St James's, French Restaurant Guide

“A modern, London take on a classic French format” – this high-ceilinged, “super-cool looking” newcomer opened in September 2020 and sits inside a “beautifully fitted out” new St James’s building (‘The Marq’ – on the site that once was Green’s, long RIP). The longish menu of “classic” small plates and more ‘haute’ brasserie dishes (with desserts from a posh trolley) is a witting homage to the grand brasseries of Paris, Lyon and Alsace – but the more substantial options are not served at prices we associate with the term ‘brasserie’. There’s also a basement wine bar, Frank’s (see also). Top Tip – as well as the expected wine list, there’s also a “fun cocktail selection, which is unusually comprehensive for a restaurant of this high level of cooking”.

Below Maison François (see also), this amiable, new, no-bookings wine bar in St James’s mixes a nowadays-proven formula of unconventional wines with hearty Gallic small plates: charcuterie, pâté and so forth. Handy to know about in a pricey area.

“A useful addition to St James’s”, on the attractive former site of Boulestin and L’Oranger, which benefits from a light-filled main dining room, and a cute adjoining terrace in summer (“a fascinating and enchanting hidden corner”). It was opened in July 2020 by Frenchman Richard Weiss, who worked at Brasserie St Jacques (long RIP) down the road, before it became Café Murano, and thrives on its “accomplished French cuisine and helpful service”. You can push the boat out pricewise if you want to, but there’s an unusually good range of more modestly priced items here if you are on a budget.

On the Mayfair site of Indian Accent (RIP), this chic May 2021 newcomer is the first London outpost of Gallic TV chef Cyril Lignac, who owns four Parisian restaurants. Unlike his St Germain venture of the same name – which serves only raw food to soak up the cocktails – here at this 100-seater (with ground floor and basement) you can find luxurious hot bites: e.g. scallops with caramelised miso, Madras curried crab, or satay fillet steak. There are also nearly 250 wines and cocktails. Early reporters acclaim this as an “amazing and really original” venue, but even they can find it “overpriced” (a slight echo of the views of the Guardian’s Grace Dent, who judged it ‘a not-very-good restaurant’).

“Great French food in a relaxed setting” makes this “cosy” Soho bistro a magnet for London diners wanting a taste of Belle Epoque Paris. Launched in 2013 by three brothers and named after their mother, the establishment “consistently delivers to a high standard”. A sister venue in Brick Lane has closed down.

2021 Review: An all-day brasserie-concept from luxury Mayfair restaurant Park Chinois: the 92-cover venue launched in July 2019, with chef Gennaro Vitto, who was previously a pastry chef at Park Chinois, at the stoves.

Following closure of L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon and the death of the man himself, this Picadilly café is now one of two London ventures opened in late 2019 by the group he founded. It’s all very chic and continental, but you don’t come here for culinary adventure – but to buy or snack on everyday staples (lots of tempting patisserie and viennoiserie, lasagna, club sandwich, Caesar salad…).

“What a setting!” This “improbably glamorous and huge” destination – “well-located” just seconds from Piccadilly Circus – occupies a “magnificent” Grade I listed basement, whose gorgeous Beaux Arts / Art Deco interiors date from the 1930s. That it is, for many reporters, “the nearest thing in the UK to an authentic Parisian brasserie (reminiscent of La Coupole in Montparnasse)” is entirely by design as that is just what Corbin & King were aiming for when they established it in 2012. The brasserie fare – “good, safe, formulaic and French” – doesn’t typically set the world on fire, but was rated more highly than ever this year and is “amazing value for money in the heart of London’s West End”, making the venue “a favourite go-to when in town”. “If you stick with the cheaper dishes and daily specials you will get as close to a bargain as you are likely to get in this area”. Try to squeeze in a cocktail in the super-atmospheric bar. Or make an evening of it: “the cabaret show is not to be missed”.

2021 Review: Frenchman Guillaume Depoix has taken over a corner site in Golden Square (previously a PizzaExpress), with a view to opening ‘the perfect Soho brasserie’ in November 2019 (a brave post-Brexit move, we think). He has extensive front-of-house experience, with four years in London under his belt, plus Alain Ducasse’s Plaza Athénée.

With the passing of Joel Robuchon and closure of Covent Garden’s L’Atelier de Robuchon (RIP), this newish (late 2019) Mayfair venture is the main London torch-bearer for this famous French gastronomic name (see also ‘Le Deli Robuchon’ on Piccadilly, but it’s of no huge culinary ambition). The dining room – with a gorgeous marble bar running down one side, and tables with banquette seating down the other – is very fine and grand and already winning fans as a prime “business” choice. The luxurious modern French dishes are of high quality, with many echoes of L’Atelier (but perhaps a little simpler and less expensive), and a good proportion of early reporters acclaim this as their best meal of the year.

Star chef Luke Selby (former head chef of Hide), together with brothers Nathaniel and Theo, now runs this intimate 10-seat counter experience in the cellar of the 275-year-old Blue Posts pub in Chinatown, which melds a love of British produce, Japanese techniques and classic French training. We’ve rated it on limited but outstanding initial feedback and the impossibility of getting a table – bookings are released on the first of every month, at midday.

“Glitz and completely OTT surroundings make this an experience that will be remembered” – there’s all-round applause for this “fabulous and very romantic” dining room, on the top floor of a Mayfair palazzo of fairy tale grandeur. For the most part, despite the terrifying pricing, this praise also extends beyond the “magnificent” setting to the “superb” cuisine, which is overseen (from afar) by star chef Pierre Gagnaire. Meals “come with so many bits and bobs, so you don’t really know where to start” but on nearly all accounts it’s “superb”. Whether Michelin should really have awarded it three stars, though, is debatable. A fair summary: “Grade A for effort, but it’s all a bit too much”.

If you want to visit this “fantastical location” within Mourad Mazouz’s lavish Mayfair palazzo – a vision in pink from designer David Shrigley – then afternoon tea is the way to go: “it’s one of the more expensive options in town”, but “fabulous”. For dinner, however, this wacky chamber often seems “overpriced”, although – to be fair – this appears to be of absolutely no concern to the fashionista crowd it perennially attracts. Go once, anyway, to visit the egg-shaped loos!

2019 Review: “Hope they can get their act together...” This year-old London outpost of a models-and-celebs hangout in Paris’s 1er arrondissement (where Kim and Kanye are apparently regulars) has failed to inspire much gastronomic excitement for its international comfort food since landing in Mayfair’s cute Shepherd Market.

2021 Review: In a Mayfair townhouse that was formerly the short-lived Babel House (RIP), this ‘contemporary bistro de luxe’ features a southern French menu from chef Thierry Laborde, and opened in mid-2019, too late for any survey feedback. In his early review, The Evening Standard’s David Sexton focused on its handsome design, variably realised and expensive cuisine, impressive wine list and bargain set lunch (£25 with wine).

2019 Review: For a taste of ‘la vie en rose’, head to this atmospheric Shepherd Market bolthole – “a reminder of bistros in small French towns years ago”. “The cooking is simple traditional French, with some depth of flavour”, while “the wine is very reasonably priced, especially for Mayfair”.

2021 Review: “It feels like a proper Gallic bistro”; and this ‘petit coin’ of Mayfair’s cute and atmospheric Shepherd Market is reasonably “authentic” all-round – “the classic French cooking takes you away on holiday” all without leaving W1, and it’s most popular as a place for wooing a date.

2019 Review: Quirky, French-run wine-bar (plus upstairs dining room) tucked away just off Carnaby Street, which has dropped on and off the foodie radar in recent years. Scores currently are well off their highs of a few years ago, but it’s still tipped for its wine list and reasonable selection of accompanying nibbles (which incorporate some fairly substantial options).