A legendary Soho institution where Neil Borthwick cooks unpretentious, soul-warming French classics in a tiny, buzzy dining room above a boisterous pub.
Ordering Strategy
The menu is handwritten and changes daily based on market availability. Order the madeleines when you order your mains to account for the baking time.
What to order
Confit Garlic & Goat's Curd
A length of sourdough sourdough toast 'slathered' in curd and olive oil, served with a confit bulb of garlic providing 'soft, translucent pearls' to smear over the bread.
Steak Frites
A reliable fixture on a 'short, pleasing, changeable menu' that helps maintain the restaurant's reputation as 'conspiratorial, trustworthy, and fun'.
Pommes Aligot
Cheesy, elastic mashed potatoes described as 'hips-be-damned' and 'ridiculous,' famous for 'stretching into streamers' when pulled from the pot.
Calves Brains
An adventurous dish served with brown butter and capers, noted for a 'nuttiness' and a texture that 'look just like a melted crème brûlée'.
More in Soho
- Gauthier SohoVegan French Fine Dining · ££££88
- Noble Rot SohoModern European · £££88
- NessaModern British Bistro · £££88
Signal Score
Signal score reflects how strong and consistent the review coverage is, not a star rating.
Top critic: Grace Dent (80%)
Editorial Weight 59 pts
Authority + depth + recency
Agreement 8 pts
How aligned the critics are
Coverage 10 pts
How many real review signals exist
Public Signal 11 pts
Google rating + volume
Boosts 0 pts
Manual boosts + hidden gem
Review signals
5 Elite · 0 Editorial · 9 total signals
Public signal
4.5★ (1,900 reviews)
Good to know
The dining room is extremely small with only a few tables, so booking is essential. The pub downstairs famously serves beer only in half-pints and has a long-standing tradition of frowning upon mobile phone usage.
Locations
Trust signals
- ○Not yet visited
- mediumConfidence level
More French Bistro in London
- Bouchon Racine£££98· Farringdon
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