The Club Bar and Dining is a modern, bustling restaurant, perfect for professionals looking for a fairly priced, competently cooked meal in a relaxed and stylish setting.

The Venue
The Club Bar and Dining has the urban-chic look with bare bricks, hard lines, open kitchen and is lit by the modern equivalent of chandeliers. There’s a mixture of dark dining tables and higher, informal stools and benches. Specials are written on the mirrors, which hang close to the ceiling, making reading them a bit of a mission. Downstairs is the cocktail bar, which is kitted out with padded booths, purple walls and murky down lighting.

The Atmosphere
The Club Bar and Dining is a lively place for a professional men and women. As the night progresses the volume of chatter increases and you’ll find that drinkers from downstairs spill out into the rear of the restaurant. The staff are friendly and manage to be attentive without pestering. However, if you’re not wearing a suit you’re likely to be viewed with a degree of bemusement by staff and diners alike. Some waiting staff are not as familiar with the menu as they should be, which can make asking questions about the food a little difficult.

The Food
Once you’ve slogged through the fragmented and slightly confusing menu at the The Club Bar and Dining, you’re going to be in for a treat, unless you’re a veggie because you’ll be having a salad. You’ll find the starter of squid in a marinade of mild red chilli with mixed leaves, artichoke hearts and soft cannellini beans cooked until just tender. Alternatively a starter described as simply ‘pork knuckle’, turns out to be a salty pork knuckle, slow cooked to fall apart in your mouth and vegetable terrine. This, when served with slightly charred toast, works really well.

A main of beef fillet, hitting the £20 mark, with bone marrow and potato and garlic puree, is moistened by a light reduction. This is presumably made from deglazing the pan in which the fillet is cooked. The meat itself is what you expect from fillet steak; tender enough not to warrant a steak knife and lifted by the pungent puree. However, fans of rich roasted bone marrow will be disappointed with the four limp, tasteless pieces of jelly that adorn the beef. Another main course of whole sea bass (£17) comes presented on a large wooden chopping board coated in lemon butter. With a dish like this there’s a risk of overpowering the white flesh, but this is well balanced.

For dessert (£5) the chocolate creme brulee is light and comes with three crumbly, coffee-infused shortbread biscuits. The crumble, filled with smooth pureed apple, could do with a touch of cinnamon, and is accompanied by a scoop of ice cream spiced with cardamom. However, this isn’t stipulated on the menu and is a pleasant surprise. Other dessert choices include a thick, cakey brownie served with bitter dark chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream, and a cheese board made up of soft, creamy British and Irish cheese and served with crisp crackers and a grape and walnut chutney. It’s also worth noting that given a few days notice this gaff can rustle up a suckling pig or lamb for groups of ten or so.

Starting in May 2008, the Club Bar and Dining is offering a ceviche menu along with their a la carte options. Ceviche, for the uninitiated, is a traditional Latin American dish made up of raw fish marinated in citrus juices and served cold. Like sushi, the options with ceviche are practically limitless, with loads of ingredients and countless ways to prepare the dish. There are about half a dozen options on the restaurant’s menu and the dishes can be tried as a main or a starter, each at about £9.

Both the sea bream and papaya and prawn and cocktail sauce ceviche come served in a martini glass. The sea bream is lovely and fresh, with thin slices of the meaty fish mixed with a strong lime juice and tiny little squares of sweet papaya – very piquant, but still refreshing. The prawn ceviche is not quite as fruity but still light, with large succulent prawns and a hot cocktail sauce made with chunky pieces of tomato. The salmon tartare ceviche tastes very hearty and is served steak tartare style like a hamburger patty. Combined with slightly bitter slices of daikon (Japanese radish), tiny lime green tobiko and three plump oysters, it’s a great combination of subtle and strong flavours and very filling as well. The salmon and trout ceviche is served like a platter, with three choices: smoked salmon on thin slices of cucumber and daikon with a dollop of sour cream, savoury slices of smoked trout and a mini version of the salmon tartare ceviche, but with a tiny hard boiled quail’s egg and little pile of bright orange salmon roe on top.

The Drink
Draught lager is dished out to suited gents and well-dressed gals by the bucketload, there’s a comprehensive wine list ranging from around £15 up into the hundreds and if you’re still standing after your meal there’s always the The Club Bar and Dining specialist cocktail bar.

Cocktails include the Passion Star, a short drink made with rum, amaretto, passionfruit and lemon juice with a sliced passion fruit placed on top of the mound of ice. Thick and sweet, you can really taste the alcohol – this is a good tropical drink to try without being excessively girly. The Chasing Rainbows martini, however, is so girly it out to be wearing a pink feather boa. Made with lemon vodka, lychee liquer, rose syrup and apple, cranberry and lemon juice, the drink is subtle and not too cloying and a lovely pale pink colour. A large marshmallow floats on top – eat it at the end and you’ll find that it’s soaked up the alcohol without going too soggy.

The Last Word
After you’ve negotiated the menu and gorged yourself on the well presented and satisfying food, you’re likely to give in and kick back with a few cocktails downstairs, then miss the last train home.

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