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William Keegan at Frederick’s
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It’s business as usual at William’s working lunch
Family-run restaurant Frederick’s is the favourite place to eat for finance journalist William Keegan, writes Simon Wroe
THIRTY-FIVE years ago, when William Keegan was an economics correspondent at the Financial Times, he was summoned into the editor’s office.
“I’ve got to talk to you about your expenses, Keegan,” he remembers his editor saying, “You’re not spending enough.”
“I realised then that it was part of my job to spend the company’s money,” he says. “It’s only over lunch that you realise how people think. Lunch is an invaluable way to meet people properly, and to open doors. I’ve been having working lunches ever since.”
During his tenure at the Financial Times and now as senior economics commentator for the Observer (his regular column, ‘In My View,’ has been running for 30 years), Mr Keegan has lunched with many Chancellors and finance experts, including previous Governor of the Bank of England Lord George, Roy Jenkins, Nigel Lawson and Gordon Brown.
The family-run restaurant Fredericks, tucked away in Camden Passage off Upper Street, is one of Mr Keegan’s favourite places for a working lunch. He has been coming ever since it opened, 38 years ago.
“I see my role as being an observer,” he says as we take a seat in the spacious conservatory at the back of the restaurant. “I’m conservative with a small ‘c’, and I’m suspicious of bright ideas.”
While he has observed many turning points in British economics at close quarters, such as the Thatcher-Lawson row and England’s disastrous attempts to join the Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1990-92, Mr Keegan also has an eye on local politics. “I think Islington council has done a good job on the parks and playgrounds, and the concept of residents parking is a good one, but the way they apply it is overzealous. They terrorise the traders.
“There is the feeling with this council, as there is with this government, that they are out to get you – a predator state – and that’s a great pity. I’m a great believer in benign local government.”
In the 40 years that I’ve lived in Islington I’ve seen a lot change,” he adds, “but Frederick’s has changed very little. I like to bring city people here, and have turned a fair few into regulars, but it’s also a place I’d come to for a treat with my wife.”
Mr Keegan’s other favourite restaurants in the area are the Shahnaz Tandoori in Liverpool Road, Young’s in Upper Street and the Cantina Italia for pizza and pastas in Canonbury Road.
William and I opted for the two course set lunch menu for £14. He had the deep fried monkfish with chilli sauce to start, while I had the white bean soup with truffle oil.
For mains the Lamb shank with crushed new potatoes, roasted onions and minted peas comes highly recommended, but on Mr Keegan’s insistence that Frederick’s is “very good on fish” we both chose the fish of the day: sea trout with sauté new potatoes and pea puree.
This was washed down with an excellent bottle of ‘Rully’ white burgundy (£28), sparkling water and, as it was a “working lunch”, several cups of strong coffee.
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