BARBICAN LIFE


to careful choice and an excellent supplier). Indeed it was compared favourably to a fillet steak at the Hawksmoor, which is praise indeed. Interestingly we were not asked how the steak should be cooked – it was produced medium


rare which is how she would have ordered it anyway and one suspects this is very much the chef’s view of how a steak should be prepared. The frites were extremely good and a plentiful serving. I chose chipirons (baby crispy squid) as a starter,which were tasty and tender – not always the case with squid in the UK – followed by Cote d’agneau (thinly cut lamb chops) with thyme served on something akin to a ratatouille. Very tasty but perhaps could have been a little hotter.


For dessert we chose chocolate mousse and a lemon sorbet in Armagnac – again excellently prepared and delightful. Wine: we washed this down with a bottle of their house red – a Cotes de Gascogne – which was remarkably smooth with a great bouquet. The wine list is an all-French one and the house wines do represent decent value at £19.50 a bottle. There are some wines available by the glass – otherwise the list is fairly pricey mostly from £30 plus a bottle and higher.


available by the glass of in half litre carafes.


Decor and ambience is good and definitely French, although the latter could perhaps be improved by slightly more subdued lighting in the evenings. One feels the overall impression to a passer-by once dusk has fallen would be more welcoming if the main lighting elements could be dimmed a little. Chabrot, Bistrot des Halles, is indeed a very welcome addition to the area close to the Barbican, with great food and mostly reasonable prices by area standards. Indeed my companion was so impressed she booked a table for 6 in around ten days time – and is also looking at taking her mother there for a birthday lunch! For someone whose job involves interacting with restaurants all around London that is praise indeed.


Chabrot Bistrot des Halles is open for lunch and dinner Monday to Friday and for dinner on Saturdays. It is currently


closed on Sundays, but is considering opening for Sunday brunch once the owners have had a chance to assess the likely market. For reservations call 0207 796 4550. Website (online bookings available) www.chabrot.com and it is located at 62-63 Long Lane.


being within reasonably close proximity, and the owners seem to have come up with a great formula for reasonably priced dining. All serve roughly the same basic menu, with changing daily specials. OK its not exactly what might be considered gourmet food nowadays – it perhaps lacks the fancy presentation (food as art) that most top restaurants see as de riguer and for which one pays through the nose to quickly demolish – but many of the dishes would pass muster as being very good at far more expensive establishments, while also offering items on the menu that perhaps a celebrity chef would turn his nose up at, but which the general public might very well appreciate as a slightly plainer, and lower cost, eating


Cotes d’agneau au thym


I There is a selection


Côte Barbican


have now eaten at the new Côte Barbican, next to the Barbican’s new cinemas under Ben Jonson House, a couple of times since its opening in March and have been impressed each time – not only with the food and service, but especially with the price. You can truly enjoy a good meal there in reasonable surroundings at little more than half the price you would pay at many of the other more upmarket restaurants in the area. Indeed if one was frugally selective (half a grilled Breton chicken – despite the bird apparently coming all the way from Brittany – with fries at £9.95 for example, or moules frites main at £10.95, steak frites at the same price etc.) one could have an extremely reasonably priced meal. While many of our area restaurants are great for an occasional gourmet treat, Côte’s prices make it somewhere where one could consider going on perhaps a much more regular basis without breaking the bank. Côte is a chain with branches all around the country and with 22 in the London area alone – including one close by St Pauls on Ludgate Hill, which may also be of interest to Barbican residents as


option (like the chargrilled half Breton chicken).


Pricing: The most expensive main courses on the quite comprehensive menu, barring the Côte’s steaks which come in at between £14.95 and £17.95 (still remarkably reasonable compared with most other restaurants in the area) cost only £13.95 (for grilled sea bass or roast duck breast) – although vegetables come as extras with most dishes which does add to the price a little. Starters range from £4.50 to £7.50, although one could easily replace a starter with an appetiser plate of excellent saucisson sec at £2.95, or their big offerings of fougasse


Part of Côte Barbican’s fairly large restaurant area next to Barbican’s Cinemas 1 & 2


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