London - Le Café Anglais
Autumn 2009
Frank's view 
Hype & Reality mis-match
'Poetry'
'Succulent love letters'
'The menu sings with possibility and dash'....like an over exuberant X-Factor contestant perhaps?
The reviews read like Louis Walsh's on the night appraisal of any one of his allotted acts.
All of the reviews on Le Cafe Anglais web site were written in 2007 or very early 2008. Maybe things have changed. The menu on our visit (October 2009) was certainly all encompassing.
Spaghetti with Purple Broccoli, Chilli and Anchovy - Sweetcorn and Yellow Pepper Soup with Tomato and Basil - Thai Green Curry with Prawn and Ling - Glazed French Partridge with Cobnuts and Escarole - Haddock & Chips. Were we in Milan, Shanghai, Bangkok, Paris or Skegness? The menu provided for every palate penchant.
"Where is the hamburger?" asked the Camel's companion.
Presumably gone with the previous incumbent - McDonalds.
All good French Bistros offer a hamburger and on first impressions Le Cafe Anglais is just that. But is this most schizophrenic of restaurants trying to straddle many stools and falling between them all? The ambling leather banquettes should be battered and red. Instead they are in pristine condition, but grey like a withering corpse. The plush red curtains clash, in the brash lighting, with the brown carpet. The place is crying out for a touch of Keith McNally's New York Balthazar restaurant magic.
The female maître'd led us through a quiet dining room to a small table squidged into a corner. Her pained grimace pre-empted the words "Don't you like the table?"
A face like an arsycamel sometimes has it's benefits.
"If you'd like to wait at the bar I'll have another table ready for you in a few minutes."
A small Chablis was poured from a stainless steel measure then a Pinot Noir from the same, without a rinse - oh dear!
The 'let's start again' table was fine - a corner placement with an uninterrupted view of the door and dining room.
The Fish Soup (£8) was very good as was the Crab & Avocado Salad (£13.50). One English Partridge (£24.50) and a Grouse (£25) followed, both with the traditional accompaniments of Game Chips (crisps), Bread Sauce and Gravy.
Old people in their Sunday best filled the few tables that Monday evening at Le Café Anglais. The over lit ambience failed to flatter as grey hair merged with grey leather.
Rarely do i disagree with London's revered restaurant critics but on this occasion, I didn't get it.
Le Café Anglais
8 Porchester Gardens
London W2
020 7221 1415
http://www.lecafeanglais.co.uk/
'Succulent love letters'
'The menu sings with possibility and dash'....like an over exuberant X-Factor contestant perhaps?
The reviews read like Louis Walsh's on the night appraisal of any one of his allotted acts.
All of the reviews on Le Cafe Anglais web site were written in 2007 or very early 2008. Maybe things have changed. The menu on our visit (October 2009) was certainly all encompassing.
Spaghetti with Purple Broccoli, Chilli and Anchovy - Sweetcorn and Yellow Pepper Soup with Tomato and Basil - Thai Green Curry with Prawn and Ling - Glazed French Partridge with Cobnuts and Escarole - Haddock & Chips. Were we in Milan, Shanghai, Bangkok, Paris or Skegness? The menu provided for every palate penchant.
"Where is the hamburger?" asked the Camel's companion.
Presumably gone with the previous incumbent - McDonalds.
All good French Bistros offer a hamburger and on first impressions Le Cafe Anglais is just that. But is this most schizophrenic of restaurants trying to straddle many stools and falling between them all? The ambling leather banquettes should be battered and red. Instead they are in pristine condition, but grey like a withering corpse. The plush red curtains clash, in the brash lighting, with the brown carpet. The place is crying out for a touch of Keith McNally's New York Balthazar restaurant magic.
The female maître'd led us through a quiet dining room to a small table squidged into a corner. Her pained grimace pre-empted the words "Don't you like the table?"
A face like an arsycamel sometimes has it's benefits.
"If you'd like to wait at the bar I'll have another table ready for you in a few minutes."
A small Chablis was poured from a stainless steel measure then a Pinot Noir from the same, without a rinse - oh dear!
The 'let's start again' table was fine - a corner placement with an uninterrupted view of the door and dining room.
The Fish Soup (£8) was very good as was the Crab & Avocado Salad (£13.50). One English Partridge (£24.50) and a Grouse (£25) followed, both with the traditional accompaniments of Game Chips (crisps), Bread Sauce and Gravy.
Old people in their Sunday best filled the few tables that Monday evening at Le Café Anglais. The over lit ambience failed to flatter as grey hair merged with grey leather.
Rarely do i disagree with London's revered restaurant critics but on this occasion, I didn't get it.
Le Café Anglais
8 Porchester Gardens
London W2
020 7221 1415
http://www.lecafeanglais.co.uk/
Be Frank: agree or disagree? What do you think?
