Burro is Italian for butter, and Conor Gadd has not tried to be subtle about it. The veal is cooked in it, the sole is cooked in it, the potatoes arrive in garlic butter and the tiramisu comes as a doughnut. His first restaurant of his own opened on 11 March 2026 in Floral Court, the cobbled courtyard off Floral Street.
Sixteen years of Trullo
Gadd is Irish, and his London career has run through one address. He joined Trullo as head chef shortly after it opened at Highbury Corner in 2010, the trattoria that seeded a generation of pasta cooks, Padella among them. He became managing director in 2022 and remains a co-owner. Burro is what happens when one of its longest-serving cooks finally gets his own room. It is a little more refined and relaxed than Trullo, and the pitch is Italian cooking with Irish hospitality. Both cultures, handily, think a meal is a reason to stay.
“Both cultures believe that a meal is a reason to stay, and that butter is not a garnish.”
The room
Floral Court was home to The Petersham, and the layout is the same, though warmer and more traditional now, with tablecloths and generous spacing between tables. Lisa Helmanis of DAY Studio set the brief as an Irish country house kitchen crossed with a 1950s Italian bistro, and delivered timber floors, banquettes, pleated wall lamps and a curved panelled bar. The result is a beautiful, airy space with easy West End glamour. The terrace should make a fine lunch when the weather behaves, and the courtyard itself feels like an oasis from Covent Garden's bustle.
What to order
Start with the fried baby artichokes and bottarga, a fine beer snack with a crunch like vegetarian calamari fritti. The caponata is silky and rich in pine nuts. The duck and porcini ragu pasta is the dish to point at, a standout in the spirit of Trullo. Vitello al burro is the signature, a veal Milanese fried and finished in butter, and the lemon sole in prosecco and caviar sauce is just as buttery. The Roseval potatoes come with sage and garlic.
Then the doughnuts. The tiramisu bombolone is a must: ricotta dough rolled in sugar and crushed ladyfingers, served with coffee and marsala zabaglione. It sounds like a cultural car crash and turns out to be delicious.
Some plates divide the table. The chicken liver toast is the most polarising dish, a thick grey slab for offal lovers only. The ceiling spotlights, inherited from the previous tenant, are harsh, and the duck ragu can run a touch dry. The room is big and less intimate than Trullo, so let the menu, which changes twice a day, supply the warmth. The focaccia is excellent, and a rhubarb granita with vanilla cream is the lighter finish if a doughnut feels like too much.
Drinks
The Italian wine list runs from classic producers to natural ones, with a long Champagne roster. The Marsala Martini, made with thirty-year-old marsala, is among London's best new martinis, and the Donkey's Kick, a whiskey, chartreuse, lime and poitin blend, nods to Gadd's roots.
Order the artichokes while you read the menu, and save space for a doughnut.
- The vibe
- Airy Floral Court dining room: tablecloths, banquettes, courtyard terrace, Trullo's warmth with West End polish.
- The food
- Fried artichokes with bottarga, duck and porcini ragu, vitello al burro, tiramisu doughnuts.
- The drink
- Italian-led wine list; Marsala Martini, or the Donkey's Kick with poitin.
- A tip
- Order the artichokes early, book via SevenRooms, and ask about the terrace for lunch.
