Frenchie

Covent Garden

If someone asks you to supper at Frenchie, the response should be a resounding ‘bah, oui!’ Whether you’re a Francophile or not, rest assured, the London outpost of Gregory Marchand’s triumphant trio of Parisian restaurants has got serious culinary clout. Marchand was nicknamed ‘Frenchie’ by his old boss Jamie Oliver and it stuck. Whether calling his restaurant such was an ironic V sign to the slack-tongued lad from Essex, we wouldn’t like to say. The Henrietta Street site is a home of casual yet refined dining with modern air, where ingredients sing from a song book of innovative dishes with worldly flavour combinations and elegant plating. Sea bream tartare, yuzu, pear and chestnut gets the tasting menu off to a great start, followed by honey roasted duck, aubergine and miso, hazelnuts and plums. They all seem to build to a pudding of chocolate ganache, coconut and lime, which was our dish of the night. Clean, industrial interiors with a deco edge and slinky bar counter offset them perfectly. Ask for a seat at the back. Tables on the banquettes are too close together.