Conran's latest Grand plan

In a society where the quality and colour of our toilet paper is a lifestyle decision that ranks alongside our choice of car and public school for the kids, we're forever waiting to be seduced by the marketers and style behemoths of the high street.

The Conran dynasty has been one of the great seducers of modern times: there's Sir Terence, credited with making Habitat fashionable and introducing a chain of upmarket restaurants and achingly trendy bars; his sister Priscilla, who married Antonio Carluccio and went on to create their eponymous chain of Italian-style cafe-bars; son Tom, who owns the fabulous Cow pub and neighbouring Lucky 7 burger bar in Notting Hill; and son Jasper, who mined a different seam in the rag trade as the dresser of skeletal clothes horses.

Sir Terence's apparent obsession with the seduction of posh folk - or, in the case of here in the City, people with posh salaries and even posher bonuses - continues with the opening of this new cafe and bar in the Royal Exchange, adjacent to the Bank Of England and overlooking Bank Tube station.

The Grade I listed Royal Exchange is a masterpiece of mid-Victorian architecture, and behind its elegant columned facade lies a colossal atrium, now occupied by upmarket retail emporia. Conran has installed a modern crustacea bar and cafe on the ground floor, and a large, comely lounge bar on one of the first floor colonnades.

We chose the comfort of the lounge bar for our evening visit, figuring that the atrium crustacea bar was more of a lunchtime spot. I ordered a bottle of Perrier Jouet champagne and a charcuterie plate - the posh man's equivalent of a pint of cider and a ham sandwich - and was informed that food would not be served in the bar, that we must return to the atrium to eat.

Why? 'Well,' said the duty manager, apparently having just returned from his day-release course in nonsensical studies, 'if other customers saw us serving you food it would just open the floodgates to everyone making similar demands.' Perish the thought. So, reluctantly - I was actually rather cross, in fact - we repaired to the atrium where they assured us we could have some bread and cold meat with our champagne.

Nevertheless, we quickly warmed to the majestic splendour of the space.
There are some very good champagnes and wines on offer, including a very palatable 1999 Chateau de Fuisse Pouilly Fuisse (£35), and a rather inviting 2001 Selvapiana Chianti Rufina (£26). But the selection of spirits is relatively limited, and surprisingly (for Conran) relies heavily on pedestrian brands such as Absolut and Stolichnaya vodka.

Still, choose carefully and there are some good cocktails to be had. The French Cosmopolitan, made with the excellent Grey Goose Citron (£7), is a fine drink, as is the Old Fashioned (£7), with Woodford Reserve Bourbon. The most interesting, if not the best cocktail creation, is the Labyrinth, made with lychee liqueur, mango purée, lemon juice, crème de mure and champagne. It makes for a fantastic fusion of flavours, but I'm not convinced that the champagne was a wise move - it would be interesting to try this drink reconstructed with unflavoured premium vodka such as Finlandia or Zubrowka.

Nevertheless, we left satiated and happy. And seduced? Very definitely. But more by the space than by Conran.

Grand Cafe & Bar
Royal Exchange, London, EC3V 3LL