Clerkenwell , French Restaurant Guide

2024 Review: “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.

“How can you not love Otto’s?” In a world of corporate, Identikit restaurants, Otto Tepasse’s “old-fashioned” and “exceptionally quirky” fixture in an obscure stretch of the dull Gray’s Inn Road is “a treasure”. On the menu: “proper Old-School French cuisine” (“zero nouvelle”) which might not please your cardiologist, but might put a smile on your face: “Indulgent. Over the top. So, so rich”. More than the cooking, though, the secret to its success is that it preserves “a dying essence of French culinary exceptionalism and theatre”, with a passion for hospitality that’s “beyond professional”. “The Duck à la presse – basically four courses of duck – is absolutely superb, but it’s Otto’s performance whilst cooking at the table that’s peerless”. (“The only downside is that Otto will charm your date better than you ever can”). The wine list is “always a treat” too, and only adds to its popularity for client entertaining. “You always roll out but you already can’t wait to go again. Art de la Table? This is the real address, not The Ritz. It’s always a treat going here”.

“Discreetly tucked away from more fashionable eateries and with a lovely atmosphere” – this charming veteran of over forty years’ standing near Smithfield Market is “an old favourite which doesn’t change much… hope it never does!”. “A lovely take on a French bistro/brasserie”: its combination of “rich and comforting, old school, classic French food in a warm and convivial setting” makes for a “stylish and low-key” destination that’s “romantic” by night, and also a “good place for a quiet and atmospheric business lunch near the City”.

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.

“A good staple” that’s “convenient for the City, Inns of Court and legal profession” – this convivial bistro hidden away in a courtyard near Hatton Garden is “still a safe choice if not quite what it was” (when it was part of a larger, grander concern, which closed down during Covid). Service is “engaged”; the “creditable” Gallic cuisine is “always reliable” (e.g. “sound Mediterranean fish soup; well-balanced salmon fishcake with a good Hollandaise, and a very decent crème brulée”); and the overall package remains a hit with expense accounters, who often nominate it as their favourite choice for a business lunch.

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.

2024 Review: 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.

“Can’t fault it… It’s impossible not to have a good time here!” – Henry Harris and his team are cooking up a veritable storm at this “real pearl” on the City borders north of Smithfield Market, delivering “French classics in the most sublime manner: Tête de Veau? Snails? Terrine?” This is “first-rate, down-to-earth, bourgeois food in generous portions” that’s “the stuff of dreams” (“you have to like offal to get the best of their offer, but the more standard fare is fabulous too”). “The team never misses a beat” either – “fun, yet professional”, while the “slightly unexpected” location on the first floor of a pub is “not fantastically grand or anything”, but “filled with the cheerful vibe of people enjoying themselves”. “If you can secure a table, this is the best brasserie cooking in London”. Top Menu Tips – “I would cheerfully walk over broken glass for the rabbit in silky mustard sauce with Alsace bacon and the spinach with foie gras”; “exquisite andouillette, I have never had better”; “creme caramel with prune in Armagnac, as good as it gets”; “so many great dishes I have lost count! Grouse; Chicken to share with pumpkin, or morels; Beef to share”; “eat everything on the blackboard!”