Charing Cross, French Restaurant Guide

“Chef Anthony Demettre will often come out and have a chat” if you dine regularly at this “good stand-by in the heart of the West End”, where “beautifully presented dishes with hints of France are served by smiling waiting staff” in a stylish and “well-spaced” chamber convenient for Trafalgar Square and Theatreland. Long-term fans remember the two smaller, more personal incarnations of his Wild Honey project (“I was concerned its spirit would have been lost in the move to a Sofitel. I need not have worried: Anthony Demetre was very much at the stoves and it was clear his enthusiasm for French regional cooking was still reflected in a range of memorable dishes of some skill, using top ingredients: no corporate corner-cutting here!”). Top Tips – “a new, more informal bistro sits alongside the main restaurant and offers a similar authentic menu for a more modest outlay”; “great-value lunch menu”.

“Hidden away in a basement at the side of Leicester Square”, “a marvellous little subterranean wine bar with a decent selection of mid-range wines that are not too overpriced for central London”. A “wide-ranging” food menu (including the famous ham-and-cheese pie that has been on the menu since 1971, of which about 1,000,000 portions have been sold) makes it a “great pitstop in tourist central – happily off the radar for most of them”. “You can’t drink in this place without feeling part of the iconic venue’s history”: its “tried and tested reputation” was established by founder Don Hewitson and is maintained by his successor Will Clayton.

“Famous for being London’s top romantic dining spot with good reason” – this bewitching Covent Garden “haven” comes complete with an “exquisite” rear conservatory, with “a glass roof that opens in summer” and “the treat of a log fire in winter” – and “on the first floor you dine under a vibrant canopy of flowers”. By most accounts the European cuisine is “beautifully presented and tastes as good as it looks” too, although a slight slip in its ratings of late supports those who feel that “it’s more hit and miss since the pandemic”. No change in its “wonderful wine selection” however: “a surprisingly eclectic list of wines, alongside the bonus of an extensive cognac offering (and Armagnac dating back 70 years!”). “A must for a special celebration”.

“Kudos to the chef” – Seamus Sam, who arrived in mid 2024 and is maintaining the culinary renown of this funky 12-seater in the cellar of Layo & Zoë Pasking’s period pub on the fringe of Chinatown, where he delivers a five-course menu for £135 per person. By all accounts it’s “just a wonderful experience” with “extremely interesting cooking” and “some intriguing wine pairings”, all delivered by “excellent staff”. “Not one for claustrophobics” perhaps, but most reporters find its style “lovely and intimate”.

2023 Review: Rihanna celebrated her birthday in February 2022 at this lavish Creole haunt next to The Ivy, in Covent Garden, where the former site of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon nowadays combines a restaurant (ground floor), bar (first floor) and roof garden. Whether the tastes of New Orleans are faithfully replicated is a matter of some dispute – there is the odd take-down of “overpriced and under-seasoned dross”, but most reports actually say its gumbo, Louisiana crab cakes and other eclectic dishes are “very good”.

“Showing what can be done with plant-based ingredients. Bravo!” – Alexis Gauthier gave up meat personally in 2016 and professionally in 2021 at this “intimate” townhouse in Soho – a destination renowned before he took it over in 2010 (from Richard Corrigan when it traded as The Lindsay House) for its air of quirky romance, from the moment when you knock at the door for entry (“I love the many different rooms to eat in”). The French cuisine here remains, in essence, “fairly traditional”, but nowadays has “a superb meat-free ethos” resulting in “some of the most complicated and sophisticated vegetarian food around”. At least, that’s the majority view, although even a number of fans do “miss some of the old dishes from previous, pre-vegan visits” (and ratings, here, have somewhat trended down in recent years).

The Balthazar website promises an ‘elegant evocation of a traditional French brasserie with an authentic Parisian feel’, and many reporters feel that this “big” Covent Garden destination delivers just that: “good Gallic classics, a bustling (noisy) atmosphere all in a touristy area” (“with a wide menu for everyone, kids included… French onion soup and steak frites excellent!”). But while fans say that “if you go with that in mind, it’s a good choice for the right occasion”, there’s a persistent minority happy to write the place off (“very disappointing food and rushed service trying to get you out ASAP”, “at a high price”).

“Unbeatable value for money and wow factor” underpins the titanic popularity of this “superb” and “bustling”, “Beaux-Arts dining room”: a “unique” setting that’s all-the-more remarkable for being in a gigantic basement less than 100 metres from Piccadilly Circus. “It feels just like a proper Parisian-style venue and the menu is exactly as you would expect of such a place”: a huge assortment of “brasserie-stye French staples” that are incredibly “reasonably priced” for the heart of the West End (although careful selection is advised: “results do have their ups and downs, so stick to the cheaper dishes”). Service is occasionally “grumpy” but is mostly “excellent even when busy” (and “the expected disaster of losing Corbin & King from the management has not materialised”). Top Tip – “stick to the ‘Formule’, enjoy the view of the great room and you’ll never have a bad time”.

“Good pre-theatre option very close to the Royal Opera House” – this Covent Garden fixture is “not overly expensive”, and even if its French brasserie food is sometimes “OK but uninspiring”, it “hits the spot for a quick dinner” and provides a very “buzzy” launchpad for an evening in the West End. Top Menu Tip – “excellent onion soup”.

“Busy and full of energy” – this “joyful” and highly successful, high-ceilinged room in St James’s stylishly introduces some refined chic into central London with its white leather seating, elegant lighting and subtle earthy tones. In particular, it is a big hit with business-types: “clients love it” even if it can become “loud (that is what comes of being a hedge fund and art world favourite!)”. But even fans – who see it as “several cuts above a typical Parisian brasserie with exceptionally good, traditional food” – admit “there is a price for delight”; while to less charitable reporters it’s merely “pleased with itself” and “astoundingly average given the inflated prices”.

2022 Review: Below Maison François (see also), this amiable, new, no-bookings wine bar in St James’s mixes a nowadays-proven formula of unconventional wines with hearty Gallic small plates: charcuterie, pâté and so forth. Handy to know about in a pricey area.

“A buzzing French-style brasserie with excellent service and attractive atmosphere” that helps “lift the spirits” if you are counting the pennies – “where else in central London can you get three courses of decent grub for £20-odd?”. “Splendid for pre-theatre”, this Soho fixture offers an “unusually wide choice” on its set menus, “while the dishes are well executed and flavoursome”. Top Tip – “eating à la carte may be a mistake. True to its name, the fixed price menu is probably a better option”.

“Wow!” – “a hidden gem” in St James’s, next door to venerable wine merchant Berry Bros (on the former site of Boulestin and L’Oranger) – a “great, genuine French restaurant” serving “proper French food, beautifully prepared and presented”. Founder Richard Weiss, who ran Brasserie St Jacques just up the road, is a sommelier so there’s a “good wine list, very well priced for the area”. Top Tips – “it’s worth coming just for the steak tartare and crepes suzettes, prepared in front of you on the trolley”.

“Solid, classic Gallic cooking in the heart of Soho” has proved an enduring formula for London’s oldest French restaurant, which opened in 1927 (but has origins dating back to 1896). It helps that it occupies a “charming” and “timeless” dining space where the “professional service” (“no intrusions”) adds further to its “traditional” appeal, making it ideal as a place “to impress” for “a central London business meal” or to charm a date. There’s some debate over whether the food is “superlative” or merely “solid and classic” but it is consistently well rated in reports. Top Menu Tip – “excellent (and very reasonably priced) pre-theatre venue”.

A set from ’Allo ’Allo would struggle to seem more French than this “classic brasserie” near Covent Garden, billed as the capital’s oldest French restaurant and now under only its third family ownership in 74 years. But “pretty ordinary food and service” often undermine “the Gallic charm of yesteryear”, leaving some diners reporting a “rather a sad come-down from the glories of long ago”. More romantic types, though, feel that “holding hands in this legendary space still works at whatever age… with traditional brasserie food, good wines, and a pleasant atmosphere”.

Within Whitehall’s palatial newish hotel, the OWO, this “luxurious dining room” is very conventionally grand – with corniced ceilings and a symphony of light, muted fabrics – and is part of the international empire of star Argentine chef and ‘UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity’, Mauro Colagreco. All reports acclaim its “superb” cuisine, with “with amazing ‘standard’ à la carte menus” (three courses for £125 per person), and five-course and seven-course tasting menus (at £175 and £205 per person) to fit events (eg Chelsea Flower Show) or the changing seasons’. “Oh my, the bill”… but what did you expect?

“Another winner from Jackson Boxer”, applaud fans of this Covent Garden yearling, which opened a year ago as a new central showcase for the chef behind Brunswick House and Dove. Attached to the Henrietta Hotel, the styling is very heavy on its Parisian bistro inspirations, but the contemporary style of the cuisine is at odds with ‘Allo Allo’-style clichés, albeit incorporating classics like Grilled Snails, Steak Frites and Raclette Burger. Ratings were hit by one or two reports of patchy service, albeit acknowledging some “fabulous” food.

“This long-established and popular brasserie adjacent to the Covent Garden piazza is reliable and fair value” – if not particularly distinguished in gastronomic terms. Given the ultra-touristy environs, though, many rate it as “perfectly adequate” as a “pre-theatre option close to the Royal Opera House”.