Clos Maggiore - Restaurant Review

Cuisine:  Modern European

Cost:  

Rating:

Where?:  33, King’s Street, Covent Garden. London. WC2E 8JD

Closest station(s): Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Charring Cross.  

Telephone: 0207 379 9696

Website: www.closmaggiore.com   

Covent Garden is pretty dire for eating out, pandering to tourists it is full of chain restaurants  - it is a shame that such a popular area has such a penury of decent eating establishments. Finding Clos Maggiore is the exception to this rule however. It is without doubt one of the most beautiful restaurants in London and deserves the accolade it repeatedly wins of most romantic restaurant in London.

The food is modern European that takes influence from around the Mediterranean – I have never had a bad dish at Clos Maggiore and can’t imagine doing so. Being someone who rarely eats soup in restaurants I was shocked to find that the onion soup (the first dish I ever tried there) was one of the most delicious dishes I have ever had the pleasure of putting in my mouth; it was simply mesmerising.

The waiting staff compliment the stunning looking restaurant, providing excellent, discreet service throughout your dining experience. The main room at the back of the restaurant is by far the best place to be seated and when reserving a table I would always ask to be seated there – in summer the roof of that room is able to slide back allowing you to sit in a Mediterranean courtyard when the weather is suitably kind.

The wine list is truly encyclopaedic; previously picking up awards for wine list of the year. Previously I have griped about the expensive house wine; this however has now been remedied and you can get a bottle for around £23 which I don’t feel is unreasonable for such stunning surroundings. I have had the tasting menu on a couple of occasions and whilst extremely enjoyable I would in future certainly stick to the a la carte. The tasting menu rarely has a selection of dishes that come up to the brilliance of the rest of the menu.

The a la carte is around £35 for 2 courses which is extremely reasonable for the quality of the food; it is the prixe fixe menus however that shine. These are to my mind the best pre-theatre menus in London - for under £22 you get a surprisingly large choice of stunning food, now available at Sunday lunchtime too.  

Chez Bruce - Restaurant Review

 

Cuisine: French

Cost:  

Rating:

Where?:  2, Bellevue Road, Wandsworth Common, SW17 7EG

Closest station(s): Wandsworth Common, Balham.  

Telephone:  0208 672 0114

Website: www.chezbruce.co.uk

Having previously been to La Trompette, Chez Bruce’s Chiswick based sibling I had extremely high hopes for the meal as it is certainly the better known and often more highly praised older brother. I have to say that my experience at Chez Bruce was excellent. From start to finish the service was impeccable without becoming intrusive or overbearing. The tongue and brain starter was delicious, as were the potted shrimps.

The mains managed to keep up the high standards, turning out fresh and tasty food; my cod with olive oil mash was a great success. The puddings and cheese rounded off the meal excellently – the cheese board should not be missed. The wine list has considerable Gallic persuasion, not a bad thing in my book; with effort clearly being put into keeping the top section of the list reasonably priced – there are a couple of bottles for under £25. If you want glitz, glamour and pretention then don’t go. Chez Bruce serves up excellent food in a modest but pleasant environment with great service and decent wine to wash down each delicious morsel. 

My only real complaint about Chez Bruce is that they seem to have a rather small wine fridge, on a couple of occasions when I have order a bottle of wine they have said that they haven’t got one cold as they have just sold a bottle of it – surely they could keep more than one bottle chilled!

Despite the prices creeping up this Michelin-starred food leaves not too large a dent on the wallet, the lunch menu being particularly good with 3 courses for around £27; dinner being around £45. Certainly one of the best, if not the best, restaurant south of the river.