Leatherhead, French Restaurant Guide

There’s no doubting the “fantastic location” of this link in Raymond Blanc’s Heartwood Inns collection – a nook and cranny-filled boozer on pretty Downside Common with a heated outdoor tent and beer garden for added measure. Its victuals aren’t fancy but are “generally good” by common consensus, and continue to be of note for their moderate price tags (especially now they’ve relaunched their bargainous seasonal set menus).

“Yes, just a local pub – but owned by José Pizarro”, godfather of Spanish cuisine in the UK. Unsurprisingly, the maestro’s first gastroboozer-with-rooms (and first venture outside the Big Smoke) is “mainly tapas” and by most reports it’s “well worth a detour” to the Surrey ‘burbs, with “very good outdoor spaces” a further boon. Top Menu Tip – “especially good pork rib paella”.

2022 Review: ‘A taste of rural France on the Fulham Road’ is the promise at this ‘gourmet traiteur’ in Chelsea: an early 2020 newcomer where dishes (to go or for delivery within 4 miles) are designed for reheating at home and prepared by Chris Hill, who most recently worked as a senior sous chef at The Ritz. It’s owned by Dimitri and Mira Plaquet, of a high-quality Belgian food group called La Villa Lorraine. They must be doing something right, as in mid 2021 they launched a second store in Wimbledon.

Quaint, old-fashioned decor lends a “special” atmosphere to this “small neighbourhood restaurant” in St Margaret’s. It’s resolutely French in style, providing “good portions of excellent food” from a traditional menu, whose top features are a Plat de Fruits de Mer and 28-day aged Châteaubriand, both for £80. Be warned, though, “it gets extremely busy around rugby matches at Twickenham”.

This “excellent, family-friendly creperie” “overlooking the river” built a solid local following for its Breton cuisine under Lindsay Wotton, who sold up last year to retire after 35 years. Thus far, the new owners have maintained standards and changed little, with “good-value lunch specials, especially strong on the fish dishes” still getting the nod.

2022 Review: The French cuisine may not be cutting-edge, but it is both consistent and highly accomplished at this ten-year-old restaurant with rooms in north Surrey. Chef owners Laurent Pacaud and Martin Bradley ran the business as a catering company for ten years before that.

“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”.

“Authentically Gallic bistro” near Kew station that’s built a strong following over 16 years for its competitively priced “French classics”. The retro 1950s styling – all gingham tablecloths and Impressionist posters – is part of the appeal. Top Tip – “good-value set lunch”.

“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”.

With its “consistent no-frills French cooking” – charcuterie; “characterful small plates” and sharing dishes; plus a handful of modern French main plates – this rustic Battersea Rise fixture is always a “good bet” for an interesting meal and glass of wine. Founded by the team behind Les Caves de Pyrène, it drew attention for its small plate and natural wines formula a decade ago, although this is less of a stand-out combo now than it was back in the day.

“An impressive and speedy pre-theatre set meal at the SE1 branch…”; “Reliable for quick lunch, and always has a discount…”; “Great Sunday lunch and a warm welcome for the children…” – at its best, this classic Gallic group is “a decent chain serving popular brasserie fare to a fair standard and with a pleasing bustle”. But there is a sharp disparity between its overall marks – which are average-to-low – and the celebrity of its backer; and one harsh diner’s comment carries with it a ring of truth: “I cannot reconcile how Raymond Blanc can live with his continued, if hands-off, connection with this creation. The accountants rule, menus are static and unadventurous; and standards vary between branches and visits; but it is many years since a visit was truly satisfying”.

You could be in ‘La France profonde’ at this “great neighbourhood restaurant” by distant Acton Green. Foodwise, it’s “more than a bistro – this is seriously good classical French cooking, more than worth the detour”. There’s “no greedy pricing, even on the wine”, and “if it feels a bit old-fashioned, that’s attractive in this era of chef worship and cult-like trends!”. Top Menu Tip – “the cheese soufflé is a must every visit”.

“This hidden French gem” – “on Battersea Bridge Road of all places” – “doesn’t look like much from outside, but the food is marvellous”. Patron Franck Raymond “exceeds expectations” with cuisine from his hometown of Evian in the French Alps, served in a “modest” but “calm and civilised” setting.

2022 Review: ‘A taste of rural France on the Fulham Road’ is the promise at this ‘gourmet traiteur’ in Chelsea: an early 2020 newcomer where dishes (to go or for delivery within 4 miles) are designed for reheating at home and prepared by Chris Hill, who most recently worked as a senior sous chef at The Ritz. It’s owned by Dimitri and Mira Plaquet, of a high-quality Belgian food group called La Villa Lorraine. They must be doing something right, as in mid 2021 they launched a second store in Wimbledon.

In Old Church Street, Chelsea, the first pub from the Gladwin brothers opened in mid 2024 – the latest addition to their ‘Local & Wild’ stable of restaurants supplied by the family farm in West Sussex (which includes Rabbit just up the King’s Road). The grand late-Victorian tavern on a corner site was lavishly renovated as recently as 2021, when it was known as ‘The Chelsea Pig’.

“A decent attempt to reproduce Provençal cooking in Shepherd’s Bush”: Lawrence & Emily Hartley’s “nice local bistro” north of Brook Green – “a successor to a spot that was Café Rouge for many years” (and briefly Mustard, RIP) – provides “French classics” with “friendly service”. Critics feel that at times, “the food, though fairly authentic, can be just a bit underwhelming”; but the majority see “much to recommend the place” and feel it’s a “welcome venture” in this underserved neck of the woods. Top Tip – “good set menu”.

Converted from a Victorian laundry by Brixton Market – this “friendly local with tasty small plates, an appropriate wine list and the bustle of Brixton life” has a distinctly Antipodean flavour – owner Melanie Brown founded the New Zealand and Australian Cellars, while exec chef Samantha Harvey hails from Sydney. It has a “great outdoor space for lunch”, too.

“Always reliable and first-class French cooking” is complemented by a serious wine list, including nine from Margaux, at this upmarket neighbourhood spot over two storeys at the Earl’s Court end of South Kensington.

The ‘f-word’ is increasingly applied to the bills here, as well as the famous TV show that created the celebrity of the world’s most famous chef, of which this “unassuming door in a quaint little Chelsea street” is the original flagship. “You might mistake the venue itself for a townhouse: the dining room is actually quite small and intimate”: nitpickers would also say “the decor is a bit dull” and “looking a bit dated”; and with “an ambience bordering on stilted”. Feedback on service likewise ran the whole gamut this year – from “impeccable”… to “perfect, but without displaying any personality”… to “ice-cold and robotic”. Perceptions of the cooking are also very varied, and hard to isolate from both the expectations raised by three Michelin stars and the “eye-watering prices”. Fans say it’s “the treat of the year” with “fabulous” cuisine: be it from the three-course à la carte for £180 per person, the longer ‘Menu Prestige’ for £210 per person; or the ‘Carte Blanche’ surprise menu for £260 per person. But dishes can also seem “pretty but over-engineered”; and even some who think the food here is “enjoyable” sometimes acknowledge “it doesn’t merit three Michelin stars”. Real doomsters just find the restaurant’s ongoing renown “baffling – if this was a new restaurant I don’t think it would even get one star”. And then there is the cost. Even diehard fans say “the pricing is the top end of the top end” (and that “you do get stung on the drinks”). And those who consider it “the most overrated place ever” just say: “don’t waste your money!”