Restaurants

Free tables may be rarer than hens’ teeth during a pre-performance dinner scrum, but swing by for a lazy midweek lunch and you’ll find the ground-floor brasserie of this landmark venue a glorious place to while away the afternoon. The bold red and yellow walls lend an angular modernism bolstered by minimalist white tables and chairs; it’s like dining in a three-dimensional Mondrian. Big windows offer limitless potential for people-watching on colourful Chalk Farm Road. Food is a cut above the average. Chicken and lentil stew featured large chunks of meat and a hearty, delicately spiced sauce. Venison burger – thick and juicy and served with an intoxicating slab of stilton – was let down only by a rather grim port and cream sauce (served, mercifully, in a separate pot). Sides were equally satisfying: thick-cut chips perfectly fluffy and with crisp, jacket-scarred casings; green-leaf salads fresh and enormous; and chunky coleslaw big on vegetables and laudably low on mayo. Desserts (from double-chocolate brownies to apple pie with saffron and anise) come with either clotted cream or vanilla ice-cream from neighbouring Marine Ices; prices are bargainous beyond belief.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009