Originally published at The Telegraph
I promised to venture east to find out where the suits in the City did their breakfast deals, and had so many suggestions from readers and friends, that I have been trying them all. As a consequence, I am gaining weight by eating some interesting food rather than my usual coffee and a croissant.
Almost everyone I spoke to said to try 1 Lombard Street so I did. When I got there, however, I realised that I had been there before, and that is really the issue. It is totally forgettable – not bad, just undistinguished. It had perfectly pleasant décor (a converted bank like so many other restaurants these days), the food was perfectly adequate, the service friendly and efficient and the tables were far enough apart for a real business conversation, but my overwhelming feeling was that there was no reason to be here – except it was in the City, designed for those City people who had no imagination or who were on diets. Maybe that says it all.