A smart but no-nonsense brasserie, five minutes from Harrods (on the former site of the Brasserie St Quentin), offering a welcome ‘plain vanilla’ stand-by, for locals and shoppers.
Just occasionally, the name of a restaurant really does tell you everything you need to know about it. This is one of those cases. Even if it refers to the name of a village name people don’t use much nowadays, the establishment is in Brompton (opposite the Oratory), it does have a bar, and the menu does conform to the simplicity implied by the word ‘grill’.
We are on hallowed ground. The previous occupant was the Brasserie St Quentin, the glittering Gallic brasserie established by Quentin Crewe – a charming man who, inter alia, was the first restaurant critic of the Evening Standard – in partnership with Hugh O’Neill (now Lord Rathcavan). The Brasserie subsequently had a spell under third-party ownership, but was then bought back by Rathcavan, who has now passed it on to his son François, who is responsible for the re-launch.
Whatever the history, the present is, as noted above, pretty clear – this is a ‘plain vanilla’ brasserie, in smart contemporary style, for plain vanilla times. Judged as such, it’s a smart and comfortable destination that does what it does very well. Classics such as fishcakes and boeuf bourguignonne (a starter and main course respectively from the £12 lunch menu) and steak ‘n’ chips are done with commendable directness. Prices are reasonable too – you don’t see many wine lists round Knightsbridge which kick off at £10 a bottle.
If there is a criticism, it is perhaps a lack of ambition. We suspect that rich Knightsbridge types like value as much as the next man, but perhaps they want a bit more excitement than the almost studiously plain menu here?
On the other hand, you could argue that it was wise not to try take on the towering presence of the more established, more ambitious – and pricier – Racine, just a few doors along. Only time can tell.
Note: Our review was based on an early-days visit, and the establishment has since somewhat raised the ambitions of its menu.
