Le Cassoulet

This is the sort of restaurant that makes you want to move to Croydon (well, almost). Or if you already live in Croydon, it should make you feel very smug indeed - because it knocks most new high-profile, central London restaurants into a cocked hat. It's got real joie de vivre, the prices are fair, and - above all else - it's a proper French restaurant with proper cooking. So where has Le Cassoulet sprung from? Head chef and proprietor Malcolm John (pictured) is also chef-proprietor of Le Vacherin in Chiswick, a respectable neighbourhood French restaurant, and Le Cassoulet mimics its sibling while going one better. The interior manages to look French without being too much of a pastiche. There are banquettes and French wallpaper, cream and burgundy tones, lanterns and framed prints. The staff hurry around, but on our visit were unerringly professional and never too rushed to smile or talk to the customers. The dishes we tried were all done properly, with no shortcuts. Steak tartare came with all the condiments, the finely chopped raw beef supporting an eggshell of raw egg, the plate festooned with radishes, capers, anchovies, toast and grated egg yolk. The signature dish had to be tried: cassoulet. I don't think I've had better, not even in Languedoc where the dish originally hails from. This rich, unctuous dish was just the thing for a cold night, crammed with belly pork, meat from duck legs, and packed with flavour from Mediterranean herbs but given fibre with white haricot beans. Served in a little black pot with a breadcrumb topping, it was a delight. Perhaps the most surprising dish was duck egg en meurette (ie poached in a red wine sauce). We liked the big, flat mushrooms and the runny yolks, but what were the squidgy discs served with it? 'Bone marrow,' our waiter replied. Note: the vegetarian's only recourse is to (oh so predictable) pumpkin ravioli. We had the lightest dessert we could find, the île flottante, ethereally light whipped egg whites and sugar served on a light custard. Around us, wine was being knocked back with considerable gaiety. The wine list is all-French but fortunately not the usual well-trodden wine routes; a bit more effort than usual had been put in to select interesting, good-value, regional French wines. It was surprise to find a restaurant with such assured cooking and French bonhomie in Croydon. Le Cassoulet is a proper destination restaurant, and should be on the food-lovers' map next to those other Croydon icons, the Wing Yip supermarket and Ikea's kitchen department.

http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/12522.html