Best Local Restaurants 2024: French food still fabulous Published 05 August 2024
Nominations in this year’s Best Local Restaurants of 2024 proves the British love affair with French cuisine still resonates – the fundamentals of good food, good wine, good service and great atmosphere pull in the regulars and instil loyalty from happy customers. Best Local Restaurant of 2024, Bavette, isn’t the only establishment in this year’s list to give a nod to our continental neighbours. Here are the best French local restaurants in this year's list.
Opened by Sandy Jarvis and Clément Cousin in spring 2024, this lively French bistro has garnered spirited praise for its food, wine, service and atmosphere. The couple arrived with a wealth of hospitality experience in… Read more
Opened by Sandy Jarvis and Clément Cousin in spring 2024, this lively French bistro has garnered spirited praise for its food, wine, service and atmosphere. The couple arrived with a wealth of hospitality experience in London – Terroirs (where they met), Brawn, Culpeper, Fera at Claridges – yet they chose suburban Horsforth, some five miles north of Leeds city centre, to open their first restaurant. For Yorkshire-born Jarvis it's a coming home, and for Cousin, who hails from Anjou in the Loire Valley, it's the opportunity to channel good Gallic hospitality into a convivial bistro where everyone is welcome.
The unfussy interior has dark-green walls hung with mirrors and artwork (including a tribute piece by a customer), spindle-back chairs, round tables and a long banquette. Cousin oversees a warm, attentive team front of house, while in the open kitchen, Jarvis works to a menu of French bourgeois classics such as steak tartare with beef-fat toast or jambon persillé pâté en croûte (with Earl Grey jelly and pickled walnut). Bavette steak from Swaledale is a mainstay of the menu and on our visit was served with sauce vierge and ratatouille, while the excellent crème brûlée came with a peach roasted in olive oil.
However, the cooking isn’t resolutely French: there’s a nod to Spain in a simple dish of Cantabrian anchovies and shallots on buttered toast, while ray wing (from Cornish waters) is served with warm buttered shrimps, capers and dill – just add green beans and Jersey Royals for a plate that’s big on generosity and flavour.
The wine list is patriotically (if not exclusively) Gallic, and the low-intervention Baptiste Cousin ‘family specials’, produced on the Cousin's organically run vineyard in the Loire, are worth checking out. The fact that Bavette has been so lovingly embraced by Horsforth and beyond is testament to its status as the perfect model of a neighbourhood bistro.
Excellent-value French bistro on Cambridge's lively Mill Road
You can eat your way round the world, it seems, on Mill Road, such is the diversity of independent restaurants, food shops, bars and cafés along this lively street. Flying the flag for – or at least inspired by &ndash… Read more
You can eat your way round the world, it seems, on Mill Road, such is the diversity of independent restaurants, food shops, bars and cafés along this lively street. Flying the flag for – or at least inspired by – the French bistro is Fancett’s. It’s a warm-hearted spot for excellent, unfussy food and the sort of value for money that has kept people beating a path to its unassuming door ever since Dan Fancett opened the place in 2021.
A set menu is tweaked daily and served in its simplest form at lunch (two choices per course) and with a few more options at dinner. It fits the bistro vibe, though the repertoire strays deliciously beyond predictability. Open a summer lunch with mackerel tartare accompanied by oyster mayo and a briny scattering of sea vegetables balanced by sweet pops of grape and bright pickled cucumber. Pork cutlet – beautifully, tenderly cooked – comes with charred broccoli, the chilli nudge of ‘nduja butter and a smoky romesco sauce in a plate of satisfying layers of flavour.
There might also be battered pollack with vivid-green crushed peas and homemade tartare sauce – or come in the evening when the ambition is upped and you might find (for a small supplement) a fillet of wild bass on a pile of saffron orzo with crab, fennel and samphire. Finish perhaps with cherry clafoutis – we’re in bistro territory, remember – or apricot frangipane tart.
Restaurant manager Theo Armyras is an engaging enthusiast of all things drinkable; he steered us towards a delicious Spanish rosado from Rioja’s family-owned Bodegas Perica (at £10 a glass). Selections by the 500ml carafe keep proceedings true to bistro-dom, but there’s plenty to explore, from minerally Chablis Premier Cru, Thomas Labille ‘Montmains’ 2020 to big hitters from Bordeaux and the Rhône Valley.
Claude Bosi's assured homage to classic bistro cooking
Josephine is that rare combination, a classic-looking French bistro that serves its neighbourhood well but is also worth travelling across town for. The fact that the driving force behind the operation is chef Claude Bosi makes it… Read more
Josephine is that rare combination, a classic-looking French bistro that serves its neighbourhood well but is also worth travelling across town for. The fact that the driving force behind the operation is chef Claude Bosi makes it easy to see why news of its repute has spread far and wide – the dining room is regularly packed to capacity, humming with noise and activity.
The menu is classic French through and through, with a focus on bistro classics and regional Lyonnaise specialities from Bosi’s home town. Though the food stays in familiar territory rather than going adventuring, everything is produced with great assurance – as one might expect, given Bosi's elevated reputation. Indeed, one sign of a good kitchen is what it can do with humble ingredients. Consider, for example, the soupe à l’oignon, widely copied although we’ve yet to eat one that comes even close to this version.
Many staples are here (terrine, filet de boeuf au poivre, lapin à la moutarde, gratin dauphinois) – dishes that people really enjoy eating. And judging by the elegant simplicity of leeks vinaigrette, or skate wing in a brown butter and caper sauce, or even a light, puffy vol-au-vent filled with chicken and morel sauce, there are never too many tastes on the plate, either. Like the cheeseboard, desserts are resolutely Gallic – think oeuf à la neige, prâline rose, and tarte au citron meringue. The good value of the daily plat du jour and the short-choice set menu offered at lunch and dinner add to Josephine's allure.
With Lucy Bosi overseeing front of house alongside general manager Will Smith (the ex-Arbutus/Wild Honey frontman lured back from Scotland), it's clear that all aspects of running a restaurant – buying ingredients, cooking, ambience – have been brought together without fuss or ostentation. House wines are available bouchon-style (you only pay for what you have drunk), and the full list is an oenophile's tour of the Rhône Valley.
A genuine restaurant du quartier, if ever there was, this Crouch End spot is run by the titular duo of Robert Reid at the stoves and Jean-Christophe Slowik (JC, to the army of regulars) out front. If only one of them is French, he… Read more
A genuine restaurant du quartier, if ever there was, this Crouch End spot is run by the titular duo of Robert Reid at the stoves and Jean-Christophe Slowik (JC, to the army of regulars) out front. If only one of them is French, he is at least bubbling over with enough unabashed Gallic bonhomie for two. Battleship-grey panelling, undressed tables and a trio of blackboards busily covered in numerous chalk-scribbled specials form a backdrop to Reid's assured Gallic cooking. You might easily guess what's on the menu, sight unseen (soupe à l'oignon gratinée, garlic-buttered escargots, Bayonne ham with celeriac rémoulade for starters), although you might not anticipate the panache with which the dishes are realised – or the uncommon quality of the raw materials. Moving on, mains might bring entrecôte or ribeye steaks with béarnaise sauce and piles of frites or smoked haddock in mustard sauce topped with a poached egg. The non-meat alternative of, say, artichokes with ratatouille and chickpeas in cumin-scented roast tomato sauce shows more consideration for veggies than you might find in many a traditional French bistro. Finish with rum baba and apricot compôte or tarte fine aux pommes. A French wine list covers all bases, with glasses from £7.95, plus still or sparkling Kir to start.
Frederic ('Fred') Berkmiller’s classic French bistro has spread a blanket of joy across Edinburgh since it opened in 2009. It’s fair to say that the place buzzes and the atmosphere is 'unbeatable'. And it's no wonder t… Read more
Frederic ('Fred') Berkmiller’s classic French bistro has spread a blanket of joy across Edinburgh since it opened in 2009. It’s fair to say that the place buzzes and the atmosphere is 'unbeatable'. And it's no wonder that fans are quickly seduced by the unmistakable Gallic vibe: 'You could easily be sat in a wee French restaurant in Paris,' noted one reporter who felt fully transported to another world.
The conviviality extends to the assured combination of French cooking with Scottish raw materials, including hand-dived Orkney scallops and venison as well as home-grown vegetables and herbs from Berkmiller’s four-acre plot at Monkton Gardens. The menu itself is built around established standards, which brings people back because they know the quality won’t waver from one visit to the next. 'I had the côte de boeuf again – one of my favourite dishes anywhere. Beautifully served medium-rare with dauphinoise, salad, roasted onion, garlic and peppercorn sauce.' Fish soup with rouille, steak tartare, escargots in garlic butter and beef bourguignon are all present and correct, too.
For dessert there could be a not-to-be-missed crème brûlée as well as griottines in kirsch and îles flottantes. Expect ‘great service from knowledgeable staff', a wine bar in the basement for post-prandial relaxation, and a thoroughly commendable list of French wines with an excellent choice by the glass.
Contemporary, family-run bistro in the heart of Norwich
'Perfect hospitality, a true find,' sums up the immense warmth readers feel towards this tiny bistro in the Norwich Lanes. Frenchman Thomas Aubrit and his wife Gemma have been welcoming diners through the doors of L’Hexagone… Read more
'Perfect hospitality, a true find,' sums up the immense warmth readers feel towards this tiny bistro in the Norwich Lanes. Frenchman Thomas Aubrit and his wife Gemma have been welcoming diners through the doors of L’Hexagone (it’s named after the shape of France) since 2020. He cooks the food he remembers eating as a child with heartfelt honesty, while she runs the place with instinctive charm, and with a small supporting cast they prove the old trope that the best things often come in the smallest packages. So tuck yourself into a downstairs seat in the intimate, dark-painted space – L’Hexagone thankfully swerves any French bistro clichés – or head upstairs where there’s more room but you miss out on Lanes people-watching. This is a place aimed squarely at feeding (very loyal) customers.
The menu is short, and lunch could be as simple and pocket-friendly as a generous croque monsieur (add an egg and an extra pound for a 'madame') or sourdough topped with goat's cheese, radish, pickled cucumber and red peppers. Alternatively, linger over a more substantial meal – perhaps smoked mackerel pâté with cornichons or asparagus with a fudgy-yolked egg and ripples of ham, followed by chicken casserole (tender meat and earthy new potatoes plus some welcome sharpness from capers and tomatoes). Simple, tasty stuff indeed. And yes, there is steak (bavette or entrecôte) with frites too.
Come evening, the repertoire might stretch a little to include, say, herby, garlicky prawn skewers or roast cod with a classic butter sauce. The crème brûlée has its very own fan club, not surprisingly given the snap of the caramelised topping and the velvetiness of the set cream, but also check out the vanilla panna cotta because the beautifully sharp raspberry purée is a delicious bonus. The all-French wine list is as compact and well-priced as the menu, with plenty in the mid-£20 range.
Quirky old-fashioned bistro with bags of natural charm
On a side street close to Warwick Avenue tube, this delightfully eccentric bistro has all the trappings of a quirky dining room belonging to a rich, dotty aunt who has travelled the world and is partial to a midday tipple. Inside,… Read more
On a side street close to Warwick Avenue tube, this delightfully eccentric bistro has all the trappings of a quirky dining room belonging to a rich, dotty aunt who has travelled the world and is partial to a midday tipple. Inside, it's a mishmash of closely packed wooden tables and chairs (some covered in gingham tablecloths), antique lampshades, eye-catching floral patterned wallpaper, shelves of wine and a service bar decked out like a country-house kitchen.
There’s a natural charm to the place and we'd venture there’s nowhere else quite like it in London. That natural charm extends to the attentive staff who will greet you like a long-lost friend, even if it’s your first visit – although we got the impression that many guests in the packed, buzzy room were regulars. You may find it hard to resist their offer of some reasonably priced fizz to fill the stylish etched Champagne coupe that’s ready and waiting for you at your table. The resolutely French menu is executed with obvious care and skill. Our chicken liver parfait (silky and delicious) was classically made and served with a beautifully composed salad generously dressed with a good old-fashioned mustard vinaigrette to cut through the richness.
From the recited list of specials, we plumped for a large T-bone of well-seasoned tender pork, which came with nicely rendered, crisp fat and a textbook mustard cream sauce that had an excellent depth of flavour. Even the skin-on fries impressed, served crisp, hot and salty with a terrific potatoey flavour. Portions are generous, and we couldn’t manage desserts – although the chocolate soufflé tart looked well worth saving room for.
They take their wine seriously here, with vintage Burgundies and Bordeaux at not-too-silly prices, plus Coravin selections and monthly in-house tastings. There's plenty of choice below £50 too, which helps to make Paulette a nigh-on perfect neighbourhood gem.
Neighbourhood French fancy catering for north Oxford locals
Summertown locals are lucky to have family-run Pompette on their doorstep and they’re eager to applaud every aspect of this little slice of French bonhomie in the north of the city. With its walls emblazoned with artwork, a … Read more
Summertown locals are lucky to have family-run Pompette on their doorstep and they’re eager to applaud every aspect of this little slice of French bonhomie in the north of the city. With its walls emblazoned with artwork, a gorgeous summertime terrace and professional but personable staff, no wonder it is reckoned to be ‘an extra special place’. And that’s before we get to the food.
Chef/co-owner Pascal Wiedemann spent 14 years shaking the pans in big-name London kitchens (from Racine and Terroirs to Six Portland Road), before bringing his vision of bourgeois French cuisine to Oxford.His menu is entrenched in the classics, but with the odd detour across the border. Fish soup, champignons à la grecque and côte de boeuf share the billing with ham and Manchego croquettes, white crab with ajo blanco, and grilled rabbit with Bomba rice, chorizo and piquillo peppers.French farmhouse cheeses, poached apricots and canelés de Bordeaux with salted rum caramel (Friday and Saturday nights only) round off a simple, satisfying offer.
Alternatively, drop by for poulet frites on Wednesday nights or steak frites on Thursday, if you prefer; they even do a proper petit-déjeuner from 10am. Pompette is the charming French word for tipsy, so we do need to mention the libations: Ricard, Lillet Blanc, Picon Bière and Normandy cider all get a look-in alongside a list of patriotically French wines (plus the odd interloper).
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