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/

Bugatti Pizzeria
145 Wandsworth High Street
London SW18 4JB

Bugatti pizzeria

Inside the Bugatti pizzeria

Bugatti Pizzeria is located on Wandsworth High Street, not far from the Town Hall and the commercial centre.
The frontside of the restaurant is not wide but actually it is a quite large restaurant with good space between the tables. It feels quite airy, an impression reinforced by the view of the stairs going upstairs.

We took a pizza Regina B (made of mozzarella, ham, mushrooms and olives – £5) and a pizza calzone piccante (folded pizza with pepperoni, cheese and chilli pepper – £5). As drinks we had a bottle of an Italian sparkling water (£1.50) and a Moretti beer (£3) served cold, as it should be.

The two pizzas

Pizza Regina

The pizza Regina was a bit disappointing. The main problem with it was that the toppings were, or certainly tasted as though they were, of very low supermarket quality. I’d make that complaint particularly about the ham, which I’m pretty sure was the reconstituted wafer thin variety – and in any case, had very little flavour. The pizza base was also quite tasteless, which left everything up to the mozarella and mushrooms. The texture and crispness of the base was fine, but overall a disappointingly bland experience. Of course, we’re not in the (low) class of pizza hut or anything like that!  But I can’t rate Bugatti’s pizza Regina anywhere above average either.

Pizza calzone piccante

The pizza Calzone piccante was decent. The base was not crispy but it was still alright. I do appreciate the tomato sauce was put on the side of the pizza and not directly on it as it happens sometimes, making the pizza soggy. The toppings were some chilli pepper, cheese and some pepperoni that looked fried like fried bacon. The spicy oil was nicely spicy.

Cost and conclusion: it was £14.50 (service charge not included and not automatically added to the bill – we like that) for the two pizzas and the drinks. Hard to beat that price which is £5 for a pizza or pasta (excluding seafood) between 12 to 5 pm. Outside this time frame they are more around £7-8. Still, quite an amazingly low price for London. Only Franco Manca is in the same price range with better pizzas (although our second visit there was not a great experience) but a less “fancy” decor. In neither case would I do the trip just for their pizzas but they can be recommended when around the area. Bugatti Pizzeria also does take away.