Harden's survey result
Summary
“The original of the City’s high-quality restaurants” – ex-Goldman banker, Soren Jessen’s venture in a converted banking hall near the Bank of England “is still going strong” and recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. A linchpin of business entertaining in the Square Mile, “the large dining room is well-equipped for both discreet business meetings or more lively get-togethers” and “very good front-of-house staff recognise when deals are being done”: “they can get you in and out in an hour”. “The menu is broad but appropriate for the besuited clientele, with a mix of traditional British dishes and a hint of European cuisines”. “It is not going to be a gastronomic knockout, but that’s not what you go for: it’s decent high- quality food at decent-but-not-astronomical prices”. Top Tip – also a “great venue for breakfast”.
Summary
“For a dependable City business breakfast or lunch venue”, Soren Jessen’s stalwart brasserie, in the beating heart of the Square Mile, is the epitome of a useful amenity for dealmakers, even if “the large, cavernous space remains a little tricky” (“the room is bright and airy, but depending on your table can feel cramped and noisy”). “Its modern European menu covers all the bases reliably. It does what it’s meant to, but you are never coming away with a knockout meal. BTW, that’s an observation not a criticism”.
Summary
“King of the City lunching scene” – Soren Jessen’s “buzzing” stalwart in the very heart of the Square Mile, near Bank, continues to maintain its “consistent standards” and is “a decent if very ‘City’ restaurant”. “Classic dishes” (“including some added when Mark Hix was still consultant chef”) are served alongside “a well-chosen wine list” (and they do an “awesome breakfast” too).
Summary
“Very useful for City business lunches” – former financier, Soren Jessen’s “buzzy, well-spaced” converted banking hall, near Bank station, has been a well-known linchpin of expense accounter life in the Square Mile for the last two decades (“you see everyone if you lunch here”), with the option of eating in the less formal brasserie or more formal restaurant, depending on how overtly you are wooing the client. The “reliable” menu “is a mix of classics, holding something for everyone. They understand that business is business and staff know how to handle service to accommodate that”.
For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at 1 Lombard Street?
1 Lombard St, London, EC3V 9AA
Restaurant details
1 Lombard Street Restaurant Diner Reviews
"I have eaten here several times for lunch (near my office). I always find it a little disappointing - given its location and interior it could and should be a proper, smart destination restaurant. But although it isn't cheap, the food is never quite as good as you'd hope, It's hard to find definite fault, but it's not a favourite or somewhere I look forward to going. A few tweaks and a bit more flair would be transformational "
"Very reliable"
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £40.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £4.50 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Bread | £5.50 |
| Service | 15.00% |
1 Lombard St, London, EC3V 9AA
| Number of Diners: | |
| Required Time: | |
Opening hours
| Monday | 7:30 am‑11 pm |
| Tuesday | 7:30 am‑11 pm |
| Wednesday | 7:30 am‑11 pm |
| Thursday | 7:30 am‑11 pm |
| Friday | 7:30 am‑11 pm |
| Saturday | CLOSED |
| Sunday | CLOSED |
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