French restaurant Le P’tit Normand
185 Merton Road, Southfields
London SW18 5EF

Delicious rillettes

Le P’tit Normand is a French restaurant located in Southfields. It is an expected location for such a traditional French restaurant as it is next to a take away and in front of a pub and a bus stop. Inside, you enter in another world, cut from the outside. This was our second visit following a good experience the first time.

We ordered one 3 course set menu at £19.50 including a crême brûlée au foie gras et poire (pear), a poussin and a cheeseboard. A la carte we had a Artichaut farci au Crabe et Gratinée à la Chapelure, sauce au Noilly Prat (bread crumb glazed artichoke heart, stuffed with white crab meat, dry vermouth sauce – £6.50) followed by a Confit de Canard au Jus de Porto et Figues, Pommes Sarladaises (Cured duck leg, port and fig sauce, Salardaise potatoes – £14.65) and a Tarte au citron et agrumes ( lemon tart with mandarin slices on top – £5.50). As drink we had a carafe 1/2 litre of house red wine (£8.10) and a bottle of Badoit (£3).

Carafe of red wine & sparkling water Badoit

The starters

Artichaut farci au Crabe

Crème brûlée au foie gras et poires

The crème brûlée au foie gras and pears was delicious. Of course you must be into foie gras for choosing that kind of meal! It was very smooth and the taste of foie gras was not overhelming, thanks to the pear that provided a good balance. The artichaut farci au crabe et gratinée à la chapelure, sauce au Noilly Prat was also quite tasty, but became just a bit overpowering for my taste as I worked my way through that dish.  It could have used some sort of accompaniment to provide a contrast to the flavour.

The two main courses

Confit de canard

Poussin with endives & garlic

Close-up

The main courses were good too. The confit de canard was very nicely done, with a rich and slightly sweet sauce. We weren’t quite so thrilled by the Pommes Sarladaises though (which accompanied both mains), which might have been improved had they been crispy. The poussin was perfectly cooked with a crispy skin. The bitterness of the endive was going well with the slightly sweet sauce.

The cheese board

Cheese & bread

Lemon tart with slices of mandarin

The cheese board was good, with a large choice of unpasteurised cheese. I think only two were pasteurised. The bread accompaning the cheeses was excellent and with the red wine it was a wonderful way to end the dinner. The lemon tart had a nicely piquant flavour, not too sweet, and nicely set off with the mandarin.

Cost and conclusion: it was £64.45 including the discretionary 12.5% service charge that goes to the restaurant staff. While the service were efficient and friendly, I am opposed to the service charge automatically added to the bill. It should left fully at the discretion of the client. The result in this case is the same, but it is for the principle I am writing this 😉 Great food, great service at a reasonable price and all in a pleasant surrounding. What to ask more?

You can read the previous review with more details and photos about le P’tit Normand at http://www.trusted-gourmet.com/2009/07/french-restaurant-le-ptit-normand-185-merton-road-southfields-wandsworth-london-sw18-5ef/