raduno Overview
raduno, a three storey brasserie, bar and club, is situated directly opposite Smithfield’s meat market in Farringdon. All three floors have a great view of the long market building which bursts with charisma. It used to be called Meet, under the previous ownership and with the name change has come a refurbishment.
On the ground floor is the brasserie - a small room with a bar, a few tables for two and black leather stools. I had a glass of ‘Bubbly Melons’ to start with, a champagne cocktail with a mush of watermelon and sugar at the bottom of the glass, priced at £5.50. Ed chose a rather nice glass of French Pinot Noir for £4.50.
The menu - which consisted of the likes of burgers, sausage and mash, pasta dishes - was priced between £4.20 and £8.50. I opted for ‘free range chicken breast’ (£6.50) which was served either oven-baked or chargrilled, and with a choice of five seasonings and two different sauces…Ordering had suddenly become a bit like assembling a jig-saw puzzle!
Ed had an Aberdeen rump steak (£7.50) - again with an overwhelming choice of sauces. All mains come with any two side dishes, which means the meals are even cheaper than they seem. And sure enough, the brasserie complied to its ’20 minute promise’ which they boast on their business cards and on a poster on the wall: if they don’t serve you within 20 minutes of taking your order, you are entitled to a refund. My chicken - which I had with jerk spices and side orders of rice and peas and a mixed salad - was very tender and presented beautifully on elegant crockery. The manager ensured us all the meat was sourced from Smithfields and the fish from nearby Billingsgate. We finished with a blueberry cheesecake each - homemade and a bargain at £3.
Before leaving, we had a look at their ‘cocktail lounge’ on the first floor, a room smarter than the ground floor bar. The second floor hosts raduno’s ‘club’ – a small area which gets busy on the weekends. As I left, I admired raduno’s ability to appeal to such a variety of people – from media types getting together after work in the cocktail lounge to couples on dates in the brasserie.... And the best thing about it? It’s one of London’s very few venues that has a 24 hour licence, so no excuses for heading home at eleven!
Clemmy Manzo
raduno provides a brasserie, cocktail lounge and club room over 3 floors, created to offer modern cuisine, a wide range of cocktails, wines and beers served by highly trained staff. raduno is a venue where modern cuisine is served opposite a backdrop of the historic Smithfield Market. (Updated 06/07/2007)
Additional Info: Cocktails, DJ, Hire Available, Dancing License, Food, Cloakroom, Cocktails Recommended, Security, Outside Drinking
Nearby Venues:
- Smiths of Smithfield (SOS), [Other/Unclassified] (0.00km)
- Comptoir Gascon, French (0.00km)
- Rudland & Stubbs, Fish (0.04km)
- Hope & Sir Loin (The), Eclectic (0.05km)
- Abbaye (The), Belgian (0.07km)
- Ortega, Spanish (0.07km)
- La Cucina, Italian (0.08km)
- Attilio, Italian (0.08km)
- Cock Tavern (The), Gastro (0.11km)
- St John Bar & Restaurant, Modern British (0.13km)
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