St John's Wood, French Restaurant Guide

“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!”

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”.