Barbican Living

The Old Red Cow, 71 Long Lane, London EC1. www.theoldredcow.com

Sunday lunch. Do you remember a time before Sunday lunch at the pub was compacted J-Cloth, topped with brown sludge?

Do you remember a time when you sat down to a succulent Sunday roast, where the meat was suffused with juices and flavour?

You don't have to pack your bags and head for Somerset. You just have to take a short stroll down Long – and Memory – Lane to the revitalised Old Red Cow, which has just reopened this week. I had the pleasure of being the first Sunday lunch customer.

I’ll admit I am writing this with a glass of their Merlot (but only one) still doing me good, but honestly, as I sat upstairs in their attractive restaurant area, looking through large windows towards the Charterhouse Gardens, with the sun shining, and eating my way through the most exquisite apple crumble I can remember eating in a long while, it really brought home to me how great it is at the weekends to live here, and how we should all venture outside the Barbican and take in the villagey pleasures of Clerkenwell.

The Old Red Cow is a lovely pub, and I think that it's going to be a great success. It's got character, it’s got a nice feel about it, and the owners certainly seem to be real enthusiasts for good food, good drink and a friendly atmosphere. I really hope it takes off, and I can certainly recommend that you go there for a tasty and friendly Sunday lunch.

Wood Street Bar and Restaurant T:020 7256 6990

That rather dodgy-looking pub between Andrewes House and St Giles Churchyard has been completely revamped and is now a very nice little local bar and restaurant called - Wood Street Bar and Restaurant.

They have quite an interesting menu which changes regularly, as fresh seasonal ingredients become available. Last week, they had something called "Pigs in blankets" .  I have no idea what that is - it summons up visions of someone being whisked away from the Old Bailey in a police van with flashguns popping.  But they also have lots of lovely comfort food: mussels steamed with cider, rib-eye steak, roast lemon sole.

There is a special 10% discount for Barbican residents, so you should definitely give it a try.  You don't have to have a meal; you can just drop in, sit at the bar.

I've been trying to pin down what I think the attraction is. It's not swanky, glitzy, or pretentious. It arouses a slightly nostalgic feeling in me, because it reminds me of the sort of restaurants my parents used to take me to when I was young.  They've even got Knickerbocker glory on the menu.  I think you'll feel at home thereTop

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