54 Below

The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 is now in the shops. This review is taken from the 2007 edition.

The grey façade and dark, tinted windows of this corner bar don't convey the warmest of welcomes, even if they do echo its forbidding name (said to be the temperature at which vodka freezes). Thankfully, it's not a supercool affair inside. The leather sofas are comfy, the bar staff pleasant, and the muted shades of the understated décor are cheered up a bit with a few plants and some easy-on-the-ear tunes. A pool table and TV screen are found in a small room off the main seating area. The steak sandwich comes with rounded cubes of sirloin, laid in a ciabatta roll and spread with a sweet chilli mayonnaise. The addition of peppery salad leaves and thick gratings of parmesan give the snack a lift. Meatballs and barbecue chicken are among other sandwich fillings, which do not include any veggie options. Desserts are limited but not disappointing: several spoonfulls of vanilla ice-cream laced with chunks of bashed-up caramel shortcake, served in a liqueur coffee-cum-sundae glass. 54 Below ticks enough boxes to attract both after-work drinkers and the pre-club crowd.

• High point: Chilled out atmosphere
• Low point: Lacks personality