Bars & Pubs

By Jenni Muir

London's trend for new-style wine bars seems to have bypassed this discreet corner of the Barbican. Wood Street's lacklustre frontage improves on entering only by virtue of the site's windowed view of the centre's lake and terrace. The soulless decor is reminiscent of any pub built under a twentieth-century council estate, but the kitchen shows signs of passion.

Starters of intensely flavoured sweetcorn soup slicked with chive oil and a crunchy, nicely presented salad of endive, walnuts and blue cheese were satisfyingly simple and perfectly executed. The wild mushroom risotto was in all-too-familiar French restaurant style: the rice bound with cream rather than coaxed into submission by 20 minutes of committed stirring, and heavily scented with tarragon. A good Illy espresso and a rhubarb crumble served with thick custard finished the meal nicely.

We struggled to hear our own conver-sation amid the braying businessmen at surrounding tables - a fact made worse by the tediously over-long wait for the main courses (one of which was the wrong dish). If Wood Street wants to attract a regular business crowd, it'll have to polish the service.

Time Out London Issue 1911: April 4-10 2007