Restaurant Review: Barbican Lounge, City of London

After a surprisingly good dinner at the Barbican Lounge following the Rain Room exhibition, I decided to treat my colleagues to Christmas lunch at the Lounge so I could enjoy some of the tasty tapas again.

The bright and airy restaurant serves a range of dishes that pleasantly surprised me for their consistent quality and flavoured combinations. The special offer that allowed us to taste virtually all of the menu last time has unsurprisingly been withdrawn for Christmas. However, we still managed to taste seven of the tapas dishes from the menu plus a couple of desserts.

One of my favourites was the Malaysian Chicken Skewers. The tender pieces of chicken come served with a satay sauce and a refreshing mango, onion and cucumber salad. The sticky Baby Back Ribs fell off the bone. Covered in a sweet chilli sauce the ribs get pretty messy, but oh so enjoyable.

Having a vegetarian in our group we ordered four of the five vegetarian tapas selection. My favourite veggie dish was the Mozzarella and Safron Rissoto Balls that came served with red pepper pesto and a cheese crisp. The seasonal special of Scottish Girolles, Salsify and Roasted Shallots was another dish I'd happily order again.

After the consistently good tapas I was a little disappointed with my dessert choice of the Cheesecake, Christmas Ice Cream and Poached Pears. The cute mini pears were my favourite element of the dish. Sadly the cheesecake was run of the mill and didn't taste special, with a biscuit base that was a little too thick for my liking. I may have just been unlucky with my selection as the Chocolate Fondant ordred by my colleagues was getting 'best ever' dessert claims.

Overall I really enjoyed the Barbican Lounge. The tapas has high quality ingredients and interesting little flavour combinations. It is reasonably priced too, especially when they have their special offer on.

Goats cheese and char grilled artichoke at the Barbican Lounge

Mozzarella and safron risotto balls

Scottish girolles and roasted shallots

Spanish vegetable tortilla

Malaysian spiced chicken skewers

Sticky baby back ribs

Lamb and black olive meatballs

Chocolate fondant, pistachio ice cream and candied orange

Cheesecake, Christmas ice cream and poached pears

Barbican Centre
Silk Street
London
EC2Y 8DS