Restaurants

Stowed away in the stylish heart of Threadneedles hotel, a fabulous 19th-century pile standing tall and stately amid the buzz and traffic of City life, Bonds offers a welcome escape from the working day. That said, many City workers continue slaving to the god of finance over lunch, so, depending on the company you keep, a midday visit here may not be such a departure from the desk job. Evenings provide a more relaxing backdrop to Barry Tonks’ classy modern French menu. This is dotted throughout with British ingredients that are for the most part cooked and presented with great flair. In keeping with the needs of the regulars, a short lunch menu is served with relative speed, taxing the mind with fewer components than its à la carte sibling. From this lunch menu, rustic chestnut and mushroom soup had gorgeous depth, enhanced by a fragrant and creamily filled herb raviolo. Salmon and cod fish cake came in a generous portion, garnished with good tartare sauce. It was perfectly nice, albeit heavier on the potato side than the fish side, and pulverised into a homogeneous ball. Ideally, a fish cake should contain obvious flakes of fish lightly bound together with a touch of potato. Still, there’s not much to complain about at Bonds. More complex dishes from the main menu might be roast duck with caramelised red onion tarte tatin and fondue of gem lettuce, or wild Scottish salmon with shimeji mushrooms, asparagus and Sauternes sauce. Desserts are hearty man-pleasers such as apple tart, crème brûlée or chocolate pudding.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008