“What it lacks in food” – the Gallic fare is rather “overpriced and average” – is “made up for in atmosphere and jovial service”, say fans of this “off-the-beaten-track” Elephant & Castle bistro; it’s run by the same family as the Lobster Pot, next door.
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The Savoy conjures up a wholly fallacious nostalgia for me, a yearning for an Agatha Christie world of gorgeous 1930s interiors, walls lacquered to a high shine, mirrors aged for perfect flattery. The revamped Grill delivers on appearance pretty well (my friend J thought it a bit theatrical), but not on atmosphere. I wanted it to be full of aristos making arch remarks and trying to stab each other; instead it was mainly touristy. But how can they escape it? The Savoy will never slide off the map.
Amol Rajan (3rd January 2011)
6/10
It's hard to know what Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec would have made of Elephant & Castle. Even those of us who hail from south of the river don't challenge the view that the two roundabouts at its core are the armpit of London. So you'd think an artist as flamboyant as that master of fin de siècle Paris would struggle to find inspiration amid these dreary tower blocks. Perhaps it was their very greyness that prompted Hervé Regent to install a brasserie named after the painter here – next to The Lobster Pot, a 20-year-old fish restaurant he owns next door – and make it a family business by employing his eldest son front of house, and two others in the kitchen.
Jay Rayner (29th November 2010)
140 Newington Butts, London SE11 (020 7582 6800). Meal for two, including wine and service, £80
Zoe Williams (20th January 2011)
Amol Rajan (3rd January 2011)
Jay Rayner (29th November 2010)
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