French restaurants in London
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Gordon Ramsay
One of Britain’s finest restaurants and London’s longest-running with three Michelin stars, this is hallowed turf for those who worship at the altar of the stove. It’s true that it’s a treat right from the taster to the truffles, but you won’t get much time to savour it all. Bookings are made in specific sittings and you dare not linger; book as late as you can to avoid that rushed feeling. The blowout tasting Menu Prestige (£120) is seven courses of absolute perfection.
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1 Lombard St
Cassoulet goes head-to-head with bangers-and-mash in the brasserie, under the domes of a heritage-listed bank building, and both the French and the Brits come out winners.
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Electric Brasserie
Whether it’s for breakfast (£5 to £10) or brunch over the weekend, a hearty lunch or a full dinner, the Electric draws a trendy and wealthy Notting Hill crowd with its Modern British/European cuisine. If you’re feeling decadent, lobster and chips (£36) is the way forward.
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Ledbury
Michelin starred and swooningly elegant, Brett Graham’s artful French restaurant attracts a well-heeled local clientele who wear jeans with designer jackets. To beat the credit crunch, go for the set- price menu.
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Sketch
A design enthusiast's dream, with shimmering white rooms, video projections, designer Louis XIV chairs and toilet cubicles shaped like eggs. And that's just the Gallery, which becomes a buzzy restaurant and bar at night. The ground-floor Parlour has decadent cakes and decor, but is surprisingly affordable: perfect for breakfast, or afternoon tea served on fine bone china. The swanky Lecture Room upstairs is the realm of Pierre Gagnaire, whose book Reinventing French Cuisine gives a hint of what to expect.
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Roussillon
On a quiet side street off Pimlico Rd, Michelin-starred Roussillon offers fine service, lovely muted decor and fresh English ingredients dexterously cooked à la française. There’s no à la carte; choose from among four to six starters and main courses at lunch or dinner, or there’s a more extravagant tasting menu (£48 to £58 at lunch, £75 at dinner) of eight courses. The Menu Légumes (£65) puts vegetarian cooking into the haute cuisine league.
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Cheyne Walk Brasserie
With a reputation for especially tender steaks, the focus of the food preparation at this brasserie is the large open grill in the centre of the ground-floor dining room. However, you might prefer something like sea bream with lemon and bay leaves with a salad of green beans, pistachio and mint. The belle époque decoration is just this side of kitsch, with turquoise banquettes, red leather chairs, chandeliers and crystal lamps topped with pink shades. The attractive salon upstairs offers stunning views of the Thames (in winter, in any case, when the trees are bare).
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Morgan M
This gourmet French restaurant in Highbury used to be an old pub. It has retained an old-school feel to it but the cuisine is resolutely modern and so very French. It’s all about the set menus here, which run from a relatively restrained two courses at lunchtime to the full gastronomic blow out of the six-course tasting menu in the evening.
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Racine
Regional French cooking is the vehicle at this good-looking brasserie. Expect the likes of tête de veau (the classic French veal dish; £17.75) and grilled rabbit with mustard (£16.75). Being French and very classic, dishes might feel heavy to some, but the sauces and the desserts are all spot on.
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L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon
Superchef Robuchon has 25 Michelin stars to his name – and two of them are derived from this, his London flagship. A wall of living foliage adds lushness to the dimly lit dining room, with a sparkling open kitchen as its showcase. Degustation (£125) and set lunch and pre-theatre menus (two-/three-courses £22/27) are available.
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Flâneur
Dining while shoppers browse in the delicatessen/greengrocer's around you may not sound appealing, but it's just part of the charm of this gourmet deli and unsurprisingly excellent restaurant. Beautifully attired in woods with high shelves stocked with all manner of rare and wonderful delicacies, tables are scattered around the shop, and diners keep the place busy for both lunch and dinner.
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Oriel
With its comfortable wicker chairs and mirrors, and tables overlooking Sloane Sq, the Oriel makes the perfect place to meet before going shopping in the King’s Rd or Sloane St. Expect all the usual French brasserie dishes like confit de canard (preserved duck), foie de veau (calf’s liver) and moules marinières (mussels in white wine and cream).
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La Poule au Pot
Illuminated with candlelight even at lunch, the ‘Chicken in the Pot’ is a long-established country-style French restaurant that is long on romance and cosiness and somewhat shorter on the quality of what it serves. Still, the alfresco front terrace is a lovely spot in the warmer months. Expect dishes like onion tarte, rabbit casserole and roast guinea fowl.
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Le Café du Marché
Tradition is a watchword at this quaint French bistro housed in an exposed-brick warehouse down a tiny alleyway near Smithfield Market. The food is mostly gutsy French fare – hearty steaks with garlic and rosemary flavours, fish soup with aioli – and there’s piano playing and jazz upstairs. Meals are set menu only.
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Chez Lindsay
A tasty slice of Brittany at the bottom of Richmond Hill, Chez Lindsay’s simply furnished dining room wins fans with its wholesome Breton cuisine, comfortable ambience and river views. Great for seafood, house specialities also include adorable galettes (buckwheat pancakes) with countless tasty fillings, washed down with a variety of hearty (and very dry) Breton ciders.
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Admiralty
The flagship restaurant of the restored Somerset House has a traditional interior and modern French food. There's a lovely, calming terrace outside overlooking the Thames on which to while away your meal time. The degustation menus are truly sublime - and here's a rarity - there is even a full vegetarian one.
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Thyme
As at Clerkenwell's Club Gascon, dishes are starter size only, and served tapas style. So, although the prices look low, this is a mid-range place if you're in any way hungry. It's still worth the outlay, though, because the tastes at this multi-award-winning gem are innovative, subtle and divine. Book ahead.
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Chez Bruce
Though Michelin -starred, Chez Bruce still insists on a winning quality local feel that accommodates all comers. The rustic facade, beside leafy Wandsworth Common, belies a crisp modern interior; the wine list is an all-star cast, the food sublime.
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Fishworks Marylebone
A truly French poissonnerie (fishmonger) with a restaurant attached. We return regularly, especially for the sublime Dartmouth crab eaten cold and the incomparable zuppa del pescatore (fisherman’s soup; £19), a symphony of delights from the deep.
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Club Gascon
Club Gascon has earned a Michelin star for its degustation (read ‘fine flavours in small portions’) approach to French cuisine. Order four or five plates to make a meal.
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Le Mercury
An excellent and wildly popular budget French eatery, Le Mercury seems to have a winning formula: romantic atmosphere with candlelit, small tables and plants everywhere combined with superb French food (try the roast duck breast with red wine jus) at unbeatable prices. Londoners have long known about this place, so reservations are advised.
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Spread Eagle
Smart, French-inspired restaurant opposite the Greenwich Theatre in what was once the terminus for the coach service to/from London.
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Le Boudin Blanc
This has to be (one of?) the best French restaurants in the capital: the meat is cooked to perfection, the sauces mouth-wateringly good and the portions huge. The frites (French fries) are the best you’ll find this side of the pond. And there is, of course, a whopping 500 wines to choose from. No wonder it’s always full.
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Bar Battu
As well as the fantastic range of ‘natural’ wines (meaning they’re made with as little outside intervention as possible) and helpful staff to advise on the list, this intimate place offers an enticing selection of dishes to accompany your tipple. From a sumptuous boudin noir (blood sausage) to grilled lemon sole, the food is well-executed, and smaller plates and charcuterie are also available if you just want to soak up the wine.
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La Trouvaille
Just what its name suggests it is, the ‘Find’ is perfect for a romantic dinner. Here you’ll find a gorgeous, warm space perfect for candlelit canoodling and an excellent menu of rich traditional French cuisine – quail and foie gras terrine, guinea fowl hotpot – on a quiet backstreet.
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