The City might be a world of underground dealing for some but despite its sub-terrain location Corney and Barrow at Monument sets the bar pretty high for the City of London’s chain bar scene.

The Venue
Descending down the stairs to Corney and Barrow at Monument, you’d be forgiven for thinking that you were about to enter a dark enclave a million miles away from the shining office spires and the flaming urn of Monument some 200 feet above you. Instead, you’re greeted by brightly-lit handcrafted glass panelling and smooth recessed handrails that lead you downstairs to the arched vaults of this cellar bar, where the exposed brick ceiling mixes effortlessly with the delicately finished cream walls and dark wood panelling. All of this is made into an intimate yet airy space by a mix of strategically placed up and down-lighters that gently reflect off the marble speckled floor.

A mosaic of golden mother of pearl offers a common theme along a feature wall stretching the length of the bar with natural effect up-lighting to the curving ceiling hidden behind a long bench-seat upholstered in a mix of stripes that would feel at home in any urbane City-gent’s suit lining. A small network of vaulted alcoves connected by louvre doors hold slightly raised wooden platforms, home to textured benches that provide additional seating along with a myriad of wood-grain laden tables, trimmed in a dark varnish matching the chairs. The gently lit black marble top bar, with its textured fascia sits comfortably in front of a ceiling-height alcove filled with rows of premium spirits, highlighting that in this subterranean wine bar a degree of drink diversification doesn’t go amiss.

The Atmosphere
The relaxed tones and subtle lighting deftly combine to produce an atmosphere that is serious enough for daytime client meetings over lunch, or relaxed enough for some well deserved glasses of Sancerre whilst discussing the latest sporting disasters and triumphs, as shown on the widescreen TVs dotted around the venue. Although Corney and Barrow at Monument is often quieter than its larger counterparts, the spirit of decadence persists and the underground location comes into its own when evening descends and the downlights are dimmed. Overall, Corney and Barrow at Monument offers an excellent location that flawlessly moves from a smart yet not overly formal space to dine and entertain by day, to an effortlessly chic City bar with an enjoyable vibe for carefree cavorting by night.

The Food
A range of hearty breakfasts are on offer from 7.30am, whether boiled eggs and soldiers, a Norfolk-cured bacon sarnie or the bar’s own pork sausage in a sandwich of thick farmhouse bread, all for £3.50. Healthier options are available, too, such as their homemade granola served drenched in Greek yoghurt for £4.95, and can be washed down with a range of fruit juices including pomegranate, cranberry and peach for £2.25.

The kitchen is clearly at its busiest come lunch time and the choice on offer reflects this with classic dishes such as own recipe bangers and mash for £10.95, or breaded cod goujon ‘fishfinger sandwich’ at £7.95.

The evening menu offers a slightly reduced choice of mains; but the bar-bites should still fill a hole with small individual dishes available for around £6. A platter-based medley of these snacks, including Thai-spiced chicken skewers, tempura prawns, veggie spring rolls, teriyaki salmon skewers, Cumberland sausage and spicy potato wedges are available for £16.95 to serve three or £32 if you need to feed 5-6.

The Drink
This chain has never had a reputation as being the place to go if you’re still waiting for your pay cheque to come through. This assumption is happily challenged by their red and white house wines. Unlike many of the other wines on offer, these are produced using a mixture of grapes rather than just one, arguably with better results. What these wines lack in pedigree they make up for in flavour and thankfully they only clock in at £15.25 for the bottle.

If you can afford to stray away from the house options then a plethora of choice awaits you in all the wine categories whether whites and reds (£17-£40 a bottle), rose (about £20 a bottle), fine wines (from £30-£130 a bottle) or Champagne, the latter of which is available in a variety of additional sizes.

As a wine bar, it is not entirely surprising that the choice of draught lager is limited to the £3.90 a pint Pilsner Urquell from the Czech Republic. Thankfully, the beer is always stored well and served perfectly chilled in a tall tapered glass that helps it maintain its character throughout the whole pint. Bottled beers help to bolster the choices for the wine-phobic with a range of International beers for around £3.80, including Hahn Premium from Australia, Kirin Ichiban from Japan or the German, crisp yet alcohol-free, Bitburger Drive. Classic cocktails such as a cosmo or dry martini are also available for under £8 and standard double measures of premium spirits are available for around £6.

The Last Word
With its blink-and-you-miss-it location, unique styling, intimate setting and a level of service only matched by its sister bars, Corney and Barrow at Monument is one of those places you think everyone should know about but are loathe to talk about in case it becomes too popular.

venue information venue map view london review user reviews (1) image gallery (1) book a table