MBER

A short walk from Monument station is this trendy basement hangout: a low-lit, vaguely opulent space filled with the steady thump of house music. Home to City workers during the week, and Essex out-of-towners at the weekend.

The menu pairs European and East Asian flavours with the usual mixed successes of fusion cuisine. The flavours in chorizo and prawn sui mai were too overpowering for dumplings; duck confit didn’t quite knit with its orange and beetroot salad. Kangaroo wellington had to be tried for obvious reasons – but while the pastry was crisp and on-point, marsupial meat turns out to be far too chewy a choice for such a pristine dish. If the deliciously fatty, fiery beef cheek rendang is anything to go by, it’s the curries that you should gravitate towards. They do some nifty speciality cocktails too: a negroni-ish Kitsune was fantastically bitter.

It makes for a versatile spot too, if mainly for local professionals. You can eat a decent after-work meal here, or pick at a few small plates at lunchtime if you don’t want to fall into a food coma back at the office. Oh, and take note of the whisky bar: it’s not a bad first-date spot.