Restaurants

A small, low-key restaurant almost directly across from Aldgate tube station, the Missouri attracts local office workers as regulars. They gather here for business lunches and after-work steaks and cocktails. Perhaps because of this the atmosphere is restrained; customers tend to be puzzling over complex-looking documents and making deals. Nobody gets particularly rowdy. The look of the place is also unstartling: white tablecloths and plain walls. The menu reads like a who’s who of upmarket US cuisine. Starters include a creamy New England clam chowder, grilled asparagus topped with a fried egg, beef carpaccio, and crab cakes. Mains are heavy on the steak (perfectly grilled to order, but nothing unusual), yet there are plenty of other options including the blackened salmon, Cornish chicken with chipotle crème fraîche, and rack of lamb. Everything’s precisely as you might expect, given the locale. Puddings are also straightforward: cheesecake with blueberries, tooth-achingly sweet pecan maple tart and tangy lemon custard. So, no surprises – but that can be a good thing.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008