London never fails to amaze me, as it seems to reinvent itself all the time. During the week London is full of workers busily going about their business, co-mingling with the thousands of tourists, but the time I love London the most is when those commuters have left the city, leaving the same tourists and those who live in the city, and then London’s vibe is very different, namely more relaxed!
Restaurants and bars at the weekend then need to cater for a different clientele from the usual city workers, and The Happenstance in Paternoster Square achieves this effortlessly whilst offering a great place for client meetings and drinks during the week. It is perfectly located in the shadows of the imposing and historic St Paul’s Cathedral and is perfectly located to cater for all of London’s residents whether they are permanent or temporary.
My wife and I visited The Happenstance on a Saturday for brunch, and our first decision was where to sit. We were very tempted to sit on the large alfresco terrace with a view of St Paul’s, but as England was moving painfully towards autumn we plumped for the inside. Even though indoors, the inside is still light and airy and the de´cor is a mixture of 1970 G Plan glam chairs and copper tables contrasting with the modern building. The Happenstance also has a number of comfortable booths where the weekend crowd can while away a lazy Saturday with friends enjoying a glass of something cold or a cup of something hot!
The Saturday brunch menu is smaller than the weekday menu, but is still plentiful, and even though I am picky I had many things I wanted to eat. Although I love breakfast, I passed on the Full English (£9.50) with black pudding , backed beans and field mushrooms accompanying bacon, sausage and eggs (any style you wanted) and even the breakfast pastries (£2.50) as I am a sucker for a pain au raisin, and instead went for some Crispy Squid (£6.50) from the starter section and my wife chose the Scotch Egg (£5.95). The batter on the squid was light and was accompanied by a lovely sharp lemon mayonnaise, but my wife’s Scotch egg trumped this. The crispy shell and chorizo sausage layer encased a centre egg which was slightly runny and the spicy chorizo and paprika mayonnaise gave just enough heat to offset the richness of the soft egg.
For the mains there is a large selection of burgers including a Cheeseburger (£8.95), a Buttermilk Chicken Burger (£9.25) or a luxurious Wagyu Burger (£13.95) accompanied by blue cheese and tomato chutney, but our selections were the Fish Pie (£10.50) and the Beer Battered Haddock and Chips (£11.95). The fish pie had a cheddar potato crust and was made up of a variety of fish, but for me the sauce needed much more flavouring to do justice to the pies ingredients. The haddock was well cooked and the batter was again light and crispy, and the chips were what I call ‘chip shop chips’ i.e. substantial and plentiful. As an addition we also had some onion rings (£3.25) with a lovely light batter allowing the slightly chewy onion flavour to burst through.
To accompany any meal The Happenstance has an extensive wine and drink list, including a fabulous South African Chenin Blanc at £17.95 and a full boded rich Merlot at £18.25, which is very reasonable in the heart of London.
I would save some room for dessert as they are well worth it, and The Knickerbocker Glory on the menu for £7.95 was almost as good as the one used to have when I was an 8 year old boy at an authentic Italian ice cream parlour, and I never dreamt of finding anything that came close. Our other choice was the Chocolate Brownie (£5.95) which was light but moreishly fudgy, all bathed in a thick chocolate sauce - absolutely perfect.
This restaurant is a cut above the usual soulless London offerings, as it has a charm and warmth which welcomes diners, and I loved the saying it had on its wall which said ‘ Do more things that make you forget to check your phone’ - and I can’t argue with that.
The Happenstance Restaurant & Bar, 10 Paternoster Square, London, EC4M 7DX Telephone: 020 7618 9520