstaff was 5 star. The restaurant itself is nice and upscale, but not overly stuffy either (by London standards). I would give this place a 4.5 star if I could and would go back.

I wanted to try Zafferanos at least two times before writing a review, and I must say they passed with flying colours. The food on both occasions was excellent and wine recommendation was reasonably priced and perfectly complimented the food. Prices are very reasonable for 2 courses and the more exotic dishes do come with a supplement, but well worth the extra. Can highly recommend the octopus, baratta, lobster pasta and fresh pasta with morels. Lovely place.

Zafferano offers excellent Italian food, high quality, fresh mouth watering ingredients that create winning dishes that never fail to impress me. Great service and passion for Italian food make this restaurant one of my top favourites!

Zafferano truly deserves its Michelin star. The food is fantastic and the service is attentive. The ambiance in the restaurant is not too snobbish or uptight, and the prices, while high, are not ridiculous. Two courses for £36.50, three courses for £46.50 and four courses for £51.50. It is truly worth the price.
We opted for two courses each. For starters, my dining partner ordered the winter salad, which she said was delicious, and just right. I didn’t order a starter, however was brought a plate with focaccia, salami and some parmesan, to munch on. As a main course, I got the pappardelle with braised beef cheeks, while she got the veal cutlet with potato purée and artichokes.
I’ve never tried pasta with beef cheeks before and was nervous that I wouldn’t like it. However it was truly delicious, the beef was tender and perfectly complimented the al dente pasta. The sauce was delicious, and I was told by the waiters, takes 3 days to make. The veal was incredibly good and tender, the kind that melts in your mouth. The potato purée was delicious too. For dessert I got apple pie with vanilla ice cream– again, a truly perfect dish.
I’m sure that every dish on the menu is truly exceptional, and portions aren’t too big (but not tiny either, as is so common in expensive restaurants), meaning that you could comfortably have three or four courses.
I strongly recommend this restaurant.

Convenient location in a nice area that’s a street away from a plethora of higher end stores. Large space, efficient waitstaff, and a good selection for menu and wine list. The outer room we were seated in was about half full for our Sunday night 9:30 reservation.
As we had just come from high tea about two hours earlier, we really did not have much of an appetite and decided to go with the prix fixe two-​course meal (as opposed to three or four courses). You’re allowed to pick two from any of the four categories (starter, pasta, main, dessert). I had the winter salad starter and chanterelle mushroom pasta. Both were really good, and I thought they were rather nonconventional. Dining partner had the ravioli pasta and the veal main, which he said was quite good as well. Honestly had no room for dessert… lame, I know.
A solid choice for a good meal.

Don’t go out of your way to try this restaurant. The food was good, service was very slow and inattentive. Atmosphere is a tad stuffy.

Went here for lunch with clients on Friday.
The clients were a bit late so it was all a bit rushed and we only had time for main courses. I had brill, with mash and mushrooms. I had doubts when ordering it on the basis that it might be a bit boring, but it was excellent, really tasty, there wasn’t any fancy sauce but it didn’t need it as the various component parts had been cooked so well. Everyone I was with really enjoyed their meals, particularly the three people who had lobster linguine. The staff were really friendly as helpful as well.
In terms of negative points, it was interesting reading Wolfie’s post below as the music was too loud and was an odd sort of jazzy lift music which got irritating at times. But as soon as the conversation was flowing properly you couldn’t really hear it anymore, so its only a minor criticism

I have been visiting Zafferano on pretty much a monthly basis since it opened. Giorgio Locatelli cooked here before branching out on his own, and head chef Andrew Needham has been a safe pair pf hands in the kitchen for years. Zafferano has long been established as one of the top handful of Italian restaurants in London, one of just four with a Michelin star.
In my experience the best dishes are the salads and the pasta. Most UK restaurants take little care with sourcing their ingredients, but here many of the salad ingredients are imported directly from the markets of Italy, and it really shows in the taste that arrive on the plate.
Pasta is very carefully made, and risotto is properly cooked from scratch, taking 20 minutes. The menu changes seasonally, and there is hardly ever a slip in either main courses or desserts.
Service under maitre d’ Enzo Cassini is carefully drilled and manages to be both efficient and genuinely friendly. The price of success is that prices have risen inexorably, with the wine list in particular having quite high mark-​ups.

«There is no charge for awesomeness… or attractiveness.» — Kung Fu Panda
Wise words indeed Mr Panda, but unfortunately neither applies to Zafferano. I went to this place a few months ago to simultaneously celebrate:
1.) My arrival in London
2.) A large cash infusion into my bank account (a necessary prerequisite for any trip to Zafferano).
3.) The fact I had a date. This only occurs when Jupiter and Saturn are in alignment and Venus is in ascension, so it needed to be celebrated properly.
This restaurant is awesomeness on a plate, but despite the maxim above, there is a price. I got out of here for about £200 between 2 people, but it was worth every penny. In particular, the tiramisu was unbelievable. I’ve never quite experienced anything like it. Unfortunately my date didn’t order the tiramisu and so I had to give half of it to her… woe is me.
The vibe was definitely that everyone in there had way more money than me. There was a particularly amusing couple next to us who looked like they came out of Home and Gardens or an advertisement for Patek Phillippe watches (come to think of it I think the guy was wearing one of these). They spent the entire evening drinking their expensive decanted wine and eating their expensive truffle-​laden meal, while managing to completely avoid eye contact with each other or even say a word. That’s the kind of marriage I want to have one day.
Thanks to the credit crunch I had no trouble reserving a table a few days in advance, for a Saturday night at 7:30. Apparently this used to be quite a feat so take advantage of the slowdown while you can!

un peu surfait
Restaurant très prisé. Il était à côté de l’hotel où nous résidions aussi on s’est laissé tenté (réservation obligatoire). A l’arrivée, une cuisine italienne de bon niveau mais sans plus. Il existe aussi bon et moins ”show off” que ce restaurant. prix: environ 50 GBP sans la boisson avec le service. C’est cher pour un italien sans produit noble (truffe, homard) à ce prix. Accueil sommaire: on comprend que l’établissement n’a pas besoin de fidéliser ses clients.

yumYUmyuM!!! — 4.5
I forgot how real italian food tasted like.
Though it may be expensive, the restaurant is amazingly authentic: brings me back to when i visited Italy. The restaurants menu is simple, and the food is…think light not loaded with excess amounts of fuss, amazingly tasty, and appeasing to the eyes — fresh ingredients and fit for the season. I believe they change their menu/​specials based on seasonality. Wine list is vast = +…
Though the restaurant has a Michelin star, the stuffiness that would be expected from a great restaurant like this isn’t there. It is dressy yet, casual (think smart casual). Once you walk in, there is a buzz about the place. There is a little café area on the other side of the restaurant, where you can grab a drink after work or hang out with co-​workers/​friends.
Reservations are a MUST — especially if you want to go in at like 7/​8ish.. the place fills up fast during dinner time — SOMETIMES they allow walk-​ins, but you have to get there early (6PM)
The only thing that is a negative is the service. . they could use a little work on that.
Definitely a must try.

This isn’t the place to go for a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs. The setting is rather rustic but the food and prices definitely are upscale, not surprising for a Michelin star restaurant in a posh neighborhood.
From the four-​course dinner menu, priced at £54.50, I ordered a warm salad of veal and braised artichokes; tortellini stuffed with ricotta cheese, radicchio, and hazelnuts; grilled halibut with a sauce of fennel, olives, and sun-​dried tomatoes; and tiramisù. Every morsel was a burst of exquisite flavors and textures.
If you are in search of a wonderful dining experience for a special occasion, you will be very happy you came here.

The thing about Italian food is that it can be great eaten in a little café in a Verona back street for $ 5 or when you’re a student and you discover the aubergine for first time. The point is, cheap and simple Italian food is so good, so understanding of flavour and balance that it almost seems unnecessary to have to shell out for really expensive stuff.
Having said that, places like Zafferano’s and these sorts of upmarket Italian joints are pretty exceptional. This is a Michelin star restaurant that uses the best of the best ingredients to build on traditional and honest Italian classics to create something a bit more modern and inventive. They do some set price lunch menus which make the meal a whole lot more reasonable although with anywhere like this, watch the wine. It’s brilliant and the list is extensive, but it’s expensive and is like letting a rabbit burrow in your wallet for a full calendar month.