Club Gascon

The historic Lyons Teahouse building next to St Bartholomew's church and Smithfield meat market is a deceptive front for the sleekly-sophisticated modernity within; dazzling flower displays married with opulent veined marble walls, old oak floors and royal-blue banquettes. This is a legendary venue for long City lunches, so advance booking and reconfirmation are essential, but once you're through the rigours of gaining entry, black-tied waiting staff deliver polished, unhurried service. While the restaurant has its roots in the garlic-and-goose-fat peasant cuisine of South West France, you can forget any notion of hearty cassoulets here: Club Gascon was in the vanguard of kitchens to dispense with the traditional three course format and serve dainty tapas-style 'tasting plates'. Menus break down into 'Le Marché' - a seasonal menu for the whole table, a three-course 'Déjeuner Club' lunch menu that offers good value for cooking at this level, or an array of 20 or so intriguingly inventive dishes, including a section devoted to riffs on a foie gras theme. Impeccable seasonal ingredients are painstakingly sourced from Gascony and turned into imaginative combinations that make you want to try them all. Mainstream dishes include a chaud-froid of black truffle and foie gras or suckling pig 'variation' with mustard ice cream and purslane, while more maverick pairings shoot off at a tangent with snail caviar fricassée, salsify sorbet and almonds. Champagne granita, mango and pineapple cannelloni ends on a technically high note. The adventurous will find much to delight from lesser-known wine regions of South West France, as well as plenty of classics.

Please telephone for directions
Nearest station: Barbican or Farringdon

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