Restaurants

Decent prices and a relaxed atmosphere, akin to that of a real small-town French bistro, have kept this local in favour with Palmers Green residents. The food follows the neighbourhood bistro style too: nothing exceptional or overly adventurous, but enjoyable enough and with a freshly prepared feel. A mushroom and bacon salad came with a tangy, sweet but subtle dressing and flavoursome bacon, which offset the ordinary mushrooms; a salad of poulet fumé had a satisfying full-on smokiness. To follow, pork medallions in Calvados was, again, quite decent, even if the sauce could have done with more of a Calvados tang. Lamb brochette à la menthe featured another interesting, rich sauce, with garlic and redcurrants as well as mint, but was a tad overcooked. French details are well observed, with excellent bread and a varied cheese course, and there’s a short but good-value wine selection. Our chief grouses were that the cheese was too cold, and that we thought we’d ordered a selection of ‘legumes du jour’ for £1.25 – which turned out to be the price of each vegetable.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008