French Revolution: The Old School Bistro Is Nouvelle Again In London
UK gourmets have rediscovered a penchant for Gallic cuisine.
French classics are front and center at Maison François.
Photographer: Steven JoyceWorld Cup results notwithstanding, London’s Francophiles still have reasons to be cheerful.
Recently, Unesco has added the baguette to its “intangible cultural heritage” list, describing it as “a daily ritual, synonymous with sharing and conviviality.”
And Racine, the much-loved Knightsbridge bistro that closed its doors seven years ago, has returned. Chef and proprietor Henry Harris—once described as “the best French chef with the decency to be British”—has relocated to the iconic Three Compasses space in Farringdon, where he and business partner Dave Strauss, former director of Rockfish, have taken over the 300-year-old pub.
The refurbished ground floor is still a pub, albeit one with vintage Gallic posters and plenty of pastis. Upstairs, the 45-cover Bouchon Racine has a menu as intangibly French as the baguette. “I think the time is right,” says Harris. “London seems to have an appetite for the food—and the sense of theater and camaraderie—that only a classic French bistro can offer.”
South of Picadilly, St. James is also becoming more French accented. Maison François buzzes with contented diners, even at breakfast. The new specialty at lunch and dinner is bespoke steak tartare, served tableside from one of chef and owner François O’Neill’s three carts that weave between the sleek cafe-au-lait banquettes.
Restaurants are in O’Neill’s blood—his father owned the legendary Brasserie St. Quentin. But the menu at Maison François is equally influenced by the kind of modern British cooking found in small, chef-led places in Shoreditch and Hoxton such as Lyle’s and the Clove Club, and the menu has a seasonal vegetable selection, a concept unheard of at a classic Paris spot like La Coupole. And Maison Francois’s much-Instagrammed oeuf en gelée has become a signature dish: “The East London trendies love it!” says O’Neill, gleefully.
Below, five places to experience London’s finest French food, plus the only one with an actual French chef, to look forward to next year.