Grand Cafe & Bar

Restaurant & Bar in The City
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7 / 10 from 1 review
Address
The Courtyard At Royal Exchange
Royal Exchange
The City
London
EC3V 3LP
Map
Telephone
020 7618 2480
Other Branches
Conran Restaurants
Region
The City
Nearest Station
Bank
0.08 miles
Opening Summary
8am - 11pm, Monday - Friday
Restaurant Facilities

Disabled Facilities

The Royal Exchange Grand Café is situated in a Grade I-listed building at Bank in the City. The perfect setting for breakfast, a brasserie-style lunch, dinner or drinks, it is also a unique, historical setting for events

Grand Cafe & Bar Picture Gallery

Grand Cafe & Bar Picture

All In London Review

What a venue!

Review Image
What a venue! Huge domed ceiling with all manner of ornate decorations which can’t fail to impress – especially when you are surrounded by luxury shops such as Tiffany and Bulgari (we can all dream!).

There’s a huge central oval bar which is lit by sparkling chandeliers – which incredibly are dwarfed by that massive ceiling. And as it’s an inside courtyard, it’s perfect for the impression of al fresco dining when the London weather is doing its miserable thing. As it has done a lot lately.

The place is steeped in history. And right outside Bank tube station. And its central location is the reason I agreed to meet a friend here – it’s so much nicer and more special than a coffee bar or ordinary pub. And there is an option to eat if you become peckish after a glass or two.

Mind you, it’s a little pricey. Nuts at £4.50 and olives the same. A bottle of still water at £4. A large glass of excellent and perfectly chilled Chenin Blanc was £7.25. It wouldn’t have been so bad if we hadn’t decided to linger and have two glasses each…

The service errs a little on the tardy side – but then again, I guess they could see that my companion and I were engrossed in conversation. I adored the tiny engraved grasshopper on the glasses (in fact, I wanted to take one home – but didn’t!).

Being in the heart of the City of London, it caters to the business market. It’s open from 8am-1130am for breakfast – and that menu is delightful. It includes items such as bacon bap (£5.50), assorted waffles (£6.50), Eggs Benedict (£9.75), smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on toast (£10.25) and toast with a selection of marmalade and preserves (£3).

There’s also a shellfish bar with rock oysters (from £11 to £20), langoustines (£19) and half lobsters (£18.50). There’s a selection of salads and sandwiches as well as all day dining options of starters and main courses – fish dominates (grey mullet, sole, cod) although there are meat options such as chicken and smoked ham hock pie (£13), roast duck breast (£15.50) and Navarin of lamb (£16). And there’s a selection of cakes and pastries for afternoon tea.

But we were here early evening and there was a varied crowd – after work groups, couples, women and men at the start of their evening and even a few (up market) shoppers. It really was rather pleasant.

And on the upper balcony there is a more intimate bar where I have enjoyed some fabulous cocktails in the past and the lovely Sauterelle restaurant.

Reviewed by KimT
Published on Mar 27, 2013


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