French restaurant Bellevue Rendez-vous 218 Trinity Road, Wandsworth Common London SW17 7HP
Bellevue Rendez-vous is a great local restaurant for those living around Wandsworth Common. It is owned by a couple who really work hard to provide an excellent friendly service. I have not reviewed every time I went there (over 10 times easily) but it has always been a nice relaxing dining experience. This time Pablo the chef was ill but his replacement managed to still provide a good dinner. For more reviews about this place, please take a look at the page of restaurants listed by alphabetical order.
We ordered a 3 course set menu at £19 for one, and the rest was à la carte. As starters we had a quiche and a foie gras (£8). As main course we had a boeuf bourguignon and a bavette (£13). For desserts we had a gâteau de Pablo and a fondant au chocolat (£6.50). We also had a 1/2 litre of sparkling water Badoit (£2) and a glass of house red wine (£4.50).
The two starters
Foie gras et chutney
La quiche
The foie gras was a quite big piece! It was very good, smooth and tasty. With the sliced baguette, it was a great starter. The bread here has always been fresh and light. The quiche, sadly, was a bit overdone. A shame, since it had a nice light pastry and tasty filling – but even if still quite edible, was not up to the usual standard here.
The main courses
Boeuf bourguignon et gratin dauphinois
Bavette aux échalottes et pommes de terre sautées
The main courses were good. The bavette (flank of beef) was perfectly cooked, a little burnt and crispy on the outside and red without being bloody inside. The shallots on top were a good balance to the meat. The potatoes could have been better cooked, but then the chef Pablo was exceptionally not there as explained above. Normally they are very hot and lightly crispy. This time they were mildly hot. The boeuf bourguignon was also very good. It is a simple dish, full of strong rich flavours – definite comfort food. It was served with rich creamy potatoes gratin dauphinois, which were a perfect accompaniment.
The desserts
Gâteau de Pablo
Fondant au chocolat
Close-up
The desserts were good, especially the fondant au chocolat. When you break the shell you have a nice hot melting chocolate that matches well with the vanilla ice cream. If you are into chocolate, this dessert is highly recommended! The gâteau de Pablo was light and a perfect way to end the diner. The presentation was a little less good than usual for the reason mentioned earlier.
Cost and conclusion: it was £53. At the bottom of the menu it is written a 12.5% service charge is added to rude people. We managed to escape it by being friendly enough 😉 So there is no “discretionary” service charge included in the bill as many restaurants rudely do. We really like that and restaurants like Bellevue Rendez-vous should be supported for following that policy. Highly recommended!
Côte Restaurant 17-21 Tavistock Street, London WC2E 7PA Tel: 020 7379 9991
Côte Restaurant is one of a small chain, and the Covent Garden outlet is on Tavistock Street. It is quite a nicely decorated restaurant, with a decent amount of space between tables and a pleasant surrounding. It has large windows that can be folded back to allow plenty of light and fresh air in. Actually that’s not such a great idea in this location, as the noise of traffic is quite disturbing to any conversation over lunch.
There were four of us for lunch. We didn’t have all that much time, so we decided to follow the fixed price lunch menu (also available pre-theatre) which was 11.95 for two courses, or 13.75 for three. With a meeting immediately after lunch, we chose just to take tap water which was provided slightly cooled in earthenware bottles. Nice touch, but I’d rather the water had been properly chilled. We started the meal with some bread, which was very good. Just as well, since I found at the end that it was not complementary but charged to our bill. It was only £1.50 so it is the principle I’m complaining about rather than the price – not only that simple things like bread are charged, but that the waiters don’t advise that there is a charge and how much it is before bringing the bread. A tiny sum, but still the sort of thing that can ruin your experience.
Lentils with a poached egg
For the starter, I took lentils with a poached egg. It was OK, though I found the egg a bit bland. My companions took a pea, mint & courgette soup, which looked fairly decent.
Salad with smoked salmon
Steak frites
Poulet grillé
As a main course I chose a salad with smoked salmon. The salmon was pretty good, as was the dill sauce it came with but I wasn’t so impressed by the salad leaves. They were fresh enough, but all just a bit too “stalky” for my liking – that is, mainly stalk, not so much leaf. Two of my companions took steak frites – which was a “thinly beaten out rump steak with frites and garlic butter (served pink). These were reported to be “ok, but average” which I must say is how they looked. The last of us took a poulet grillé which was “chargrilled butterflied chicken breast with wild mushroom, crème fraiche and chive sauce, served with gratin potato”. It was a good sized bit of chicken but I don’t recall noticing a sauce…
Iced summer berries with warm white chocolate sauce
chocolate pot
For dessert, we chose two “chocolate pots” which were reported to be a bit weird by those who took them. There was some dark chocolate covered by a sort of crème fraiche. I took iced summer berries with warm white chocolate sauce – which turned out to be exactly as described, that is, frozen berries with a little pot of hot white chocolate. I found the white chocolate to be very sweet – and the berries very sour. A bit too much contrast there, and I believe I’d have preferred the berries not frozen. My last companion chose a lemon sorbet, which was also reported to be fine.
We ended the meal with assorted coffees. Mine was an espresso, which was very average and a bit weak.
Cost & conclusion: The bill came to £70.59 including service charge. For a three course meal plus coffee for four people in covent garden, its really hard to complain. The food was nothing to rave about, and you get what you pay for in terms of quality (it was far from top quality steak, for example) but there was nothing obnoxious or poorly cooked either. Overall, not bad for a cost effective lunch in a limited time frame and certainly better than many of the tourist traps in this area. Other restaurants reviewed in the Covent Garden area are the Italian Zizzi, the Japanese Hazuki, the Mexican Wahaca, Terroirs and the pub Marquess of Anglesey.
French restaurant Le P’tit Normand 185 Merton Road, Southfields, Wandsworth London SW18 5EF http://www.leptitnormand.co.uk
Nice traditional décor
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
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.
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
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.
Filet de bar
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
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
The chocolate & banana pudding
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
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.
French restaurant Gastro 67 Venn Street, Clapham Common London SW4 0BD
Gastro
Gastro is a French restaurant that was recommended to me by a French guy while I was eating at Bellevue Rendez-vous. It is located a minute’s walk from Clapham Common tube station, in front of Clapham Picturehouse Cinema. It is possible to eat on the terrace but we decided to eat inside. It is like an old French café du village. Seeing the old wooden table, the confiture Bonne Maman jars on the table and that kind of glass (see photos), it made me remember a holiday I spent as a child at la Bourboule in the Puy-de-Dôme in Auvergne, central France. If you have the nostalgia of France, this is the place to visit. All the staff are French and they were friendly. We talked in French naturellement.
As starters, we ordered steak tartare (£7.85) and gravalax (£9.95). For the main course, we ordered breaded veal with risotto (£15.50) and duck with pepper sauce and olive polenta (£16.80). The wine was a bottle of Clairières Merlot 2007 vin de pays d’Oc (£15.50 – you can get it for £5.12 at slurp.co.uk) which was good.
Clairières Merlot 2007
Tranches de baguette, avec du beurre
Nicely presented steak tartare
Steak tartare with the egg on
The steak tartare was something of a do-it-yourself affair – which is to say that the ground beef arrived in the centre of my plate, surrounded by 7 little bowls containing egg, diced shallots, anchovies, mustard, parsley, olive oil and capers. This allowed me to spice the meat to my own tastes. Overall, it wasn’t bad but I could have used a bit more shallot as overall it was just a little bland (which I had to remedy with mustard). Unfortunately, I discovered a couple of bits of fat in the meat half way through, that rather put me off (I don’t like beef fat). So overall, not a bad tartare, but nothing out of the ordinary either and far from the best I’ve tasted.
Gravalax
The gravalax was good. The slices of salmon marinated with dill and spices were quite large. The sour cream sauce was fine but I found the blintz to be a little dry.
Overview of the two main courses
Breaded veel
The breaded veal was also a bit ordinary. OK, choosing breaded veal with risotto (Italian style food) in a French restaurant possibly was not the best choice in the world. But whilst I can take or leave risotto, I do like breaded veal. Except when it is swimming in oil. And unfortunately this was quite greasy, with not a lot of flavour – needing the addition of quite a lot of salt to relieve the blandness. Overall, a pretty ordinary meal and not an experiment I’m going to be in any hurry to repeat.
The magret de canard was quite good. The slices were tender, perfectly cooked. The pepper sauce was quite strong, which I like, but it was a little on the salty side. I was not impressed by the olive polenta, which I found to be bland. The sauce did help but I think it would have been better to have some pommes de terre sautées with vegetables instead. Or a gratin dauphinois.
Cost and conclusion: it was £73.80 and that included the “discretionary” service charge automatically added. You know I am against that and it should be left at the discretion of the client. The service was fine but there were some issues with the food. It was not bad but it was average and, at this cost, the value is not good compared to other French restaurants like Bellevue Rendez-vous in Wandsworth Common, La Bouchée in South Kensington or Chez Lindsay in Richmond, all restaurants with fully French staff. They do have cheap lunch/brunch menus and then the value for money can be pretty good.
French restaurant Bellevue Rendez-vous 218 Trinity Road, Wandsworth Common SW17 7HP London
Reviewed on Tuesday 26 May 2009
French restaurant Bellevue Rendez-vous
We have been many times in this excellent French restaurant next to Wandsworth Common (click here for the previous review done 8 May 2009).
First courses: the scallops were excellent! They arrived piping hot, and were beautifully crispy on the outside, with perfectly cooked inner and nicely tender coral. The presentation was very pleasing, as the scallops came in their shells. I love scallops, and these were amongst the best I’ve had in a long time – so certainly memorable and excellent value. The parma ham and celeriac was also very good, and also with a pleasing presentation. The celeriac was very light and made a nice complement to the ham (possibly a touch of vinaigrette may have enhanced).
In main meals – both were excellent. The rabbit was perfectly cooked, sliding easily off the bone. The meat was wonderfully tender, whilst the outside was nicely browned and flavoursome. Rabbit is an excellent meat (which I’ve had several times in this resturant) that makes a wonderful meal when as well cooked as it was here. What is really nice about this restaurant is their flexibility and readiness to suggest dishes you may like. The salmon was not technically on the menu – but after some discussion with Pablo (chef and owner) about a pan-fried cod and other dishes, we accepted the suggestion of pan-fried salmon instead. It was a good choice! The salmon was cooked to perfection – with a fantastically crispy skin and moist tender inside. The sauce was wonderfully creamy with a hint of ratatouille sauce giving a nice touch. The 2006 Cahors wine was very pleasing.
Great olives
Nice Cahors wine
Scallops
Parma ham with celeriac
Panfried salmon with asparagus
Rabbit with white asparagus
The two desserts
Cost and conclusion: it was £71.50 for a 3 course meal for two, with a bottle of Cahor red wine (£17) and an espresso (£1.50). The service charge is not included into the total bill which is nice and should be followed by all restaurants. We think this place offers the best value for money in London and it is very reliable. It is about the 10th time we come here and the meals were always good.
