Ready, steady, escargot
As we entered, the clattering of cutlery and a touch of musique echoed throughout the softly lit room. Recently renovated, there are French posters on the walls and metal railings around every corner, mirroring an authentic Parisian basement from days past. We were shown to a wooden table near a feature, red leather sofa, feeling ourselves melt into the atmosphere of the room.My sauvignon blanc (£4.50) had a good balance between crisp and fruity, while my friend’s Pimms and lemonade (£3.50) was generously garnished with cucumber and lime. We were given a mini baguette to butter us up, a touch most British restaurants foolishly fail to see the benefit of. To start, we chose mini chorizos roasted in honey (£3.50) and a baked camembert sharer (£9.95). The camembert came with thin slices of toasted sourdough, plum chutney, tiny gherkins and roasted peppers. We were in our element, switching up flavours and finding it impossible to leave the chutney alone. It was a bit naughty but the chorizo got dunked too.
We had to quell our appetites as we knew from the generous starter portions that the mains would be a decent size. I went for boeuf bourguignon maison (£13.95) with dauphinoise potatoes and seasoned vegetables. The hunks of beef were swimming in bacon, mushrooms and shallots and fell apart in the mouth, and although the red wine sauce would have been too rich for a sensitive palate, I loved it. My partner opted for the handmade ravioli with roasted butternut squash (£9.95) which was lovingly blanketed in a lemony ricotta sauce with chestnuts and rosemary sprinkled on top. The pasta was clearly fresh but it could have done with being cooked a little further, but the sauce had a gorgeous, silky consistency.
We’d already eaten far too much but, yeah, we decided to split the café gourmand (£6.95), a taster selection including a tangy lemon cheesecake; a chocolate pud with a hard outer shell and a gooey centre; a layered caramel and apple tart and a scoop of raspberry sorbet. Oh, that raspberry sorbet… How our tabs did laugh. The dessert came with one espresso, but we ordered a second (£1.75) so as not to collapse in a heap on the floor. The staff were polite and attentive, giving us a decent amount of time to calm down between dishes. Perfect for a romantic meal without being overly pricey, and although it doesn’t quite exact the modest nature of a traditional bistro, we welcomed their twists and turns on the format.
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