Banker vs Lawyer - it's a blind date walk off...!

Lawyer, Fiona B, went on a date with Alex C. S. a banker from Goldman Sachs. We fully apologise that we didn't publish this straight away we deliberated and deliberated...hence the analogies to the G20 summit. Fiona, lovely, eloquent, charming Fiona followed text book instructions. However, it seems that banker Alex has missed the point entirely. Enjoy...

Eagle vs Shark

 Eagle said...

There is nothing like the word ‘blind date’ to polarise your office. For the entire week leading up to my date I had to listen to the horror stories that had happened to a friend of a friend of a friend of the bathroom attendant’s friend. If I were of a weaker disposition, I might have gone running in the opposite direction and be sat in a nunnery now. As it is, I decided to run the gauntlet of the sneers and sympathetic nods and crossing my fingers very tightly that Brad had tired of Angelina, contacted Law and More for help.  That’s not to say that I didn’t have my own fears. What if he dallied in strange, unattractive hobbies such as bird-watching or stalking? My fears thankfully were completely unfounded.

On my arrival at All Bar One I was met by a very tanned, handsome and friendly looking Alex who immediately offered to buy me a drink and put me completely at ease with tales of G20 summit protesters and his friend who went skiing and ended up slicing his own back open. Strange, granted but also a definite ice-breaker. However, due to doing what women do best – being late, we didn’t have much time to talk before we had to hurry off to The Living Room in Islington where we were instructed to ‘have fun.’ Nice dinner? Cocktails? Enough said.

The waiters and waitresses were instantly warm and welcoming and guided us to a cosy table at the back. I imagine they probably offered both the food and the drinks menu but this being a first date, my eyes were firmly fixed on the array of vodkas, martinis and gins they had to offer. Oh and what an array! In fact we were so spoilt for choice that my date asked the barman to select a drink for him. Expecting perhaps a slightly rugged, ‘man’ drink, it was with much amusement that the lovely and very helpful barman rustled up the ‘pornstar martini.’

 In what felt like a total role reversal, I was sipping from my long glass while Alex reclined with his bright pink concoction. To this day we are still convinced that the barman was on commission for that little gem. The food that followed also offered a fantastic topic of conversation when Alex was forced to sit opposite me chewing on ostrich while I regaled tales of my staunch vegetarianism. The fact that I was verging on cat-wielding, tree-hugging, hemp-trouser wearing territory didn’t seem to scare the poor thing off because we ended up enjoying a couple more cocktails, all of which seemed to grow progressively more colourful and interesting. Alas, none could quite usurp the title of ‘Pornstar martini.’ Luckily, or maybe not, Alex didn’t decide to re-enact the name at the table but he did tell me a shameful story from his university days which I would love to tell but fear he has too much ammunition on me to do so!

We ended the night by taking a stroll along Upper Street to find a cab. I say stroll but being 5’3 and sporting painful (but soooo pretty) five inch heels I think it was more of a cocktail-fuelled trot! I didn’t know what to expect but lo and behold the next day saw a message from Alex asking if I would like to go out again. Who knows what will be on the menu next suffice to say we are hell bent on beating the Pornstar cocktail!

Ronaldo said, I mean, Shark said...

What a week it was. I have never really been rioted against before but it was quite entertaining that all this fuss was over little old me and my job. I almost felt important. It was a wondrous respite therefore that I was going to join another fellow City worker for dinner (“the date”). Actually I wasn’t sure which was more nerve-wracking… going on a date with someone that I had never met before, and of all people it being a lawyer, or thousands of grubby teenagers and out of work plumbers who had nothing better to do with their time but shout at bankers. Oh well… anyhoo. Havi-ng met the lovely damsel (“the date”) I was pleasantly surprised. Not only had she a keen sense of humour, not unlike my own might I add (moowah ha ha), but she was pretty with big blue eyes. Result! We went for dinner at The Living Room on Essex road. First impressions were that it was an upmarket bar with a restaurant bit… and funnily enough that is exactly what it was.  The dining area wasn’t overly busy but just loud enough so that you don’t start fretting about hearing yourself breathing.

Now I haven’t been to this establishment before so I had no preconceptions. In addition, I had no idea  what was good: so I decided to order what the waiter recommended. His first recommendation was of course the drinks… Cocktails seemed a good idea me - not only do they get the ladies drunk but they also look pretty. When he delivered the first drink it was to my horror that I had ordered their famous “pornstar” cocktail.

Actually I wasn’t that horrified because having a little cherry at the top of my drink was actually quite nice. Having polished off several of these and congratulated ourselves numerous times on managing to get drunk on a free date (credit crunch and all that) we looked at the menu. Now I must say I wasn’t expecting the abridged works of Shakespeare but that is what I got… I decided to feast on ostrich. Unfortunately after I ordered “my date” told me she was a vegetarian…. Oh well. The ostrich was very good indeed (vs all the many other times I have eaten it) and it went down with the cocktails remarkably well. I think that “my date” was a little jealous because her vegetarian curry didn’t quite look as magnificent as my majestic bird meat.

We didn’t actually have the desert which was quite surprising as it was free. But instead we decided to continue their cocktail selection which I would highly recommend. The food was nice, if a little elaborate, the service good and the positioning of the restaurant great because it is right next to the tube. I did feel like getting a horse drawn carriage after dinner but alas it was only the lowly tube for me. I’m poor now, but I will certainly see her again.

Alex and Fiona had cocktails and dined at Islington's: www.thelivingroom.co.uk

Know anyone that works in law and needs a date? Contact vwozniak@lawandmore.co.uk and we'll get Cilla on the case...