Harden's says
Upstairs at the Three Compasses in Smithfield, a pub that's stood the test of time (over 300 years), Henry Harris has once again revived his Racine concept with this bouchon. Even the old Knightsbridge sign has been brought out of retirement for the occasion.
Harden's survey result
Summary
“Can’t fault it… It’s impossible not to have a good time here!” – Henry Harris and his team are cooking up a veritable storm at this “real pearl” on the City borders north of Smithfield Market, delivering “French classics in the most sublime manner: Tête de Veau? Snails? Terrine?” This is “first-rate, down-to-earth, bourgeois food in generous portions” that’s “the stuff of dreams” (“you have to like offal to get the best of their offer, but the more standard fare is fabulous too”). “The team never misses a beat” either – “fun, yet professional”, while the “slightly unexpected” location on the first floor of a pub is “not fantastically grand or anything”, but “filled with the cheerful vibe of people enjoying themselves”. “If you can secure a table, this is the best brasserie cooking in London”. Top Menu Tips – “I would cheerfully walk over broken glass for the rabbit in silky mustard sauce with Alsace bacon and the spinach with foie gras”; “exquisite andouillette, I have never had better”; “creme caramel with prune in Armagnac, as good as it gets”; “so many great dishes I have lost count! Grouse; Chicken to share with pumpkin, or morels; Beef to share”; “eat everything on the blackboard!”
Summary
“Transporting you to a French bistro in Lyon” – Henry Harris’s phenomenal, year-old sequel to his Knightsbridge Racine (which closed in 2015) just marches on and has quickly become one of the Top-10 most notable destinations in our annual diners’ poll, thanks to its huge and “sophisticated foodie fan base”. “It has an unpromising location – up a narrow staircase” above The Three Compasses pub near Farringdon tube – but once inside it’s “always buzzing” and “such a fun place to eat”. The “sublime” food from the blackboard menu here is “the stuff of dreams for lovers of traditional French cooking” (“no wonder so many chefs eat there!”): “proper French classics executed with skill and passion” (“just don’t check your cholesterol!”); and all “in generous portions and at ungreedy prices”. “It feels like it’s been here for decades, with its very confident and focussed menu”; and there’s “exemplary service from engaged and knowledgeable staff”. Just one thing… “it’s almost impossible to get a table…”. Top Menu Tips – “the rabbit in mustard sauce with Alsace bacon is one of the best dishes ever”; “delicious tête de veau with Henry Harris’s sauce ravigote”; “Escarole and Mimolette salad and Bayonne ham with Celeriac remoulade is generously portioned and very tasty”.
Summary
A “fabulous successor to the legendary Racine” (which closed in Knightsbridge in 2015) and “an amazing, blazing return to the stove for Henry Harris” – this “very lively room, up steep stairs” above Farringdon’s Three Compasses pub is the opening of the year and, despite all the hype, it doesn’t disappoint. “There’s lots of passion and skill that goes into this quintessential cooking” – “French classics (basics even) taken to another level”. Service, overseen by co-founder Dave Strauss, is “pitch perfect”: “charming and from people who clearly love what they do”. “One leaves uplifted and feeling that all is well with the world… that is, in the unlikely event that you can get a table!”. Top Menu Tip – “a spot-on and delicious tête de veau sauce ravigote”.
For 34 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Bouchon Racine?
66 Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6BP
Restaurant details
Bouchon Racine Restaurant Diner Reviews
"An out of character poor evening - both main courses were unsatisfactory: a misdescribed mushroom and autumn vegetable orso dish was more a cheese soup, and the tete de veau was all fat and no meat. Excellent service at least."
"Henry's cooking is exquisite. Wonderful food at not unfair prices. Excellent sensible wine list. No wonder it is so hard to book"
"Exemplary is a word that crops up and that is exactly right, perfect feisty rabbit in mustard, ham with celeriac, asparagus with morels, veal chop. we had a slight hiccough re timing, but service was relaxed and confident and its a fun place to sit and watch folk."
"Lives up to it's illustrious name"
"Simply superb. It's almost impossible to find better food and service. What a fabulous restaurant."
"An absolutely beautiful full French meal. Fresh herring to start - soused with gentle pickles and potatoes. Rabbit as a main with a silky Dijon sauce, then the crème caramel with prune in Armagnac. All three dishes as good as they get. Ambre vermouth as an appetiser and Pineau des Charente with dessert and a couple of bottles of lovely and well priced wine. The only slight niggle was the room was quite noisy, but it was a Friday afternoon and we had some City boys in full bray. "
"Terrific. Came here for the first time last November to book for a family dinner based on various reviews, and took one look and sat down at a spare table for lunch. How lucky was that? One Steak Tartare, one Tete de Veau and one Pot au Chocolat and two glasses of house red later, I was happier than I'd been for a while and pondering how to remortgage the house to pay for my new obsession. Watching the other plates come out was the stuff of dreams. The Dover Sole looked astonishing, and when my nephew had it at the family dinner it proved to be so. I've been twice more since. It's not fantastically grand and the glassed area can be a little noisy, but it is a perfect room wherever you sit. "
"As close to traditional French perfection as you'll find anywhere: simply superb."
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £45.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £5.00 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Bread | £0.00 |
| Service | 10.00% |
66 Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6BP
Opening hours
| Monday | CLOSED |
| Tuesday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Wednesday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Friday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Saturday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Sunday | CLOSED |
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