Sweetings

Wednesday, December 16, 2009 - The word ‘sweeting’ means ‘moneyer’. In today’s deflated City, the name seems a trifle optimistic. But when I arrive at midday and ask for a table for three, Nigel the manager is so confident they’ll be full for lunch, he refuses to seat me until the other two turn up. Actually, this silliness is standard practice at Sweetings, like its ‘quaint’ no-bookings rule, its ‘Monday to Friday, lunch only’ policy, and the fact that credit cards were anathema here well into the new millennium. I’m left standing at the old oak bar, which at least gives me a chance to remark on the décor...