The Franklin Restaurant by Alfredo Russo in Kensington and Chelsea

What a hidden gem! We came here for dinner and were extremely impressed by the food - we had 2 spectacular salads followed by the crab pasta and then tiramisu (all delicious). Our lovely waiter (whose name we sadly didn't catch!) provided impeccable service and we had a really wonderful evening, feeling very looked after the entire time. We will definitely be back as lots of other lovely things on the menu to try!

The absolute best italian we've ever had! The quality of ingredients and service are amazing. The details put into preparation and service are incredible. We had the veal tortellini, beet salad with grilled goat cheese, gnocchi, wine, and dessert. The venue is beautiful. Even the bread was on display. It came in a warmed ceramic dish shaped like hands presenting your food. The whole experience felt elegant. Great place for a nice evening out. I can not say enough. We will return here every time we are in London.

Absolutely fantastic service, ambience and food. We were able to eat peacefully in a comfortable lounge area and were not rushed at all. Food was amazing both in flavour and presentation. Portion sizes were generous- we managed to leave room for dessert and were given some lovely truffles and petit fours as a birthday treat. Highly recommend- we will return!

I went there for dinner - food was absolutely amazing and the service was excellent. Thank you for a great evening.

Fantastic experience with very professional and warm services by Florian. Very decent food and comfortable environment. But obviously it is Florian and his team’s service that create such a memorable experience. Will lovely to revisit again!

Excellent food and service. Have only had breakfast so far but will certainly enjoy dinner soon at the Michelin star restaurant.

Amazing dinner at the Franklin, a real hidden gem in knightsbridge! Probably the best restaurant in the area! Lobster and panzanella, the risotto and the duck! Superbly made! Super! Thanks and see you soon

Second time here, you are on my list now , great food, great service, great experience. Artichoks creme brulee, the fassona with smoked hazelnut and I MUST say... The tiramisù with the peppercirn ice cream is amazing! See you again soon

I must say a restaurant with an elegant ambiance, excellent service and fantastic foods! I was really impressed with the exquisite cuisine with the perfect presentation and lovely staff especially the manager, Mattia who is really professional in making sure everything was taken care of☺️ 10/10. Highly recommended!

Today we visited The Franklin Restaurant for our anniversary. It was an absolutely amazing experience. The food was great. We had for starter panzanella and deep fried egg(fabulous). Middle course we share spaghetto vongole. For main course I was served duck breast. It was a staggering meal, one of the best pieces of meat I’ve ever had. For dessert “Il viaggio di Marco Polo”, phenomenal dessert. It also come with an exceptional presentation. The chef surprised us by writing Happy Anniversary on the plates. It was by far one of the best experiences in a restaurant. I thank Chef Roberto for his care over the dishes and for going to each table at the end of the dinner to ask if everything was okay. It is clear that how much professionalism there is in his work. And the service taken care of in every single detail by the Manager Mattia. It is an absolute recommendation!

amazing culinary experience. Kudos to the chef, he made an amazing menu,thank you for the great food.

Extraordinary restaurant! Great food - delicious and original for all courses. Italian cooking applied creatively. The decor is stylish and the people that work here are really gracious. This is truly a hidden gem, and imho the best restaurant in knightsbridge right now

Absolutely wonderful full courses dinner, amazing menu congratulations chef! Immaculate service !

We were not staying at the hotel, which looked lovely, but found the restaurant with a little online research. We were so glad we did. It is a first class Italian dining experience. We had many courses including dessert, and they all were outstanding. Our server, the cocktails, the wine recommendations along with the beautiful setting all made for a fantastic evening. My wife and I could not believe our good fortune to have stumbled upon such a lovely, intimate restaurant. If you find yourself in the Kensington/Knightsbridge area looking for a fine dining experience, set yourself up for an engagement at The Franklin. You will not be disappointed.

Empty restaurant with pretentious staff and ridiculous prices. Zero atmosphere.

Very nice place for an afternoon tea.

Amazing experience, the celeriac as vegan main, is unbelievable!!! Shame that is not fully booked, it could help the atmosphere

After I heard about the change in the kitchen, I decide to try and I have been really surprise to find such a high standards restaurant, prawns and chickpeas, agnolotti and lamb were amazing, no space for the dessert....for sure I will come back to try!

We booked afternoon tea for the day of our small wedding. All of us were very pleased with the service, beautiful decor, and most importantly amazing food. It was very delicious, and very creative All of us were having afternoon tea for the first time - it was an outstanding experience. Our special thanks for all staff members that were very warm and friendly - you truly made our day great.

We booked a reservation online for afternoon tea. My daughter and I were really excited to experience the Alice in Wonderland afternoon tea at the Franklin. The reservation was for 6.30; we arrived at the restaurant taking a detour just for this experience to be told by the manager himself that the afternoon tea is only between 2 and 4pm but the website allows you to book afternoon tea all day long. All the manager could say was that it wasn't their fault because there is a tiny mention at the bottom of one page that afternoon tea can be booked only between the hours of 2 and 4pm. We weren't offered anything for this confusion, just been told repeatedly that it wasn't their fault. So much for good customer service. We will never book a reservation to this restaurant if this is the way they treat their customers.

cena con amici perfetta , siamo stati benissimo, servizio completo e impeccabile, menu interessante e da come aspettative tutto buonissimo cinque stelle meritate

Sono venuto a cena con la mia famiglia, ottimo servizio e accoglienza, cena gourmet buonissima soprattutto la meringata al limone.

Cibo buono, location fantastica!

Lo chef Russo non si smentisce mai, abbinamenti eccezionali, piatti ben strutturati e equilibrati. Personale di sala preparato e professionale

Ho cenato in questo ristorante, il servizio e tutti i piatti sono stati spettacolari. In futuro, sicuramente ci tornerò Grazie ancora

Io e la mia ragazza Abbiamo cenato ieri sera,un ambiente molto affascinante,super top,buon servizio,ma quello che ci ha colpito di più è stata la degustazione consigliata dallo Chef, indimenticabile, bravi.

Son rimasto piacevolmente sorpreso soprattutto dalla location, un magnifico hotel nel cuore di Londra Tutto buone le portate firmate alfredo russo!

Ottima accoglienza, servizio e qualità del cibo

We had an amazing experience at The Franklin, a little gem hidden in the heart of London. The cuisine is great and very tasty, and the service was excellent. Definitely will come back.

We had a wonderful experience at the Alice in Wonderland afternoon tea at the Franklin! The staff was very welcoming, and the service was very warm and friendly. The food was absolutely adorable. The theme was subtle enough that adults wouldn't feel out of place or like they were at a childish tea, but there were enough on-theme elements taht my 9 year old daughter was delighted. The food was overall quite good -- the carrot cupcake was dry, but other than that everything was perfect. We did have trouble getting refills for our water glasses (it was during the heatwave, so we were thirsty!), and we weren't offered additional pots of tea (although I knew in advance not to necessarily expect that).

Alice in wonderland afternoon tea set. Taste very good. However, we thought there might be some decoration related to the theme but there wasn't.

After a long day, we came across the restaurant by luck. We had arrived at 5pm local time and could therefore only choose from the small menu. The food and service were excellent. I would especially like to mention the homemade tiramisu, which was one of the best. Many thanks to the team for a pleasant stay.

Overrated. Very expensive for the size of the portions. Slow service with an empty restaurant and food was lukewarm. Zero atmosphere.

Lovely staff and service, had a great time at our afternoon tea

We went for a soft opening and from the minute we entered we felt rushed the excuse being...the restaurant was too busy so in the three hours that we were there it was never full Infact it was embarrassingly empty for a Saturday evening. Anyway as for the food we had the steak tartar and octopus both extremely disappointing hardly any flavour. For main we had the Dover sole...let me tell you the portion was so tiny that even a child would leave feeling hungry. Poor desserts too. Service was OK but it felt we were constantly rushed so the food arrived cold as obviously the kitchen had made our next courses whilst we hadn't finished the previous. I would definitely not pay full price Infact it was a rip off even with the discount. Expected so much more.

A nice place to spend on Sunday afternoon for bowling !

Excellent experience for any Alice in Wonderland fan. Coupled with a visit to the curious exhibition at the V&A

Good service. Waiter's was excellent thanks for your service 👍

This was my first ever afternoon tea experience and boy was it amazing! I had the Jssmine tea and my husband had the Earl Grey. Both were lovely. The savory sandwiches were inventive and delicious. And I'm a picky eater! Scones were flaky and clotted cream yummy. The cakes were moist and tasty. I will definitely be back to try their normal restaurant menu as this was so good.

Always love to stay there it's a little hiding gem of a hotel

Amazing really helpful staff. Sorted our booking and last minute amendments. Afternoon tea was a real treat

Superb food, beautiful surroundings, surprisingly reasonably priced. Just a bit quiet if you want a bit more ambience but we loved the restaurant and food. It's a shame it doesn't have more people eating there, that's all!

Imaginative and Delicious The 18 vegetable soup is a must, the work involved must be tremendous, flavour sublime. Service with true Italian flair attentive yet unobtrusive service A very good value lunch menu £33 for 3 courses for first rate Michelin starred Italian food. I had not heard of the chef before but will look him out from now on. I understand their sister hotel The Pelham offers a Trattoria by the same chef

A wonderful menu from an incredible Italian chef. The menu was well thought out and the food authentic and flavorful. We left satisfied and wanting to go back again.

Très bon accueil au restaurant où nous avons passé à chaque repas un agréable moment, durant notre séjour à l’hôtel. Nous avons pu prendre notre temps à table pour savourer de bons petits plats mijotés par le chef italien sans être pressés par le personnel. Et le tout en profitant de la vue sur le parc !

Clearly this restaurant has asked friends to write reviews. Don't believe a word. We had to ask up to 3 x for every single piece of service: the wine took an hour and three requests to come, then we had to ask to have our food order taken, then for butter to go with our bread, then for drink top ups through the meal.. and on it went. We received our meals 2.5 hours after arrival - but not all the meals. One had been forgotten. We ordered one desert but gave up waiting and left before it arrived. They weren't in the slightest bit apologetic at any stage. When I asked if we could please have faster service they replied by saying 'well everyone is complaining that they want faster service but we're too busy so we will just have to see what we can do'! There were only three tables of guests in the restaurant. Knowing we were unhappy too no comfort . The three staff were missing in action all night and when they did make brief appearances they looked like it was their first night on the job. Even the food was very average. They claim they have a Michelin star but I looked this up after returning home and cannot see any evidence of this. They offered us a discount for next time but they'd have to pay us to return. A massive disappointment from the moment we entered the hotel.

I was amazed at the quality of food and impeccable service provided here. One of the better meals I have been served anywhere in the world. Truly world class and I recommend this highly. The manager Danilo recommended wines pared with each service and they were spot on. Service was great and I will be back.

We tried the Franklyn Restaurant for the first time, really curious to try the new menu designed by chef Alfredo Russo and his crew. We have been cleverly recommended by Danilo, the restaurant manager, explained us the dishes with mastery and knowledge. Suffering from food allergies and intolerances, I received extreme attention. Being Italian, one of the best restaurants in London: great service, beautiful and tasty dishes and excellent value for money.  Overall a wonderful experience, to be repeated.

We stayed at The Franklin and were able to eat breakfast almost every day, dinner twice and hang out at the bar a few times. Food and drink were delicious. They never rushed us even when we showed up a little late. Great service and very accommodating.

Quiet and secluded place, beautiful inside with a very nice garden view. Food outstanding and the chef even popped out to introduce himself. Will definitely be back next time I am in London

So many times I have been in England (I live in the US) and many times I haven't been able to stop in Italy, specially Torino to try my favorite food. I have been able to experience Alfredo's restaurant in Torino but never the one in London. What a better reason than my 40th birthday? The restaurant is located at the Franklin Hotel in the heart of London. Beautifully decorated and exceptional service, I was able to taste Mirko's culinary faithful execution of Alfredo's style at perfection. The best way to prove that was asking an off the menu sampling in the same way I eat at Alfredo's restaurant in Torino. The food was exquisite and I left with the satisfaction that next time I return to England and I'm not able to go to Italy, I know now that there's a little piece of Torino in the heart of London. I will return for more.

Lovely meal and a drink . Friendly atmosphere

Planned a special dinner for a Family gathering and i was fully satisfied with the quality, service and attention for each detail. Outstanding

This is a review of The Franklin Restaurant by Alfredo Russo. I was initially interested in their "Designer of Dreams" afternoon tea which offered tickets to the sold out Dior exhibition at the near by V&A museum. Unfortunately, tickets were no longer available in association with the afternoon tea when I wanted to book, but the set dinner menu looked very inviting so we opted to go for that instead. I had also read that the head barman would discuss likes/dislikes and create a special cocktail for you to try but when we went, there had just been a change. The new mixologist had arrived just 2 weeks previously & was still creating his drinks menu so we ordered from the existing bar menu & liked what we had. He did ask what my daughter liked & from just the 1 liqueur that she mentioned, he produced something "new" for her to try which she thoroughly enjoyed. The bar area was small, but cosy with a nice view of the central shared communal garden. It was too cold to go outside for drinks but I think you can do that when the weather is good. We had a lovely time chatting with the barman and spent a good 45 mins at the bar before moving to the restaurant. For dinner, we opted for the 3 course set dinner with a glass of house wine, this was very good value for quality food (to be expected of course in a Michelin star restaurant). We had more than just a 3 course meal though, there was bread & wonderful butter, then Amuse Bouche as well as starter, mains & dessert. I had the Hen tortelli which was excellent, for mains, the slow cooked veal was exceedingly melt in the mouth & for dessert, I asked if I could have the Zabaione from the A La Carte menu instead of the 3 available choices on the set menu and was kindly provided with my request. The Moscato “zabaione” was rewardingly rich & then there was Petit Fours!! Overall, I would highly recommend The Franklin restaurant & perhaps next time, will try one of their afternoon teas, it seems they often create theme menus to coincide with exhibitions at the museum.

We had two meals in the restaurant, dinner and breakfast. First dinner. It really is a lovely restaurant, although quite small, so you can hear everything other patrons are saying. Fortunately, there were only a handful of people in the restaurant, so it worked well. If it is ever busy, I suspect it would be exceptionally loud. Things improved for us when the table behind us went off to the bar. The most irritating part was being handed the a la carte menu. Why? Because on the website there is a good value (£45 inc a glass of wine) three course fixed price menu, and we had to ask to see it. I find that really dispiriting: I do not want to be made to feel like the poor relation by the staff. I go to a lot of restaurants, and the only other time this happened to me was at the Real Greek on Bankside. So shame on you for not handing it out to everyone. The fixed price menu has about half of the main menu, as well as an excellent amuse bouche, and a really nice glass of house wine. However, depending on how you order, you could come out delighted or disappointed. I started with the Octopus, which is served on a big bed of foam (this is a feature, the foam, of a lot of dishes) - I really hate having to salt my food, but it was beyond bland. Oh yes, guess what, this one of those restaurants where you have to ask for salt and pepper because chef knows best. My wife, on the other hand, had the Hen Tortelli which was just amazing. For mains, she had sea bass, which was bland and disappointing. I could have done a much better job at home with the same ingedients I had the slow-cooked veal, which by contrast, was to die for, So between us, we had one fantastic meal. For pudding we had cheese at a small supplement. Two very bland cheeses, but the soft cheese was, again, amazing Service was pretty dreadful. There were a couple of waitresses serving about 6 diners, but they always seemed to be making work for themselves somewhere else. We ordered a bottle of wine at one point, and the waitress must have nipped out to the local off licence, it took so long. Still, I might have been tempted for a 4 star rating, as we enjoyed a number of elements of the meal, and as we had a 15% discount for booking through Expedia, it was good value for a meal in London And then there was breakfast. Again, service pretty slow, if pleasant. But, frankly, useless. I ordered a full english with scrambled egg. Two ridiculously overcooked fried eggs turned up. Bizarrely, it is served in a hot iron skillet, so everything seems to be overcooked. I sent it back, and having watched my plate be returned to the dining room and given to someone else (!), I did get some very good scrambled egg. My wife ordered the poached egg and bacon. What arrived was a poached egg in a large pot, in a cheese foam, with cold cream cheese at the bottom. Some crispy pancetta was on the top. It was inedible, so was asked for just a poached egg on a plate with bacon, "like a cut-down English Breakfast". What came back was almost identical to the first dish (photo attached). It was only asking for a third time that we actually got poached eggs (on toast), with some bacon. This took forever, and meant we basically ate breakfast in shifts. Also (first world problem), I ordered filter coffee which is on the menu, and got Americano, even though I specifically asked not to have one, as it is a weak and meaningless drink. Trust me, filter coffee does not have foam on top, as mine did. It was only on my third cup (we were there that long) that the waitress accidentally dropped that it was an Americano. It's supposed to be a 5* hotel, but as I put in my hotel review, it really isn't five star service. Stupid, irritating, lack of attention to detail. On checkout from the hotel, we were asked how we enjoyed our stay, so we went through the breakfast saga: "Ok, I'll put it in the book", we were told. Anywhere else I have ever stayed and had a problem like this, there has always been small gesture like "oh so sorry, we'll only charge you for one breakfast". I think the restaurant is run as a separate profit centre (we had to pay the hotel separately at check-in for breakfast, which was stupid), so they probably aren't allowed to comp any of the food or drink. Which leaves a sour taste in the mouth. Bottom line? Choose wisely for dinner, and have a great meal. For breakfast, probably just stick to the buffet for a stress-free experience, or better, vote with your feet and wander down to Gail's at South Ken tube. Cheaper and better.

The franklin restaurant has excellent food. Many dishes can easily compete with top Michelin restaurant in london. Beautiful presentation and taste. The restaurant however has a very boring wine list. I would suggest to bring your own wine.

Very disappointed. (We’ve also done The Berkeley fashion afternoon tea - which was sublime). Really poor food quality and service. A soggy choux. A tasteless fois gras (too many fillers to be able to taste the fois gras). A grey soggy bottomed mushroom tart the...

Food and service were excellent. These are proper culinary creations, the presentation is stunning, the quality of the material very high. My guests never had a braised veal cheek so tender! Mirko the chef, Marco Bucciarelli, Salvatore and Andrea were fantastic. What a night. On...

Ottimo ristorante italiano nel centro di Knightsbridge a due passi dal Victoria and Albert museum. Sono stato per pranzo, menù lunch competitivo e con una buona selezione di piatti italiani. Servizio cordiale e conto in linea con la location. Ci tornerò sicuramente.

Great experience at the Franklin by Alfredo Russo, Amazing food, great service!!

Five star service, gorgeous afternoon tea.

Christian Dior afternoon tea definitely not haute couture. Frozen bread for sandwiches not good! I think they defrosted them in microwave which made cheese and smoked salmon slimey! The patisserie was lovely.

Great pasta, great dessert and great service. Very under the radar. I will return.

un muy buen lugar. debes volver cuantas veces puedas.

Very nice It's a must try place in Chelsea Great cocktails

The Hotel is just elegant and cosy with only 35 rooms. The service is impeccable and the Italian Chef is just preparing excellent dishes. Very good location but hidden from the London Traffic. Hamman to be experienced.

Been here more than once. Quality food, elegant, discreet, glamorous and great service. Perfect if you like to taste amazing food with all the glamour of a 5 stars hotel and the calm of a private club.

Wonderful Italian food by a Michelin star chef. On our last night in London, we were too tired to eat out, so we reluctantly ordered room service. What a delightful surprise! It was one of the best meals we had during our five-night stay. On...

Stylish, excellent service and great cocktails made in very artistic way by Salvatore!! one of the best cocktail bar in London.

Stylish, excellent service and great cocktails made in a very artistic way by Salvatore!! one of the best cocktail bar in London.

You can obviously expect amazing pasta, but the lamb was to die for, same for desserts. The chef offer a sophisticated touch in a charming atmoshpere. Staff is very attentive and they were great dealing with dietary and allergies issues

Looked fabulous on Website and it is indeed a good looking restaurant in a classy boutique hotel. The fact tha5 we got an 8:30pm table having only booked 2 days prior should have rang an alarm bell! When we arrived we were shown right to...

My god, what a lovely experience. From the service to the food quality, presentation. High end Italian food, good wine list and a lovely maitre Mr Andrea Stroccio who looked after us. We will for sure be back when again in London

Fine dining with old friends in London. Great dishes, good wine and excellent service. You should definitely try the Franklin restaurant as soon as you'll be in Chelsea. And try also the bean soup with fois gras.

We booked afternoon tea for 2 - it was a birthday treat from my daughter. Booked for 2.30 because we did not want to have lunch and a tea - so glad we only had tea - there was so much food for 2 people...

Amazing hotel, Superb atmosphere, professional staff, however what makes me coming back to the hotel is the bar. Small and cute, with a lovely outside space. Salvatore, the bar manager is amazing, one of the most professional person i ever meet. He won't simply give...

Great restaurant, food and service Attentive staff, welcoming, excellent table. Great sélection of wines Definitely to be recommended

Been at the Franklyn Restaurant by Alfredo Russo for our anniversary we had really a great restaurant experience. All food was delicious, the "Tortino di Melanzane" was fantastic and so the "Fassona al Tartufo" as a main course. The service very attentive and professional. The...

We had an evening business meeting at this restaurant and their service is impecable. Ensuring you are not disturbed but very well looked after with great food and wine recommendations. The bar is a wonderful place to have pre-dinner or after dinner aperitif drinks.

The Franklin Restaurant by Alfredo Russo is beautifully decorated, offers classic Italian cuisine with modern interpretations - very attentive staff and great service.

I visited this beautiful restaurant following a recommendation from a work colleague, and I cannot praise high enough! Professional and naturally friendly service combined with light and yet immensely tasty and interesting dishes! The highlights for us were the octopus starter with potato foam and...

The Franklin has the most wonderful bar - As a gin drinker Salvatore - Bar Manager is wonderful at recommending the perfect after work drink. My next visit will be to try a gin and cheese pairing which will be a amazing

gorgeous little Italian restaurant in the heart of Knightsbridge, a few steps from Harrods. The polenta and mushroom starter was a delight but my favourite was the slow cooked veal, it mealt in the mouth and was one of the most flavoursome meat dishes I...

I went to the The Franklin Hotel for dinner around March with my boyfriend. We both loved the atmosphere in there! The food is just delicious, plus, the location is great too.

Can't recommend this restaurant enough! The chef was able to not only adequately, but impressively amend parts of the menu to be vegan friendly and it was without doubt some of the best gourmet food I have ever had. The grounds which you can view...

I went to the Franklin for a work dinner and it was fantastic. The service was impeccable and the food was outstanding. I have already recommended it to anyone who is looking to dine or stay in the area. My steak with truffle was out...

My wife and I came for dinner to celebrate our anniversary. First and foremost we walked into a beautifully designed hotel and restaurant, and were warmly greeted by a professional and friendly team. We were very thrilled and surprise by the culinary experience from the...

This is still a well-kept secret but (and I have mixed feelings about this) I suspect it won’t be for much longer. This is the most authentic northern Italian restaurant in the UK. The cuisine, with a Piedmontese/Lombard bias, is quite elaborate and perhaps best...

Congratulation to Chef Alfredo Russo!! One of the best in London.

Beautiful building from the outside. It was relatively quiet on a Tuesday afternoon. Maybe one or two more tables occupied. We had pre-booked afternoon tea. It is normally a special experience /treat in a hotel of this standard. The service was completely dis-organised, and useful...

I visited The Franklin Hotel London for a special occasion with my family and I can say I witnessed a truly cuisine experience made by the Head Chef Mirko. Every single dish was particular and full of flavour, made with an ingredient that nowadays is...

This establishment has only recently been granted a licence allowing it to receive non-hotel patrons. As such it should now have a TA listing separate from the hotel. We were there for Christmas Day and the food was amongst the best we’ve had all year....

Discreetly tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Knightsbridge though seconds from the high street and what some may call the most salubrious part of central London a visit here is an excellent low key way to start off an evening before moving on...