Holborn, French Restaurant Guide

“Consistently lovely for any occasion” – this unusually attractive venue occupies a graciously converted former Georgian auction house in Chancery Lane (dating from 1807), complete with period glass ceiling. It celebrates its 15th anniversary this year as part of Pascal Aussignac’s Club Gascon group, and offers “good value Provence-inspired cuisine and unusual wines from South West France and Corsica”. The basement cocktail bar, Baranis, boasts London’s only indoor pétanque court.

“It was very sad when the Bleeding Heart restaurant never reopened” – a victim of Covid-19 – “but the adjoining bistro” in a Dickensian yard “hidden around the back of Hatton Garden” is “still going strong” under its long-term owners Robert & Robyn Wilson (who established the business in 1983). “In a convenient location between the City and the West End”, the venue has always been popular amongst expense-accounters and “minimal intervention from the efficient service means it’s a great choice for a business lunch” and always feels “busy and buzzy”. The “reliable, classic French bistro cuisine provides something on the menu for all tastes” and “is consistently of a high standard”; and while the cellar is not quite as deep as when the restaurant was in full swing, there remains “a fairly comprehensive wine list”. Top Tip – in summer, “the really lovely terrace is an oasis in this busy part of London”.

2022 Review: On the fringe of the City, this large tavern is part of the well-known eateries grouped around Bleeding Heart Yard, all under common ownership. A “decent-all-round and handy standby”, it was in particular “a perfect place to meet people for the elusive business meetings that could take place between lockdowns”. Reported by Google as ‘Temporarily closed’ in October 2021, we have rated it on the basis that – as the Square Mile picks up – its return is likely.

“Old-fashioned? Yes. Expensive? Yes. But Gorgeous!” – Otto Tepasse’s “charming and theatrical” bastion of classical cuisine near Gray’s Inn showcases “fabulous French food”, most famously its signature duck or lobster pressed at your table. The cuisine is “very rich” by today’s standards, and “not at all your everyday haute cuisine” – but “melt-in-the-mouth gorgeous” and the venue’s “great retro feel with its own character” means a visit is always special. Although the restaurant has been open since 2011 (and featured in this guide for years), a recent flurry of critical attention has brought Giles Coren from The Times and a gaggle from the Evening Standard to test themselves against the ‘Grande Bouffe’ blowout menu. Top Menu Tips – as well as the famous à la presse dishes, “Duck Pie – so ducky!”

“Very decent” French-influenced food helps elevate this fine old Clerkenwell pub restaurant into being a “good all-rounder”, as does its attractive, glazed dining area. That said, it doesn’t attract the attention it did a few years ago when Henry Harris was at the stoves.

“Convenient, if unexciting, medium-priced brasserie two minutes from the Royal Opera House” that’s worth knowing about in the touristy ‘minefield’ it inhabits. The Gallic staples are “fairly priced” (“in particular, the set menus are good value”) and “service is acceptable for such a busy, central establishment”. Top Tip – “great pre-theatre”.

2022 Review: “The duck burger is sublime and the triple-cooked duck-fat chips are moreish” at this offshoot of nearby Club Gascon, which offers a more informal venue for simpler but similar cuisine from SW France. We’ve rated it on the basis of its consistent pre-pandemic performance, as it remains closed as of September 2021 while the team waits for folks to return to their offices around Smithfield.

“Correct Gallic fare where comfort rather than wow is the name of the game” sums up this “good-value French bistro” group, which has a flagship in Battersea and branches in Putney, Wandsworth Common, the City and at the Institut Français in South Kensington. Sceptics judge it “rather run-of-the-mill”, but more commonly it’s seen as a useful standby and continues to garner a voluminous amount of feedback. In particular, fans say, it’s a “favourite place for steak & chips because they do it the French way”.

“Transporting you to a French bistro in Lyon” – Henry Harris’s phenomenal, year-old sequel to his Knightsbridge Racine (which closed in 2015) just marches on and has quickly become one of the Top-10 most notable destinations in our annual diners’ poll, thanks to its huge and “sophisticated foodie fan base”. “It has an unpromising location – up a narrow staircase” above The Three Compasses pub near Farringdon tube – but once inside it’s “always buzzing” and “such a fun place to eat”. The “sublime” food from the blackboard menu here is “the stuff of dreams for lovers of traditional French cooking” (“no wonder so many chefs eat there!”): “proper French classics executed with skill and passion” (“just don’t check your cholesterol!”); and all “in generous portions and at ungreedy prices”. “It feels like it’s been here for decades, with its very confident and focussed menu”; and there’s “exemplary service from engaged and knowledgeable staff”. Just one thing… “it’s almost impossible to get a table…”. Top Menu Tips – “the rabbit in mustard sauce with Alsace bacon is one of the best dishes ever”; “delicious tête de veau with Henry Harris’s sauce ravigote”; “Escarole and Mimolette salad and Bayonne ham with Celeriac remoulade is generously portioned and very tasty”.

Yuma Hashmi’s latest venture is a seventies-styled wine bar (complete with a peacock rattan chair, famous from 1974’s X-rated film Emmanuelle) directly opposite Tehran-Berlin (fka The Drunken Butler), his Persian restaurant in Clerkenwell. The wine list is modern, with natural and biodynamic options, and is backed up by French and Iranian snacks and small plates.