Impressing a date the English way

Gentlemen, are you seeking a smart, upmarket, new restaurant to take your smart, upmarket date?

Well look no further than Northbank. By day the spitting-distance-to-St-Paul's location, sleek modern interior and airy, wide-screen Thames outlook all shout "City lunch".

But by night... Well, lads, consider the great date potential. It's directly opposite Tate Modern, so you could invite her to a late-night opening exhibition (wow her with your cultural side), then simply take a picture postcard stroll across the wobbly bridge and just to the left you'll find Northbank.

Take her for a cocktail in the bar first: buzzing with non-stuffy young suits, it's perfect for relieving any "oh my God we're on a date" tension. Take a good look at her then, because the dining room has some of the most flattering lighting known to man or interior designer. The romantically lit wall-side booths may look snug, but make sure you book a window seat - you'll want to lap up those awesome riverside views.

The food here, like its amusing Timorous Beasties wallpaper, is quintessentially English, with a twist.

So it's no surprise to find starters were on the heavy side. Even my "light" choice, a bowl of mussels with cider and bacon (£6.50), came with a sinfully creamy sauce. That said, if everything is going well, you can always order my date's aphrodisiac choice: half a dozen spankingly fresh Duchy of Cornwall oysters (£9.50). Impressing your date with your wine knowledge will be a doddle if you get my waitress who, when I asked her to recommend a mineral, non-fruity white looked blank, went for help and came back with a non-specific "Sauvignon?" Next to her I looked like Hugh Johnson.

My luxurious-sounding main, lobster spaghetti (£17), turned out to be an overcooked hill of stodge that I barely excavated. But I reckon that was a menu blip. My date tucked into a roast pheasant with red cabbage and chestnuts (£14.50) with as much relish as I did to his baked bananas (£5).

As he pointed out, my own greedy pud, vanilla fig tart (£5) was basically a (delicious) posh fig roll biscuit. And you can bank on a moonlit walk by the Thames for afters.

Northbank
1 Paul's Walk, EC4 3QH