Le Coq d’Argent

A miserable rainy day is not the best time to visit Le Coq d’Argent, D&D Group’s city outpost featuring a roof terrace overlooking the surrounding ruins of our financial institutions, replete with crumbling brickwork and city traders sleeping rough on marble doorsteps among piles of The Big Issue.

Having heard about the impressive views from the terrace, I was disappointed to be sat at the window facing a hideous grey office block featuring the worst of 1960s architectural savagery. Inside, the scene wasn’t any more inspiring, the restaurant being decked out in drab wood veneer. It looked somewhat 1980s. Behind me sat two bankers, talking vociferously in a language indecipherable to the common man (“We really must reinvest the assets into a sideways fund to ensure that consolidation happens on a PX ratio to avoid the bipartisan loss conundrum that Pierce & Pierce encountered”). I agreed.

The set lunch menu is good value at £26 for three courses. The bankers will like that. They even serve power breakfasts here for all those pinstriped high-fliers indulging in morning ‘offsite meetings’ (“They may have taken our bonuses, but by God they will not take our bacon and eggs!”).

We started with the lobster bisque which arrived promptly in a large bowl; a significant portion, indulgent and warming. I had already eaten my bread roll by the time the soup arrived and I wasn’t offered another one, but aside from that oversight the service was superb, only faltering with the rather grumpy Gallic sommelier, presumably dour because customers no longer order £950 bottles of Château Margaux (at least not when people are looking). So I don’t suppose he was impressed by my requisition of a glass of Languedoc merlot for a mere £5.50.

Mains arrived: a roast duck breast with bubble and squeak and a kumquat compote for moi, braised venison with fruit and nut faggots with mashed potato for Mrs Jonesy. Again, portions were sizable and decadent. The duck was cooked perfectly medium rare, the kumquat compote was tangy and commanding. The braising sauce dished up with Mrs Jonesy’s venison was packed with flavour but was so rich that you could have used it as currency. Maybe that’s what the banker behind me meant when he said, “We need to hold more liquid assets”. I could’ve given him a bowl full.

On to the dessert, a bitter chocolate tart with crème fraiche and a drizzle of raspberry jam for me, a sip of water for Mrs Jonesy to detox from the venison jus. The tart was very well balanced, not too sweet as to make it overpowering. It concluded a very pleasant and well presented meal in a venue that must have been witness to some interesting economics over the years, a sort of culinary market tracker; Château Margauxs for a bull market, a bottle of Blue Nun when things are bear.

On our way out of the restaurant we caught a whiff of cigar smoke. I couldn’t tell where it was coming from; the 1980s perhaps. Back on the street and back to the future, I was accosted by a dishevelled young man selling The Big Issue. “May I interest you in a new investment fund sir? It’s an alternative to an index tracker with significant holdings in the News and Entertainment sector.” I told him that I was focussing on liquid assets for the time being. He agreed with me wholeheartedly, and I gave him a pound towards a pint.

Le Coq d’Argent, No. 1 Poultry, Queen Victoria Street, London EC2R 8EJ. Tel: 020 7395 5000. Website: www.coqdargent.co.uk

Summary: A good lunch spot, solid cooking with rich and decadent food, would make a nice al fresco summer dining location if you don’t mind staring at office blocks.

For a comprehensive review of the wine list, please visit our friends at WineChap.