This year The Good Food Guide named Les 2 Garçons in Crouch End, north London, as the best local restaurant in the capital. Opened in 2021 by chef Robert Reid and maître d’ Jean-Cristophe Slowik, both of whom have a long history in French restaurants, it has been perennially packed since, even moving to a larger site. It is decidedly old-school: perfect snails, steak tartare, the best tarte tatin I’ve had. “I think in these times of hardship, accessible, unpretentious dining with quality food has become popular,” says Reid when asked why his restaurant has struck a chord.
That same year one of London’s long-standing favourites, L’Escargot, opened an offshoot, L’Escargot sur-Mer, in Aldeburgh. Intended as a summer pop-up while staycations were all the rage, a permanent spot was soon necessary. Pell, a director at L’Escargot, soon relaunched as The Suffolk. L’Escargot is a classic take on French cuisine, whereas The Suffolk is modern: fish grilled over charcoal, sometimes with a champagne sauce or beurre blanc.
“Classic French food but with east Suffolk produce,” says Pell, who was inspired by francophile London wine bars like Planque and Cadet. “There’s a really exciting gear shift into quality cooking but less stiff service,” he says. “Super elegant, chic, but quite sexy and cool and current.”
From the 1990s, the bistronomy scene in Paris offered a more imaginative, less staid version of the French bistro. Global influences trickled in – soy sauce! ginger! – and were paired with an interest in natural wines, a restaurant formula that will be recognisable to anyone who’s visited a trendy urban neighbourhood in the UK recently.
Yet avowedly French restaurants are thriving too, and not just in Britain. In New York, La Marchande, a new French brasserie, graces The Wall Street Hotel, while the miniscule Le French Diner is arguably the hottest ticket in town. Washington DC and the Bay Area have both seen surges in French restaurants.
The future is French
On this side of the Atlantic there’s no signs of slowing down. In January, Claude Bosi, who already runs Bibendum, Socca and Brooklands in London, is opening his own bouchon, Josephine in Fulham, perhaps inspired by Bouchon Racine.
Dining and Cooking