Eastway Brasserie

The luxury hotel group Hyatt owns Andaz Hotels, which has branches in LA, New York, and London. Housed in what used to be the Great Eastern Hotel the sumptuous venue is home to five eateries, amongst them Eastway, a busy brasserie filled with the pitter patter of business men and women.

The practical interior has a touch of luxe in the granite bar which runs along the length of the room and serves a variety of cocktails, ideal if you’re waiting for a table. Luckily we had booked as there was a constant arrival of diners to the restaurant. We were seated by a window through which we could observe the city workers rushing home via Liverpool Street station.

To start we shared a smoked haddock omelette (£6), which appeared to be completely drowned in Hollandaise sauce. So thick was the sauce we at first mistook it for melted cheese, however the buttery taste immediately gave it away. Despite it’s thickness it rather complemented the smokiness of the fish.

My main consisted of mussels in a white wine, butter and parsley sauce, with frites on the side (£10). This being my second overly buttery dish I began to think of my cholesterol levels but decided to forget about this and enjoy my moules and chips. My companion’s salmon fishcakes were herby and contained large chunks of salmon, and were accompanied by tartar sauce and lightly dressed leaves (£11).

This was enough to fill two people up, but being greedy and enjoying the people-watching we decided to share a dessert. The caramelised banana in fudge sauce beckoned, and arrived with a scoop of cream and another of coffee ice cream. The banana was sweet and crispy round the edges, the fudge sauce however was a paltry drizzle around the plate.

Not having satisfied our sudden sweet craving we ordered an Irish coffee and a Baileys (both £7). Both came covered in a substantial quantity of cream – but not of the whipped variety, which didn’t somehow work and overpowered the rest of the drink.

Our waitresses for the evening were extremely smiley and helpful – a nice touch in this city restaurant. At £65 (which included two cocktails and a glass of wine) this is a moderately priced, yet slightly hit and miss option; comforting starters and mains with the dessert and after-meal drinks being a tad disappointing.