EGN NEWS DESK
City Social’s location on the twenty fourth ground of Tower 42 on Old Broad St, London EC2 means diners get to see part of London replete with towering buildings that adorn the skyline. At any desk at City Social, you get to see these skyscrapers head-on.
City Social view of the Gherkin
It is a heady perspective when seen via floor-to-ceiling home windows that hem the contours of the restaurant. Tables are positioned on two ranges to make sure everybody has a view. From my desk, the magnificent Gherkin seemed so shut that we might virtually contact it.
Ambiance
There is a little bit of a luxurious personal member’s vibe to the Michelin-starred City Social restaurant. Floor-to-ceiling home windows observe the curve of City Social restaurant and bar enclosing a good-looking art-deco setting of darkish wooden, darkish flooring, tanned leather-based chairs and horseshoe banquettes and darkish marbled tables.
The dim lighting throws subdued shadows mirrored by mirrored ceilings that appear each somber and in some way spectacular. The good place for shared whispers, and figuring out seems to be.
Food
The menu could also be brief however the selection is eclectic and the time spent by the workers mentoring diners on the menu is spectacular.
Reluctantly passing over the Devon crab with nashi pear and the Dexter Beef tartare shimeji and miso mayonnaise, we ultimately opted for the roasted Orkney scallop, confit purple pepper (sourced from Spain they are saying), barbecued corn, yuzu so as to add lime and lemon flavours, and velvety roe butter sauce. This is a slightly luxurious starter.
The rabbit Ballantine (wrapped in Parma ham), got here with braised mushrooms, English peas and rabbit French dressing. Though it didn’t take up a lot area on the plate this was a satisfyingly wealthy dish.
Line caught Sea bass, creamed corn, braised girolles, clam chowder
For the principle course, we eyed up the premium cuts from the Josper Grill and the Newlyn halibut and made a notice to revisit. On this event, we ordered the line-caught seabass, roasted salsify, sea herbs, heat roe, and cedrat beurre blanc – seabass is a wealthy meaty fish, with fish eggs contained in the butter sauce. I liked the barbecued corn which gave a slight crunch.
Their signature dish the roasted Guinea fowl, not often seems on a menu and it made sense to take the chance to order this. It got here with herb and brioche stuffing, leek French dressing, Jersey royals, braised leg wonton and it turned out to be a deliciously gamey chook.
There actually was no extra room for a dessert so we shared a slightly superb elderflower and lemon parfait served with Gariguette strawberries, and a white chocolate and wild strawberry sorbet.
Drink
City Social’s wine checklist is intensive and the sommelier was readily available to assist us pair our meals and wine. With the rabbit and guinea fowl, we downed a Gevrey-Chambertin Champonnet Premier Cru Domaine du Courvent, a wine that comes from the biggest wine-producing village in Burgundy’s Côte d’Or. On the palate, these velvety tannins and delicate texture made this an excellent coupling.
The fish dishes have been paired with Bourgogne Chardonnay Maison de Montille 2016 whose notes of apple and freshness on the palate rounded every thing off nicely.
Oh and naturally, there’s a bar and in some unspecified time in the future, I’m positive we had a few Martinis made with their completely scrumptious Sapling Vodka, their home vodka.
Verdict: City Social’s metropolis location and tremendous meals is a honeypot for a suited clientele with discerning tastes in search of a spot to grease furtive offers. Yet, after darkish, date night time beckons. Surely no couple might go away with out falling in love with the fantastically orchestrated service, the elegant meals, the weird atmosphere, and perhaps with one another.
City Social, Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, London EC2
Check out the City Social menus right here.
