Last Updated on May 21, 2025
Convivial dining with heavenly dessert
3.5 out of 5.0 starsFittingly, our visit to The Cardinal Bar and Kitchen in Aldgate fell during the recent conclave. Cue jokes about whether there might be black or white smoke emitting from the kitchen.
Barely a Hail Mary away from Aldgate tube station, The Cardinal Bar and Kitchen lies on the ground level of a 272-room hotel on the cusp of The City of London. Hotel Saint has been established longer than its yearling restaurant, which has replaced a branch of VQ (Vingt-Quatre). We entered from the side where a terrace with square red umbrellas sits in a pathway alongside St Botolph without Aldgate.
The Cardinal name is a reference to those religious leaders who brought people together for feasts and discussion. Aldgate has a rich religious history, with Tudor reformation rebels being buried in the adjacent churchyard. The quirky menu branding depicts cardinals’ red slippers and hats.
Indoors, the signature colours were verdant rather than red. There were window tables or banquette dining spaces with grassy green textiles and divided by plants. Being lunchtime, and pedalling in a lower gear than usual, we ordered mocktails from the “Temporary Temperance” selection.
The Ivy Fizz was refreshing, although tasting like perked up barley water with mint sprigs. I confess I did not taste much of the apple, rosemary, juniper and lime from the menu description. My companion’s Office Hours quench of pineapple and guava with a foam topping was a classy-looking peach-toned drink, but lacked much evidence of hibiscus or nutmeg. Both were fine but didn’t quite fit their descriptions.
Admiring the alcoholic cocktails online afterwards, there’s a fun selection of these, ranging from £11 to £25.
We shared three small plates. The standout dish amongst these was king oyster mushroom shawarma skewers. Ribbons of mushroom in threaded bundles, their texture was like very tender calamari and dotted with blobs of mayonnaise, they were a visual treat. A dinky pot of Fattoush salad, garnished with a high ratio of croutons (instead of the expected pitta), was served alongside. I’d prefer more greenery with this dish – the salad was rather hidden, although the mushroom skewers themselves were creative with visual impact.
Chicken momos were savoury dumplings – my dining companion said they reminded her of ecclesiastical hats – with chilli oil that warmed nicely rather than blew the tastebuds away. The chicken filling had the texture of chopped meat rather than soggy mush, sometimes served in noodle bars.
Samphire bhajia sounded promising, although we didn’t discern any samphire flavour. They were, however, non-greasy and came with a pleasant yoghurt dip. These were tasty snacks with certainly something green in them, but we’d hoped for something more saline and seaweedy.
After our mocktail,s we each moved onto a glass of white Italian wines – Pecorino Tor del Colle from Abruzzo and Grillo Allegri from Sicily, priced £7 and £5.50 for 125ml respectively. Both were light and easy to drink. The Pecorino had visible legs and lemon colour, a pear bouquet and short on the palate. I chose to spritz it with soda, making it a pleasant summer lunch choice. The Sicilian was lighter still, a safe choice rather than anything remarkable. At £5 for a quick glass at lunchtime, no one would complain.
Aubergine steak vegetarian main course, was an excellent dish for £16. “Steak” is often a poor description of centre stage vegetable,s but this splendid criss-crossed boat of roast aubergine earned the description much more than most. This serving style is known as “imam bayaldi”, the Ottoman name for aubergine stuffed with garlic, onion and tomatoes and simmered in olive oil. The juicy brown mass bronzed with pomegranate molasses was straddled across light turmeric couscous with a pleasing garnish of glittering red pomegranate seeds and salad leaves. A well-seasoned and presented veggie main course that stood its ground confidently against its meat and fish rivals on the menu.
Salsa verde marinated cod had tempted me from the restaurant’s website. The butter beans were as soft as mashed potatoes, and with a push of the fork, they soaked up the tomato and red pepper broth. The square slab of cod fillet was topped with green herb crust and some fresh leaves. I thoroughly enjoyed eating this dish, it felt nutritious without being saintly, it felt satisfying without making me waddle home. That said, a £29 price ticket was some penance. I was sceptical whether it merited when everything else seemed pretty reasonable. Especially with a base layer of bean broth of economical cucina povera ingredients.
We were enjoying the lunchtime ambience of The Cardinal very much. The sun shone into the west-facing windows without dazzling us, it was lively enough to create atmosphere without being overly noisy. One peculiarity of The Cardinal, as we discovered, was that the loos were upstairs rather than within the restaurant. This felt like quite a trek, with a slow wait, amongst hotel guests with suitcases, in the smart lobby for one of three lifts (the building has twelve floors). Upon arrival at the correct floor, I scrambled through a crowd of chattering conference delegates on their break. It’s common to venture down long corridors or climb stairs to reach the bathrooms elsewhere, but I felt like I’d abandoned my companion for a long time.
Dessert delivered a spectacularly sinful climax to our visit. Pistachio cheesecake, scattered with crunchy sweet kunafa pastry – a clear nod towards the current Dubai chocolate phenomenon. With a generous pool of pale green pistachio sauce and thick white chocolate filling, I’d have enthusiastically waved a number ten card if I were a Strictly panel judge scoring this. At £9, it was a portion large enough for us to share without regretting ordering something each.
The Cardinal Bar and Kitchen earned a place in my mental address book of verbal recommendations. We liked its immediate proximity to the Circle Line. This makes The Cardinal a highly convenient, lunch meet-up destination with friends, colleagues or somewhere to take family members visiting London. The Cardinal serves brunches and Sunday roasts at weekends, and there’s also a £35 set menu. It’s smart but not too formal or stuffy.
Some dishes we found fantastic (the shawarma mushrooms and that worship-worthy pistachio dessert), others less memorable. The easy location and atmosphere would lure us back. Flavour volumes could be dialled up higher in some areas, but largely, we found The Cardinal Bar and Kitchen worthy of our vote.
The Cardinal Bar and Kitchen
Ground Floor, Hotel Saint
9 Aldgate High Street
London EC3N 1AH
Tel: 020 3959 0888
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