Harden's says
Celebrating 125 years of Le Cordon Bleu Institute, a 90-cover restaurant and 30-cover cafe originally planned to open in the City in March 2020; the culinary institute will also be offering courses and training on-site.
Harden's survey result
Summary
Founded in 1895 in Paris, the famous ‘Le Cordon Bleu’ culinary institute hit London in 2012 in Bloomsbury; and then opened here in the Lutyens-designed former Reuters HQ in 2022. All reports agree this in-house restaurant is “a beautiful room” – “light and well spaced” – if occasionally “lacking a bit of spark”. Service is “correct” and the modern European menu focuses on “seemingly simple dishes”, whose “realisation ranges from exemplary refinement to the merely satisfactory”.
Summary
“Doing a grand job of showcasing the school” – “seemingly simple small dishes done with exemplary refinement” (“perfect pork belly and a delicate citrus tart slice”) impress diners at this year-old restaurant, where you can sample the work of the august Le Cordon Bleu culinary institute (founded in Paris in 1895). Set in an “well-spaced, light-filled” dining room in Fleet Street’s Grade II listed former Reuters building (designed by Lutyens), it also has a “clean lined and attractive” adjoining daytime café worth visiting for its “accurately toasted” sandwiches and cakes.
Summary
The Paris-based Cordon Bleu culinary institute (est 1895) has one of the grander names in gastronomy to trade under, and opened a restaurant in the Lutyens-designed former Reuters building in Fleet Street in summer 2022, with former Plaza Athénée and Folie chef Christophe Marleix running the kitchen. One early visitor, Giles Coren of The Times, found it a “time machine”, with classical cooking and “four chefs in vertiginous toques” – “how much you enjoy it will depend on what you think of the direction restauration has taken since Le Cordon Bleu was the sine qua non (1973?)”. There’s also a daytime café for anybody who wants to nosey around inside.
Summary
Originally scheduled to open in March 2020 – the 125th anniversary of the opening of Cordon Bleu in Paris – this new City-based outpost of the famous culinary institute includes a 90-cover restaurant (whose offering will include a £25 set-lunch menu, delivered in 90 minutes) and 30-cover café (selling posh pastries). The site is Le Cordon Bleu’s second in London (the other is in Bloomsbury) and will, of course, also offer courses and training to stressed investment bankers, whose souls can be soothed by whisking up a quick soufflé.
For 34 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 CORD?
85 Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 1AE
Restaurant details
CORD Restaurant Diner Reviews
"CORD manages to do extraordinary things with apparently ordinary ingredients, such as a rose made of beetroot, with a subtle blend of flavours to accompany it. Service is discreet, and the slightly austere ambience works well for a business lunch. "
"On a Friday lunchtime, we almost had a private dining room. For a special birthday celebration just perfect. Some complimentary fizz was yum. The set lunch offered good choices. Food prettily presented tasted delicious. Portions just right. Service friendly though occasional dip in ingredient knowledge. Wine by the glass a good range. "
Prices
| Availability | 2 courses | 3 courses |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Always | £35.00 | £42.00 |  |
|
|
| Cost | Availability | Courses | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menu1 | 72.00 | Lunch only | 4 |
Traditional European menu
| Starter | Main | Veggies | Pudding |
|---|---|---|---|
| £24.00 | £36.00 | £6.00 | £14.00 |
| Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £40.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £6.00 |
| Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Service | 10.00% |
85 Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 1AE
Opening hours
| Monday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Tuesday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Wednesday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Friday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Saturday | CLOSED |
| Sunday | CLOSED |
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