The Don

The Don is aimed squarely at moneyed, wine-savvy City diners. Located in a cobbled courtyard in a building owned by the Sandeman port house, the restaurant has a gentlemen's club feel. Polished cutlery gleams from white-clothed tables; 'trophy' bottles from prestigious wine producers are displayed. The wine list is pretty serious, with an emphasis on classic French regions, ports and sherries, with a good New Zealand selection too. Mark-ups are fair and on Friday nights bottles costing £50-plus are half price. Dining in the basement bistro feels like eating in a Gallic wine cellar. The airier ground floor has a French feel too, with Francophone staff and Anglo-French cooking. Some liberté is taken with dish descriptions: 'salt-cod brandade on a Shetland salmon tartare' was a mere quenelle of salt-cod atop a generous portion of raw salmon dressed with finely chopped tomato. Likewise, a main course of 'saddle of rabbit' was a single tender piece of rabbit enclosed in a rabbit forcemeat and formed into a sausage served on (slightly undercooked) lentils. Ingredient quality is good, but there's a tendency to overcomplicate. Tender, perfectly cooked New Zealand venison came with a well-judged red wine and juniper sauce and braised cabbage; the accompanying 'fig and walnut tatin' was unnecessary. Service is smart and professional.