Tried & Tasted: 1776 at 1 Lombard Street

As the name suggests, 1776 is a restaurant redolent of history. The date harks back to this Grade II-listed building’s days as a bank, and the imposing, vaulted ceilings are testimony to its previous incarnation as a financial institution, writes Colette Doyle. Nowadays, though, in place of tellers’ counters you’ll find an impressive-looking and well-stocked bar that makes for a stunning centrepiece.

The menu here is classic brasserie fare: deep-fried squid and Caesar salad vie for attention with a charcuterie selection and calf’s liver with bacon. It’s hard to know where to begin; hot appetisers such as chestnut soup, Taleggio risotto and squab pigeon all sound tempting, as do the cold offerings of smoked salmon with rye bread, or homemade salt beef salad with cornichons.

Eventually my dining companion and I opt to start by sharing a small plate of quail eggs with celery salt – a delicate and delicious treat. I then plump for that 1970s dinner party standard, the prawn cocktail, while my guest goes with a beautifully presented avocado and crab salad. 

On the recommendation of our waiter, we order starter portions of the main courses in order to leave room for dessert. While this is sound advice, the food is genuinely so good we soon wish we’d gone the whole hog. My steak tartare arrives with a glistening raw egg on top; my companion’s dish of spaghetti with lobster, meanwhile, is proclaimed wonderfully fragrant.

The dessert menu is full of familiar favourites such as sticky toffee pudding, apple charlotte and crème brulée, but it’s the chocolate fondant that catches our eye – and what a good choice it turns out to be, oozing its gooey contents at the first prod of the spoon.

1776 may have a historic background, but its buzzing atmosphere, courteous staff and expertly executed menu should certainly guarantee it a place in the future of London’s dining scene. 

1776 at 1 Lombard Street, Mansion House Place, London, EC3V 9AA
1lombardstreet.com; 020 7929 6611