Watford, French Restaurant Guide

This “lovely old pub” in the Chilterns, handy for the Harry Potter antics at Warner Bros Studio nearby, built up quite a reputation for its Anglo-French cooking over nearly two decades under husband-and-wife team Sally & Alvin Michaels. The 18th-century venue is now managed by Alvin’s former protégé Matt Jackson (and part of the growing RedCat pub company) but, on limited feedback this year, its “exceptional pub dining” still makes it a local magnet.

“Wonderful French food” in a “very attractive restaurant” guarantees reliably satisfying meals at this East Finchley fixture – “we always come away feeling we’ve had a lovely evening”. It “remains a top local” in the area, and “the set-price lunch menu is particularly good value, with no extras added to your bill”.

“There’s always a great atmosphere” at this “very comfortable” Georgian tavern in Hampstead, brilliantly run for more than 20 years by Beth Coventry, sister of restaurant critic Fay Maschler (“it’s a real favourite of ours, and whenever we bring friends they invariably love it”). Top Menu Tip – “best roast beef anywhere!”

“Always a long queue” (but “it’s worth it!”) for this Hampstead institution that clocks up its half-centenary next year. Edward de Mesquita’s kiosk sits outside the King William IV pub on the High Street, where it serves sweet and savoury French pancakes to locals and celebs including Harry Styles (who ticks both boxes). “The crepes are wonderful and the ambience comes from its location in London’s most beautiful neighbourhood”.

This “underrated” fixture near Swiss Cottage has long been a “the best place to eat before a show at the Hampstead Theatre”, and is perhaps greater than the sum of its parts. It has won a big fan club over the years, who say it’s also “good enough to return to away from a show for other celebrations” – “the fish always makes people happy and the set menu is a good deal: what’s not to like?”. Simon Bradley (who runs it with his wife Jacinta) has been cooking here for 33 years and even those who feel the food is “not spectacular” – and who keep the ratings in check – still acknowledge that it’s “so much better than any of the alternatives locally”.

“You can imagine you are in France with the walls of French posters and overall design” at Donna Thompson-Smith’s “authentically Gallic” destination, which has been a welcome feature of distant Acton Green for over twenty years now (est. 2004). It has a good number of big fans who say it’s “more than a bistro, with seriously good classical French cooking making it worth the detour”. One or two regulars, though, say it shouldn’t be over-egged (“it’s local to us and good on all levels, but others in town do the same thing better. We’ve been about ten times: but if it sharpened up, we’d go all the time”). Top Menu Tips – “we always have the soufflé for starters as it is magical”.

Catherine Parisot was in her twenties and fresh off the boat from France when she started this “small, old-school Gallic restaurant” in St John’s Wood, and over its 44-year existence it has become a “go-to” destination for many regulars, especially for a “memorable”, “romantic” celebration. “It is the sort of place that makes one feel good”: “a gem” with a “calm and peaceful atmosphere” and “wonderful” and “authentic” cuisine bourgeois. Its ratings scored something of a bounceback this year: “the menu is still largely the same (best pea soup and lamb anywhere) and the quality of everything else as high as ever… plus the indomitable patronne”.

Emily Roux and husband Diego Ferrari further burnished the credentials of the Roux dynasty in 2025 with the “final, well-deserved recognition of a Michelin star” for their “lovely” destination towards the edge of Notting Hill (“at last, after six years the excellence has been recognised but we regulars have long known about its merits!”). Everything about the place is unflashy but “spot on at every level” – “precise”, “subtle and complex” cuisine “with great flavours is delivered with elegance and savoir-faire” in a “modern” environment that’s low-key but “lovely and cosy”. “The menu changes every month and always offers a tasty mixture of French and Italian inspired dishes, beautifully presented and served by the knowledgeable staff. The Italian sommelier is wonderfully enthusiastic and always steers you to something interesting and not too outrageously priced on the wine list”.

Richard Wilkins’s corner-restaurant on the border between Notting Hill and Bayswater is a small venue often recommended for romance by those who “love the intimate nature of the place” (the maximum booking size is six). The standard of cuisine is high, and ingredients are “of excellent provenance” with dishes using A5 wagyu a longstanding menu feature. As of July 2025, the sample online menu offered a tasting option for £120 per person (£150 per person with the wagyu) but also a cheaper three-course selection for £60 per person, which brings the venue more affordably into reach.

“Bijou bistro tucked away in Westbourne Park” serving a “sophisticated and unusual” menu of “classic French small plates” accompanied by “good wine”. It’s a “cosy” place, with “exposed brickwork and wood panelling”.

This “cosy neighbourhood bistro with good French-inspired food” and “very knowledgeable staff” has been a Crouch End fixture since 2002, from chef-patron Lynne Marie Sanders, who trained under the great Alain Ducasse. With its inviting warren of rooms and striking, colourful wall murals, it’s “perfect for date night”.

“Traditional village pub” serving “very good classic French food (“frog’s legs, boeuf bourguignon, crème caramel as a sample three-course lunch”) at a good price” – “Laurent [Brydniak, le patron] runs it very well and always makes a good occasion”. “Hidden down a quiet lane, it’s well worth the journey” – and makes a handy option if you’re visiting nearby Brocket Hall.

“One of a kind!” – this old-school favourite “on the ground floor of a mansion block near Regent’s Park” has seemingly “been perfectly preserved in a time-warp, given a menu, decor and staff that don’t seem to have changed in decades (and the prices seem remarkably reasonable, as though they too have escaped inflation)”. Some in our annual diners’ survey “go every week” (“we are life-long customers, as were my parents before me”; “30 years visiting this restaurant and never a bad meal”) and the place is famous for being packed with silver-haired north Londoners celebrating occasions with their families (“Happy Birthdays are sung and there’s cake with a candle”). “Some things just never go out of fashion and it all just works”: “there are elegant pink tablecloths and napkins” arranged in a 70s’-tastic manner and “the set price menu includes melba toast, then crudités as well as generous servings of the main dishes”, drawn from an “old-fashioned” menu which incorporates items like Dover Sole Véronique or Veal Schnitzel Holstein. Portions are “substantial” and “you’ll never leave hungry!”, although some are “still in mourning for the dessert trolley (a victim of Covid)”. “It’s always full, so remember to book!”

2024 Review: 800+ wines by the bottle and a selection of 75 craft beers are the USP of this intriguing Tufnell Park showcase for regional French drinks and produce. The menu changes every six weeks with a different region moving into focus – it’s short and in a supporting role to all the delicious grog, but good value.

“A decent attempt to reproduce Provençal cooking in Shepherd’s Bush”: Lawrence & Emily Hartley’s “nice local bistro” north of Brook Green – “a successor to a spot that was Café Rouge for many years” (and briefly Mustard, RIP) – provides “French classics” with “friendly service”. Critics feel that at times, “the food, though fairly authentic, can be just a bit underwhelming”; but the majority see “much to recommend the place” and feel it’s a “welcome venture” in this underserved neck of the woods. Top Tip – “good set menu”.

“Beautifully presented and great-tasting food” attracts a loyal crowd to this modern European brasserie, tucked away in a quirky site by the Regent’s Canal in beautiful Primrose Hill. “Michael Nadra is a very good chef – and unlike at many restaurants with a well-known chef who almost never sets foot in their own restaurant, he is actually there cooking the food”. Look out for the week-night specials if you’re price-conscious. Top Menu Tips – “crab and salmon ceviche starters are enjoyable; perfect duck and the beautifully presented sea bass, turkey and black cod tastes great; to finish, sticky toffee pudding, treacle tart and custard tart are all good”.

“Very popular” for its “beautifully presented French bistro food”, this “lovely small restaurant” near Kew station and Gardens is “well priced”, and gains much of its charm and ambience from the retro-Gallic styling of its interior: red-and-white gingham tablecloths, 1950s-vintage posters.