One Club Row, London

To celebrate a new client and a team anniversary, we visited One Club Row, a restaurant in Shoreditch above the pub, The Knave of Clubs. The space has a speakeasy feel, with a wooden bar, velvet curtains, I can only assume intentionally stained ceilings and walls, with white tablecloths. There is a slightly “trendy” atmosphere, though this was somewhat disrupted by the ​sea of men in white shirts having lunch meetings.

We chose to focus primarily on the snacks. We began with pickled jalapeño gougères, lobster and ham croquettes, roasted scallops with a confit garlic butter, and Cantabrian anchovies. Already full, we nonetheless opted for two starters and one main: leek with crab, brown butter, hazelnut and marigold, alongside a tuna crudo with smoked aubergine and Amalfi lemon.

We asked our server for direction for the mains. With appetites waning, she suggested the roasted cod with brown shrimp, lemon and capers, paired with an aged parmesan Caesar salad, a lighter combination to round off the countless plates that had filled our small table.

We concluded with a New York-style cheesecake with quince and calvados, which was lovely, though in hindsight we wondered whether we should have opted for the twice-baked chocolate cake, as this was our server’s personal favourite. By the time we reached our last course, the restaurant had quietened, and the pub and restaurant team settled in for their mid-shift meal.

It’s worth noting, the service throughout was exceptional, a genuine rarity in London since Brexit. If you’re looking for a cosy, old-school, European-inspired hidden gem just outside the City, we’d recommend this spot.