The French House

Summary

“Oozing rustic, Gallic charm of yesteryear” – the “lovely, intimate room” above Soho’s famous Francophile watering hole (where de Gaulle is said to have composed his ‘À tous les Français’ speech during WWII, rallying the French people) oscillates over the years between being a forgotten-about curio, and sporadic partnerships with brilliant chefs (e.g. St John’s Fergus Henderson, who started out here) that lead to its re-discovery. The arrival of Neil Borthwick (Mr Angela Hartnett) at the end of last year sees it riding another high – “it’s smashing to have this old-favourite reborn under such good hands” – and his “great, old-fashioned, gutsy French menu” (“short, but with dishes which seem dragged from a distant memory”) can be “top class”, while service is “fabulously friendly” too. A few reporters, though, feels “it doesn’t live up to the hype” or that “while great to have it back, it’s still a work in progress…”