Le Cafe Anglais

Editor's note: In September 2014 t was announced that the premises had been sold, though at this stage it was unclear as to whether the restaurant would continue to operate or not under the new owners.

A few years on since it opened, the faux art-deco dining room is still looking good, with an open kitchen featuring a rotisserie, banquette seating and attractive ceiling lamps. The menu is lengthy and appealing. Starters were mostly in the £5.50 to £11 range; main courses were £10.50 to £21 with side dishes mostly at £4.

The mostly but not exclusively French wine list had rather varying mark-up levels. Cave Vinicole de Hunawihr Pinot Blanc 2010 was £29.50 for a wine that you can find in a shop for £11, the lovely JJ Prum Kabinett 2011 was a hefty £65 for a wine that retails at £17, and Haut-Bages Liberal 2000 was a very reasonable £90 for a wine that will set you back £65 in the high street. Slices of white bread were distinctly stale (10/20), as if they had been sliced hours earlier. 

Yellowtail tuna was served raw with a citrus and ginger dressing; there are limits to how good something like this can be, but the tuna was reasonable and the dressing nicely balanced (13/20).

Thai curry with prawns and hake had decent prawns but suffered from overcooked hake, and the green curry sauce was too tentative in its spicing (barely 12/20). 

Turbot with salsify and truffles featured precisely cooked turbot and salsify, the truffle lifting the dish (14/20). Brussels sprouts were quite accurately cooked (13/20), and a gratin dauphinoise was suitably rich and creamy (13/20). 

For dessert, Seville orange tart had good pastry and a filling that was not too sharp (14/20).  Service was capable if not exactly warm, with topping up accurate and the dishes arriving at a steady pace. This meal was less consistent than I recall from previous visits, though the standard of cooking was still generally good. If you drank a modest wine then a typical bill for three courses, water and coffee would be around £60 or so a head. We paid £82 a head tonight. 

Further reviews: 01st Aug 2009 | 01st Dec 2008 | 01st Nov 2007