The Tokenhouse, The City

It's one of the City’s bigger watering holes, and under Fuller’s - whose Honey Dew and ESB are among the draughts on offer - what was once Bluu has had a major rethink . The building was once used as a repository for farthing coins before they were put into circulation, hence the new post-industrial Edwardian counting house chic theme in the main bar. I'm more inclined to a warmer loungey 1850s meets 1950s second bar that delivers on its promise of ‘comfy seating.’ Open early each weekday morning - for the power breakfast and recalcitrant deskbound alkie trade, presumably - Tokenhouse is an all-day trough for T.M Lewin shirts. Fill up on morning nosh - eggs Florentine, porridge or full English (£8). Lunch on mussels, langoustine risotto,veggie tarts or warm coronation chicken (£13) and come back after knocking-off time for a selection of 3 for £11 small plates and sharing platters and you'll be a proper fat bastard by Christmas time.  Wines include everyday red teeth stainers and a patrician Côte Rotie (£82.50). Cocktails such as pineapple punch and oriental martini (gin, lychee and cranberry) don't not exactly push any envelopes. There again, neither does the clientele on tonight's evidence. What is pushing it, is  £8.50 for a mojito in what’s basically a pub, albeit a tarted-up one. 

4 Moorgate EC2R 6DA 7600 6569 www.tokenhousemoorgate.co.uk

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