Brigadiers - The City, London

Brigadiers offers everything the City sybarite could want. Nestled in the Bloomberg Arcade and opened during the World Cup, it boasts massive screens to show sport, a billiards table, fill-from-the-bottom pour-your-own beers, an al fresco terrace, a tap room with 30 draughts as well as three PDRs. Opened by JKS Restaurants (Trishna, Gymkhana, Hoppers), Brigadiers borrows its name from founders Jyotin, Karam and Sunaina Sethi's grandfather, who served in the 4^th Gurkha Rifles regiment in India. As a funky kind of homage to the subcontinental officer's mess hall, Brigadiers succeeds on every level.

After a short tour of the premises which took in The Dining Room, The Pool Room, The Tap Room and all of the private dining rooms, we settled in at Blighters - the main bar. It's a handsome space to say the least, replete with dark woods, sharp mirrors and oxblood coloured leather. The bar serves a menagerie of different wines, beers and tipples. We were particularly impressed by a Nitro Martini draft cocktail crafted with Ketel One, cold brew coffee, espresso liqueur and malt then charged with nitrogen gas, giving the libation a killer creaminess.

The food offerings were quite frankly off the hook and in-line with JKS' Michelin-starred restaurants. Critics have already called out a few icon dishes. Original BBQ butter chicken wings are lashed with ghee and praise. The chaat masala pork scratchings are spiked with cods roe and a green chilli raita. The Amritsari fried fish paos are little sliders topped with slaw and skewered with a toothpick. All go mind-blowingly well with a cold beer.

However, some of our favourite dishes came later. The beef chuck bone marrow keema with a chilli cheese kulcha in particular was a savoury mince of cow interlaid with rich, flavourful marrow that would please the most committed carnivore. Sikandari kid goat shoulder with lacha parathas and lacha onions was similarly meaty. One of our favourite dishes was the banana and yoghurt kulfi dessert, which deployed pickled banana in phenomenal fashion.

Brigadiers literally covers all of the bases for City socialising. We're certain you'll be visiting soon. 

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