Whitechapel, French Restaurant Guide

“A simple menu with unexpectedly great food” is to be found at this ‘bistroquet’ on Brick Lane, which has flown the Tricolor in curry country for the past 11 years with a parade of Gallic classics including snails, frogs’ legs and veal sweetbreads.

“One of the best dining rooms in London”, the Galvin Bros’ “impressive” Spitalfields venue occupies a “spectacular” space that looks like a church, but which was actually part of a late-Victorian girls’ school – a “real special occasion place” both for romantics or for an “unbeatable, proper business lunch in the City”. It won improved ratings this year for its “fabulous”, “classic” cuisine, its “professional” service and its “refined” wines from a “huge book of vintages”.

Occupying “an excellent spot in the City, overlooking a pedestrian square behind Bishopsgate” – this is, say fans, a “reliable” bistro, whose “great French food and friendly service” delivers “the Galvin experience, but at approachable prices”, right next door to the brothers’ high-end La Chapelle (see also). More critical reporters, though, diagnose price creep here, which they feel is starting to erode the level of value, especially given the relatively humble interior. Top Tip – “sit outside on the terrace”.