When I worked in the city I always found it to be pretty crap for eating and drinking. It seems people work so hard that once they've finished for the day they're off somewhere much more interesting to get sloshed. dion, (yes, dion with a little d) is a great example of an after-work city hangout though, and I just wish I'd known about it at the time.
First impressions were good - it's stylishly laid out, with lots of scarlet leather, dark wood and low lighting, plus black and white Getty prints on the walls and a chandelier made of up-turned ruby champagne glasses. The atmosphere was abuzz with chaps in suits, girls getting together over a bottle of champers and people generally having a jolly good time.
The bar menu is bog-standard - we tried generously topped nachos (the bestseller) and an antipasti plate of mozzarella, garlicky toasts, parma ham, salami, red onion vol-aux-vents and roasted peppers. Coming in at £7.95 and £7.50 respectively, these were good value for a city bar, and substantial enough as a light dinner. A formal dinner menu of burgers, steak sandwich and other such bar staples is available downstairs.
Cocktails were where dion really shone. Although it markets itself as a champagne bar, with glasses starting at £7.95, there was a decent menu of cocktail choices split into bubbly (£11.85), classics (£8.50) and dion specials (£8.50). We tried the classic Mojito, sweeter than some and right up my street, and the Resolution, our waitress's favourite and a deliciously sugary raspberry confection.
dion is a great city bar, and suits the area perfectly. So, city girls with a sweet tooth, next time you're in need of an after-work hangout you know where to go.
dion St Pauls, Paternoster House, 65 St. Pauls Churchyard, London EC4M 8AB
It's going to always annoy me that it's a small d.
ReplyDeleteI know! At least their cocktail names have capital letters...
ReplyDelete