Giannino — Restaurant in London

Giannino Mayfair — An Exercise in Opulence, Without Much Else You arrive at Blenheim Street, greeted by a black‑and‑gold façade and the kind of velvet rope that suggests theatre—but alas, only you perform on this rather dreary stage. Inside: grey-and-brown décor so sober that even your most austere monocle would yawn. The pineapple statue gleams like someone’s tart frivolity—making one wonder if the décor committee was compensated in gilt trimmings rather than taste. Upon seating, the service is undoubtedly gracious—that is, if you can endure the polite peculiarities of an establishment desperate for drama, with empty rooms echoing nobility without company. Quite the air of someone who expected aristocrats but received vault‑dwellers. At this temple of Italian gastronomy, the food is certainly competent—some dishes even verge on the satisfactory—which is perhaps more frustrating than if they were outright poor. Guests who note that “food is nothing special” capture the sentiment perfectly: pleasant but utterly unmemorable. And let’s not ignore that the word‑of‑mouth whispers are loud: some believe the ratings are vastly over‑inflated, calling it “disappointing” after an evening that clearly did no justice to the hefty ticket. Now, the bill. Expect to pay upwards of £110 for a three‑course dinner plus wine and cover—a price tag that soars far beyond the modest thrills on offer. Harden’s ratings summarise it succinctly: Food: 2/5 (Average), Ambience: 3/5 (Good), Service: 4/5 (Very Good)—a fine service, a dreary room, and food that fails to justify the expense. So, in the lavish milieu of Mayfair dining, Giannino is perhaps best described as theatrically splendid but gastronomically tame. It is a grand concept that betrays familiarity at every turn—a gilded shell without the spirited soul. One sometimes hopes for genius, but is overwhelmingly delivered routine execution, all at a princely cost.

“So… what did I learn?”

The aesthetics aim for decadent refinement but settle in monochrome severity.

Service, though polished, can’t quite resurrect the desolately sparse atmosphere.

Food fares respectably in modest moments—but rarely, if ever, transcends.

Price remains eye‑watering, while satisfaction remains modest.

In short: Giannino Mayfair might impress your cousin’s bank account, but it is unlikely to enchant your palate. An evening at this establishment feels more like participating in a dramatic production—where the scenery outperforms the performers.

Fancy a more glowing alternative recommendation? I’d be delighted to suggest some true...

Fantastically expensive but indifferent service and unremarkable food. We paid over £800 for a table of four including two bottles of wine around the £80 a bottle mark. At that price you expect exceptional food and exceptional service but we got neither. -we waited fifteen minutes for our cocktails ("We have only one barman and we are very busy tonight"), -we had to ask for our wine glasses to be refilled whereas we expect an attentive waiter to note when glasses need to be refilled -after our third course they failed to clear the plates for about half an hour -we had to ask them to take our dessert choices as again, twenty minutes had passed since our last course with no-one asking what we would like for dessert.

Regarding the food, we enjoyed most of it but we had to ask for our aubergine starter to be heated up as it was lukewarm on arrival and the broccoli accompanying our main courses was also tepid and must have been sitting around before being delivered to our table. If we were paying say, Cote prices, fair enough but at £30+ per dish this was unacceptable.

The food itself was unexceptional. A so-so beef tartare, an underwhelming escalope milanese and a very bland set of desserts. Again, for the price you expect something exceptional.

We ate at the Ritz some months ago. Similar prices, believe it or not, but a fantastic experience both in terms of the food and in terms of the service.

We were left feeling...

Delicious food at justified price. Wonderful service and explanation of cocktails by sommelier.

We were greeted with some wonderful bread and amuse-bouche alongside our cocktails.

I very much enjoyed every course and they were all a reasonable size, to be fair I could have been fine without one of the courses but really wanted to try all these... Yellowfin tuna tartare- loved it the most! It was made and cut well, the flavours didn’t hide that fresh clean taste of the tuna.

Tonnarello Cacio e Pepe, Sea Urchin, Cocoa Beans and Lime- Wonderful blend of flavours, though can be quite heavy after the tuna, but well balance with the cheese and Unami flavour of the sea urchin. Lovely texture of nibs and al denté pasta.

Berbere Lamb Shoulder, Ceps, Thyme Potato Millefoglie, Sweet Pecorino Sauce - perfectly cooked so it’s close to pink, but not quite, so tender and fresh lamb taste. Really liked the millefoglie too!

Opera with liquorice ice cream - opera cake is my favourite, so had to try it as it’s on the menu. I enjoyed it, very tasty, but found it a little heavier in comparison to my usual. The ice cream was a wonderful surprise- tasted like toffee then had the nice liquorice after taste, but not overwhelming.

After all the food, we had petit four to close off the wonderful meal.

Thank you, definitely recommend to...