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French restaurant Le P’tit Normand 185 Merton Road, Southfields Wandsworth London SW18 5EF
Jul 12th, 2009 by Olivier

French restaurant Le P’tit Normand
185 Merton Road, Southfields, Wandsworth
London SW18 5EF
http://www.leptitnormand.co.uk

Le P’tit Normand

Nice traditional décor

Nice traditional décor

ptitnormand2

More tables on the rear side

More tables on the rear side

In our search for French restaurants in South London we discovered online Le P’tit Normand in Southfields. Living near Wandsworth Common, it is not exactly next door but the trip was really worth it! This place offers an unbelievable good value for money. I try many new restaurants and often the dining experience is quite disappointing so it feels great when a good one is found.

Le P’tit Normand is nicely decorated and there is a warm atmosphere, thanks to the excellent welcome by the hostess who speaks both English and French. There were some tricolour decorations on the ceilling – because of the approaching 14 Juillet.

The 3 courses set lunch menu at £12.95 gave the choice between la crème de fenouil et coco, le soufflé au fromage and la salade de melon et jambon for the first course. For the main course the choice was between le filet de bar and le poussin.  Then you have the choice between dessert or cheese. We ordered one set menu with the soufflé au fromage (cheese soufflé) followed by the filet au bar (seabass) and à la carte I had the carpaccio de magret de canard fumé (thin slices of smoked duck) et avocat sauce mangue (£5.95) as first course followed by a confit de canard au jus de porto et figues (slowly cooked duck), pommes sarlardaises (£14.65). As drink we had a glass of red house wine (quite good) and a bottle of sparkling water (Badoit mineral water).

Excellent rillettes

Excellent rillettes

The meal started with (complementary) rillettes with some toasted bread. Rillettes is similar to pâté. I am normally not a fan of rillettes but I have to say I loved them here. The texture was quite smooth and the taste nice.  This was followed by bread (also complementary) and which was excellent. It was warm and crispy on the outside. We especially liked the one with nuts. From the bread I just knew this restaurant was going to be good. Too many places forget the importance of a good bread or it is just a detail to them, but details are important and quite often they do make the difference.

The two starters

The two starters

Le soufflé au fromage

Le soufflé au fromage

The cheese soufflé was excellent. It arrived piping hot and still bubbling. It had quite a bit of flavour. With its light and fluffy texture, it was an excellent light starter.

Carpaccio de magret de canard fumé et avocat sauce mangue

Carpaccio de magret de canard fumé et avocat sauce mangue

The Carpaccio de magret de canard fumé et avocat (avocado) sauce mangue was excellent. I am usually not into avocado but here it went so well with the mango and its sweet and acidulous flavour.

The main courses

The main courses

Filet de bar

Filet de bar

Close-up of the seabass

Close-up of the seabass

The sea bass was also excellent. It was beautifully cooked, with a nicely crispy skin. Unlike at Harrisons, it was not salted to death but instead perfectly seasoned. It was presented on a round of butternut squash which was also perfectly cooked and a nice contrast to the fish, and finished with a sort of pea and parsley coulis. The portion was fairly generous – being four fillets of fish – whilst still leaving plenty of room for dessert.

Magret de canard

Magret de canard

Close-up

Close-up

The confit de canard au jus de porto et figues was excellent, quite hot with a great crispy skin. The port and fig sauce was very good, being on the sweet side but not oversweet. The portion was quite big, probably one of the largest confit of  duck I had in the UK. Both plates were hot too, which was a nice touch.

Cheese and dessert

Cheese and dessert

The chocolate & banana pudding

The chocolate & banana pudding

Close-up

Close-up

The chocolate & banana pudding tiède (warm) was a sort of a chocolate and banana fondant, with a small liquid centre, and topped with banana rounds. It was very good – quite light and not too sweet.  A good finish to an excellent meal. The cheese was fine, and you have the choice between a fairly large selection. The hostess’ knowledge with cheese was impressive; for example, she could quickly identify each cheese and whether or not it was unpasteurized. The espresso coffee was good too.

Espresso coffee

Espresso coffee

Cost and conclusion: it was about £56 optional service charge included. I am against the optional service charge being automatically added to the bill, I think it should be left to the appreciation of the customer but here they really deserved it. The service was extremely nice and friendly. The French chef came to say hello too. The lunch was great, with excellent meals and all that for only £56. What I really appreciated was the attention given to details: many restaurants manquent de rigueur (are lacking it) but it was certainly not the case here. The atmosphere was warm with some French music and songs in the background (Françoise Hardy), perfect for a relaxing lunch. It reminded me Le Vauban in the same style but located in Antibes. It was a pleasure to go to Le P’tit Normand and we will definitely be back for a revisit! Highly recommended.

Le P'tit Normand on Urbanspoon


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