Citypoint,
1 Ropemaker Street,
Moorgate,
London,
EC2V 0HR
(020) 7588 6700
The ViewLondon Review
Someone has tried quite hard to please with the design of Barola. It is designed to look low-key and expensive; it has pseudo posh charcuterie on display in a glass counter when you walk in, and the bar staff hover smilingly and willingly.
Unfortunately, the parts don’t quite add up, and, charming though my waitress was, I have to say Barola reminded me more of Mcdonald’s with wine glasses than a slice of class with my FT.
Perhaps the cluster of restaurants next to Citypoint feel too much like amenities that have mushroomed quickly for the office people in the glass tower to inspire any fondness.
The fact that it is in a kind of canteen mall doesn’t really help it to stand out either – you can’t possibly kid yourself that you were experiencing the cuisine and atmosphere of some hidden corner of the City if you are wedged in between a noodle bar and a chain restaurant.
It is decorated in a rather clodhopping way. Big fat browny burgundy pillars sprout from grey flagstones. The grey is rather dire, even though stone flagstones are doubtless trendy and expensive, and makes the floor resemble that of a municipal swimming pool changing room.
Dingy ochre walls are decorated with large pieces of tree trunk. Yes, tree trunk – circular cross sections of trunk, as if it had been sliced like a loaf of tree-toast. This looks attractive but it isn’t quite enough to lift the sombre tone of the rest.
The food on the menu is quite appetising, though not cheap (potato wedges come in at £3.95) and sticks pretty much to the Modern European side of things.
Starters tend to come in at around £4.50, Salad plates (which looked rather good actually) hover around the £8-£9 mark, and, although this seems somewhat steep, we think you may be prepared to pay it for delights such as Octopus Salad (Octopus, black olives, new potatoes, Sicilan cherry tomatoes, spring onions, roquette leaves with balsamic vinaigrette and Garlic bruchetta).
Mains vary from £10-£12 and are perfectly acceptable – if not particularly ground-breaking, but we were most interested in Barola’s combination boards – they resembled nothing more than exceedingly fancy ploughmans’ (indeed, one is called the Mediterranean Ploughman’s) and looked most delicious.
All in all, Barola’s menu is something perhaps targeted at the lunching exec rather than the “serious” diner (borne out, it seems, by their excellent, if slightly pricey – again – sandwiches) – but that shouldn’t stop you from sampling what they have to offer.
There is a decent wine list (which is described in slightly cringe-making phrases like: ‘A superfit performance from Pinot Noir’ and ‘Savour the dark berry flavours’ eagerness to please!’ Heavens, Watson, are they prize winning sheepdogs or wines?!).
It certainly offers reasonable cocktails and wines, and perhaps its brand new, slightly duracell powered atmosphere will mellow over time. At present, however, I would recommend it in passing only to those in the immediate vicinity.
Barola has been reviewed by 2 users