Combining modern British food with a history of London theme and business-traveller vibe, Londinium is trying hard to be more than just a hotel restaurant, but it feels stuck between worlds.

The Venue
Londinium is on the lower ground floor of the London Bridge Hotel, barely two minutes’ walk out of London Bridge station. It has a distinctly business feel, with its adjoining doors onto conference rooms, decorated in a smart but fussy, heavy style. There are crisp white tablecloths, dark red and dark wood chairs and framed prints of London through the ages on the walls.

The Atmosphere
Londinium’s clientele is mainly business travellers staying in the hotel. Except for the smooth-crooners background music, the restaurant is calm and quiet, and fellow diners are likely to be businessmen dining alone or corporate groups. It’s comfortable, conservative, and the atmosphere is pleasant in a sort of non-descript way. The service is quick and the staff are keen and friendly – perhaps because of the high staff-to-customer ratio.

The Food
Londinium’s menu is British-inspired with nods to local and seasonal produce. Dishes are fairly conservative and the attempts to jazz them up with more unusual ingredients make for mixed results. For starters, pea soup with sesame-toasted cod (£7.90) is herby and fresh, with a slightly starchy consistency. The cod is thick and meaty, served in the middle of the soup, but the flavour is a bit bland. It’s great with the rolls from the bread board, which are served warm and come with a really strong, addictively garlicky herb butter. Scallops with rhubarb (£7.50) is a strange-tasting combination; the three scallops are very well cooked, crisp on both sides and with a delicately fishy, slightly sweet flavour, but the sour, stewed rhubarb really doesn’t add to it. They’re nicely presented though in a creamy sauce on a large shell with plenty of watercress.

Main courses are fairly traditional too and prices range from £12 to £16. The rib eye steak (£16.50) is enormous and juicy, with a strong grilled taste. It’s served with snails on top, which are naked in the sense of being out of their shells but also lacking in seasoning, so they’re earthy, slightly bitter-tasting and chewy. The garlic mash potato is lovely though, light, smooth and creamy, and the dish is accompanied by a surprisingly thin, slightly vinegary cream sauce. Lamb with samphire and broad beans (£15.90) is a real winner. Cooked just right, the lamb is young and tender, offset by the minty, sea-like taste of the beans and slightly crisp samphire, and pot-roasted block of potato. Side dishes of steamed vegetables and dressed salad are also generously portioned and very fresh.

If you’ve still got room for dessert after the hearty main courses, lemon posset with cinnamon figs (£7.50) is lovely, creamy, with sweet zesty citrus. It’s served with sticky fresh fig slices which taste rather woody. Plum creme brulee (£6.50) is rich and crackly; it’s supposed to be accompanied by greengage compote is substituted instead for a berry compote which still contains hard crystals of sugar.

The Drink
Glasses of wine from the concise but global wine list range from £5.30 - £8.20, and a bottle will cost between £16.20 and £30. The Estancia Cabernet Sauvignon is slightly spiced and intense, whilst delicate Canti Catarratto Chardonnay goes well with fish dishes. A selection of bourbons, cognacs, Port and liqueurs are available from £4, and spirits with mixers range from £4.50 to £7.50. Mineral water, soft drinks and juices cost from £2 to £2.75. Coffees are served with handmade chocolate petits fours, which are a nice touch.

The Last Word
Londinium is certainly smart and the food is high quality and well prepared, but the menu’s attempt to dress up conservative dishes with unusual ingredients doesn’t always work. Although its corporate atmosphere and lack of street presence make it make it more suited to hotel guests than anyone else, Londinium has the kind of comfortable, reliable quality that guests want from a hotel restaurant after a long day.

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