City brasserie with a touch of glass
New restaurant Devonshire Terrace has an elephant logo, so I was rather expecting a jungle theme - but The Rainforest Cafe this place certainly is not. It is a lovely, hidden City oasis.
Opposite Liverpool Street station, an alley you've probably never noticed leads to an office complex that surrounds the lofty, glass covered atrium which is Devonshire Terrace bar and brasserie.
The bar is a pleasant, heated, non-smoking terrace with a great view of the Gherkin. A drink here first is a must. But watch yourself - a glass of house white may only be £4 but the drinks list goes right up to Krug at £3,333 a bottle.
But the smart, modern brasserie inside is not just for Krug-swilling company directors. The menu is reasonably priced and includes familiar crowd pleasers such as steak, risotto and club sandwiches. Fancier starters, such as my friend's Cornish crab dressed with mango, avocado and cherry tomato sauce (£8.25), are a little more costly but the portions are hefty. My carpaccio of black Angus beef (£8.50) also went down rather well.
For mains, my friend had a Limousin veal chop on the bone (£16.50), which was so large it would have defeated Desperate Dan. We also ordered hand-cut chips (£3.50) to share but thought they lacked a bit of crunch. However, I had plenty of that in my crispy duck, watercress and coriander salad (£11.95).
The choccie fondant and raspberry vanilla creams (£5.50 each) we had for puds were lush but not as memorable as the mains and starters.
A real find - hunt down this oasis before the City bankers beat you to it.
Devonshire Terrace
30 Devonshire Square, EC2M 4WY
