Grand Cafe & Bar

The Royal Exchange near Bank is a haven for City shoppers and business lunches, however the complex is currently trying to shake off its “stuffy” image and attract a younger clientele. This will be no mean feat considering the shops within the Exchange consist of the likes of Bulgari, Cartier, Mont Blanc and Hermes.
The building itself is a sight to behold; it still retains many of its 16th century features despite having undergone extensive refurbishment in the 90s. The Grand Café, situated in the courtyard, is suitably packed with well-dressed businesspeople at lunchtime.

Smart waiters sashay to and fro carrying trays with ice buckets, and the chatter of meetings can be heard from most tables. There is a plentiful selection of cocktails and wines, and perhaps rather unsurprisingly champagne which reaches the £100 mark.
On to the food. We are told the salads are very popular here (ladies who lunch watching their figures?) as are the fish and chips; oysters, Dorset crab, and an interesting selection of pasta dishes (i.e. pappardelle with ragout of braised rabbit), also appear on the menu.

I go for the breast of guinea fowl (£14.50), which is full of flavour and has crispy skin and tender meat. A choux farcie - chopped cabbage, carrot and ham wrapped in a cabbage leaf to most of us – accompanies it, along with a fondant potato, a Madeira sauce and some grapes for garnish. The grilled chicken Caesar salad (£12.85) is a mammoth serving, covered in a mountain of Parmesan shavings.

Grand Café is a D&D venture, of which Sir Terence Conran is the chairman, it is therefore unsurprising that this café’s food is of a good standard. It may not break new culinary ground, but it’s certainly not too shabby for a business lunch.