Boisdale of Bishopsgate

The City branch of Boisdale plays out a similar clubby Caledonian theme to its Belgravia outpost (see entry), that's to say lashings of tartan, leather and darkwood, and a cigar-and-champagne vibe pitched at the fat wallets of city slickers who drop by after a day's dealing. Tucked away down a narrow alleyway that could do service as a set in a Dickens adaptation, the setting comprises a first floor oyster bar, descending to a subterranean cellar where a a buzzy piano bar with live jazz in the evenings gets the joint jumping, or for more sensitive souls, there's the low-lit vaulted restaurant. The eclectic modern menu covers a lot of ground and predictably garners much of its produce from north of the border. Expect the likes of Stornoway black pudding Scotch egg with mustard relish and Ayrshire bacon, followed by wild Highland venison burger with Bloody Mary sauce and thick-cut chips, or 28-day-aged Aberdeenshire steaks served with full-flavoured trimmings - béarnaise or bordelaise sauces, roasted bone marrow and dauphinoise potatoes.