The Samuel Pepys

Down by the banks of the Thames in evocatively named Stew Lane, this lively new restaurant & bar does a good line in City hospitality, food & drink. The kitchen gets its fish from Billingsgate & its meat from award-winning Lincolnshire butcher John Pettit; the result is a menu that could take in New England crab cakes with roasted red pepper sauce, battered haddock, & confit of duck in red wine sauce; there are also steaks & grills, plus a contingent of stone-baked pizzas for those who want something different. Sandwiches & salads satisfy the lunchtime crowds in a hurry, while puds bring on the likes of iced Grand Marnier soufflé or lemon meringue tart. Saturday brunch is worth knowing about, & there are plenty of beers, quaffable wines & mainstream cocktails for the drinkers.