Restaurants

This place would be ideal for owners of a pied-à-terre in the French countryside needing to polish their language skills: at moments of maximum exuberance (which occur frequently), la patronneforgets the use of English completely. All this, though, is just grist to the mill for L’Aventure’s cosmopolitan, well-heeled, mostly older clientele. With the traditional vague opulence of a French bourgeois restaurant (tapestries, plush seating, very proper table settings) and a leafy front terrace, it’s very pretty and cosy – if slightly cramped in parts. The food on the regularly changing set menus (great value for lunch, much pricier for dinner) is as classically French as the setting. Artichoke salad came with a delicious pomegranate dressing, while a croustillant of wild mushrooms had a beautifully earthy flavour and a just-so crust. Mains – rack of lamb with garlic, monkfish medallions with sauce vièrge – were less distinctive, but pleasant. The wine list is expensive, but the lower-priced house wines are superior quality. L’Aventure has its inconsistencies – a cheese course was served too cold, and while some of the staff exhibit a proper French culinary training, others are just sloppy – but its regulars are clearly happy to forgive them.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008