Food Review: Le Garrick, London

Our alliance with the French has been an up and down one over the years, but since Norman rocked up on our shores with a bone to pick with Harold the influence of their language and culture has been a constant element of British life.

From a food perspective they’ve been world leaders in wine and cheese, as well as promoting a passionate and in depth attitude towards cuisine, something that was exemplified in fine fashion during our trip to Le Garrick on a bitterly cold January evening.

Situated right in the heartbeat of London's theatre district, this restaurant lurks gently off Garrick Street midway between Covent Garden and Leicester Square tube stations, consisting of a light and breezy upstairs space; perfect for lunches, and a cavernous restaurant underground.

Arriving for the evening we headed downstairs, instantly met with a warm welcome from a litany of French waiting staff who ushered us to our table in the homely surroundings - a perfect riposte from the harsh reality of the outside wind.

We started with a Ruby Crystal cocktail to get the juices flowing, vermouth, creme de cassis and angoustra accompanying the champagne to soften us into the evening, before tucking into a carafe of white wine (Picpoul de Pinet Languedoc, 2012) to accompany our starters.

We first plumped for two dishes as French as you can get, Escragots De Bourgogne (Burgundy Snails) and Foie Gras du Sud Ouest. The snails came soaked in a gorgeous garlic, parsley and oil concoction, championing the earthy taste brilliantly, whilst the Foie Gras was rich but balanced effectively via the accompanying pear chutney.

It was the third starter though that proved to be the the piece de resistance of the meal as a whole - Cassolette De Calamars au Piment D'Espelette, Basque style Calamari. Too often this type of seafood is distorted by batter or overly cooked and limp to the mouth, but this existed in its own glory, cooked to perfection and a brilliantly tender and robust offering.

The sauce that accompanied the was an absolute triumph of culinary expertise, a deliciously layered sensation of tastes. The first thing that hits you is the snap of the garlic, ginger and chilli, before this instant kick melts into a deliciously luxurious oily and butter texture.

If moreish implies gentle irresistibility, this tasted that good you were compelled to eat in great swathes as if your life depended on it, unfathomably addictive. We soaked an accompanying basket of bread with the sauce repeatedly and would have left happy had that been all we’d eaten. In fact, writing this now, we kind of wish we had. It really was that good.

We'd sunk far too much food by his point, but were merely a third of the way through the meal; next up was the mains. Continuing the rich and hearty feel was the Cassoulet De Toulouse, a gorgeous casserole that blended lingot beans with three delicious meats, duck confit, pork belly and Toulouse Sausage.

That was flanked by Poulet basquaiuse, another Basque dish of beautifully tender chicken with rice in a light tomato sauce. Both mains were great, but the over indulgence of the starters had started to take its toll as we slowed our pace down to that of the shell dwelling molluscs we had devoured earlier. 

We combated this with the steady influence of an accompanying bottle of St. Emilion Grand Cru AOC (2006), a Merlot that that had the texture and earthy resonance to keep us ploughing through. Hard work eh?

Eventually we made it to dessert, a crisp an light Crème Brulée offset by a rich Fondant au Chocolat, before we closed off on a fantastic cheese board. We spent the best part of three hours eating the food, but it certainly didn't feel that way when we finally left, the meal seemingly flying by.

Overall the entire experience of this delightful restaurant was a joy from start to finish. The service was exemplary without being overbearing, the food excellent in every capacity and the prices were reasonable considering the location - had we opted for a more wallet friendly drinks choice this huge feast would have been marginally over a hundred quid, certainly not extravagant set against London’s escalating costs of living.

With Valentine’s Day on the horizon Le Garrick is the perfect choice for a cosy romantic evening meal, although if you mirror our choices there might not be too much to look forward too afterwards. Don't fret - you should be spending time with that calamari more than any partner.

For more info and to book a tabel at Le Garrick head here.