Just a little skip from the heart of Covent Garden, this impressive restaurant might not be the most famous London has to offer, but it could well be the most romantic.

The Venue
With the wealth of restaurants in Covent Garden, there’s certainly competition, with the brilliant and bad and everything in between nearby. It’s perhaps surprising, then, that Clos Maggiore isn’t the best known of spots, but then it’s always those with the prettiest wife at home that need to shout loudest least. And this intoxicating little restaurant really is pretty, with a perfectly pleasant bar leading through to something approaching a midsummer night’s dream, where stars twinkle through the skylight, across a canopy of cherry blossom and into a dining room that looks every inch the modern take on a rustic French retreat. A dining room upstairs might be better suited to those without plans to gaze longingly into other sets of eyes (not the done thing at a business lunch, apparently) but for most diners that lush and low dining room with flora, open fire and quite ridiculous amount of charm will always be the plum spot.

The Atmosphere
It’s a special occasion kind of place, so expect a fair few glasses of champagne clinking as coupledom is exhibited in all its gushingly saccharine glory. And even though love’s young dream might be all too lucid for some to see, it’s still hard not to be swept along with it all, with that gorgeous setting just about the perfect spot in which to lay waste to all that carefully accumulated cynicism. The less romantic areas are still cosy and inviting, with a first floor dining room a touch more masculine and the ground floor bar a cracking little spot for reclining under the low lights with a decent bottle of wine.

The Food
Whilst not faultless, the predominantly French menu certainly impresses, with its heavy Gallic slant punctuated by ingredients whose grand geographical designations (Maine lobster, Iberico pig ribs, Gressingham duck breast) will no doubt keep the pedants happy, as well as justifying the relatively lofty prices.

The quality does indeed offer value, though, as an exceptional Devon crab starter (£11.50) illustrates beautifully. Not only does it look gorgeous, the combination of good quality crab, marjoram remoulade, avocado, slivers of apple and a few flecks of smoked anchovy mayonnaise works really well, even if a couple of cubes of grapefruit might be tartness too far for some. A pressed Scottish smoked salmon and herb pancake (£12.20) is something of a misnomer given that it’s more like a terrine, but the generous amount of excellent lobster with judicious lemon infusion make for another very good dish.

Roasted rib of Iberico pig (£19.90) certainly boasts the richness of flavour you would expect from these particular piggies, and the petit pois a la Francais (garlicky and buttery) and Alsace bacon jus complement it wonderfully. It is, though, a shame the meat itself is so insipid to the eye – grey’s not a good look for what’s actually a rich, vibrant dish. Oven roasted Elwy Valley lamb (fillet and confit belly - £19.50) looks much better and tastes every bit as good, with some wonderful texture from the cuts of lamb, some brilliantly rich snails, and a lamb jus light enough to bring together all those robust flavours pretty darn well.

A very good cheeseboard (the Epoisses, Cashel Blue and Wigmore are particularly fine - £8.90) is a pretty good way to finish but for those with sweeter teeth an excellent English rhubarb Eton mess (a great combination of sweet tartness and meringue chew - £7), or a suitably boozy, dark and coffee-kicking tiramisu (£8.50) are well worth the guilt.

The Drink
The (award-winning) wine list weighs a ton, so no doubt it will divide opinion between those that love to thumb their way through these things and those who just find it all a tad confusing. Thankfully for the latter there are some sommelier selections to the front of the tome that offer a pretty good range, and a decent indicator of the bins available to those happy to delve deeper. France is very well represented, as you would expect, but there are plenty of other old world options, as well as a fair few new worlds too, with even Mexico and Brazil getting a look in. The list really is huge, but a crisp and floral 2009 Chilean Viognier from Arboleda Marsanne (£37) is flexible enough to work with many of the lighter dishes and a 2010 Jean-Claude Boisset Les Ursulines Pinot Noir (£42) offers a balanced match for some of the more robust, meatier mains.

The Last Word
This impossibly charming restaurant might be the perfect spot for doe-eyed dears but it shouldn’t just be left to the sappy sorts - this is a fine little restaurant, for lovers and losers in love alike.

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