Harry's Bar - Marylebone, London

It's no secret that Caprice Holdings has the Midas touch and the group's newest launch - Harry's Bar in Marylebone's James Street - is no exception. Following on from Harry's Dolce Vita in Knightsbridge, Harry's Bar shares the classic Italian menu orchestrated by chef Diego Cardoso (formerly head chef of Murano) and a similar Midtown Manhattan ambience. We visited for lunch on a bright and sunny Thursday afternoon and were duly impressed with the staff, the room, the cooking and the cocktails. 

The dining room is a masterwork of dark woods, with parquet flooring, wooden wall and ceiling panelling and a gorgeous oaken bar in the entryway, hemmed in by brass-stemmed barstools and draped over with brass-chained pendant lighting. The walls are adorned with eclectic and colourful objets d'art, with illuminated by mid-century modern sconces. We settled into comfy burnt sienna banquettes and availed ourselves of the cocktail menu, startingoff with a round of bellinis as Harry's Bar is named for the Venice original where the cocktail was invented. Suffice to say, they didn't disappoint in the slightest. In fact, it's the best we've tried in the capital. 

Chef Cardoso has created a menu that doesn't shy from red sauce stereotypes, delivering Italian comfort food that succeeds on all fronts. Must-order selections from the cicchetti section include the truffle arancini, zucchini fritti with herbed yoghurt and an exceptional pizzetta with raw tuna, truffle citrus dressing, tomatoes and basil. Of the pastas, we were smitten with the gratinated white truffle tagliolini and an intense linguine vongole. Of the mains, the veal parmesan is an absolute beauty and there are plenty of pizzas to choose from. Harry's does some of the best sundaes in the city but if you want a talking point / Instagram dessert, you have to go for Harry's Porcini, a miniature toadstool made from meringue. 

For anyone wanting high-class but no-fuss Italian cuisine, Harry's Bar is almost too good to be true. As such, we wouldn't be surprised to see it proliferate in the same way that The Ivy has.

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