One Canada Square (Closed)

Words by Simon Difford

Address: 1 Canada Square, London, E14 5AB , United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7559 5199
Email: info@onecanadasquarerestaurant.com
Website: view One Canada Square (Closed)’s website
Door: Open door
Style: Restaurant bar
Food: Set menu
Established: 2013

Review

Named after and located on the ground floor of One Canada Square, the iconic building many of us know better as the original Canary Wharf tower, this restaurant and bar serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and damn good cocktails.

The space, divided from the rest of the lobby by head-height dividing walls, provides some welcome warmth and bustle to the otherwise corporate lobby of a building that was, for 20 years, the UK's tallest. A staircase leads up to a second mezzanine floor and bar which has a more intimate feel and is often used for events. Lunchtimes and evenings see the limited lounge seating quickly filled by a suited and booted crowd, but there's plenty of standing room and the bar has a good buzz.

Smartly-uniformed bartenders serve well-made cocktails ranging from vintage classics like the Hemingway Daiquiri and Clover Club to modern drinks such as the Espresso Martini and a rhubarb-twisted Cosmo. Negronis, Manhattans, Martinis and G&Ts get special treatment with short menus of their own. An international wine list, sensibly priced, includes selections from Lebanon and Slovenia as well as more familiar territories, with a good range of wines by the glass.