After a few years in the wilderness, French restaurants are en vogue once more. Jo Rees reveals where to eat new-wave French in the South West
It was easy to be cool in the late 80s and early 90s – you just needed to be French. If that wasn’t an option, the next best thing was to watch Betty Blue and Jean de Florette on repeat, dress entirely in black, smoke Gauloises and quaff Beaujolais Nouveau while lounging in an insouciant way outside your local Café Rouge.
The cafe chain launched in Richmond in 1989 and was one element of the great Frenchification of British food culture at that time. Also on the high street, Pierre Victoire bistros were booming (there were 147 across the UK before the chain sank like a soggy soufflé in 1998), while Pret A Manger (which launched in 1991) reinvented the sandwich shop. It didn’t even sell specifically French food – other than filled baguettes and coffee (which, weirdly, did seem quite French back then, especially when served in a cafetière) – but just having a French name conferred the kind of elan that pulled in the punters.
At the smarter end of the dining spectrum, Hotel du Vin, with its brasserie-style restaurants and serious wine list, leant into France as the spiritual home of viniculture and gastronomy. Launched in 1994, it built upon a style finessed by Terence Conran, whose Bibendum restaurant (1987) in Chelsea reimagined the classic French brasserie for affluent diners in Thatcher’s Britain.
Then all of a sudden, and as with every trend since year dot, French gastronomy stopped being flavour of the month. After a good run, it was superseded by new faves that included Tex-Mex, Thai and the reinvention of smart Italian cuisine via the likes of The River Cafe. Of course, chefs never lost their allegiance to la gastronomie française – it’s the foundation of their craft, after all – but they didn’t lead with it.
Now a new generation is discovering the joy of French restaurants, just as they’re in love with 90s Blur-esque Adidas zip-ups and back-copies of ID magazine. Maybe it’s simply the never-ending churn of old trends into new, or perhaps, a decade since the vote for Brexit, France feels less familiar and therefore more interesting. Whatever the reason, France is vieux chapeau no longer.
In the South West, some new-wave French restaurants are making headlines. One of the most exciting is Lapin. Housed in a shipping container in Bristol’s Wapping Wharf, it’s become a favourite in the city for its fresh take on Gallic classics. Created by Dan O’Regan and Jack Briggs-Horan, it’s a sister restaurant to their first venture, Bank, and where exec chef Jack gets to play with the flavours of his childhood holidays across the Channel.
Bijou in size and with a menu built around what’s in season locally, it reads like a Bristol spin on the classic French bistro.
Dishes are good across the board but, if they’re on, don’t hesitate to order the sharing main of roast duck à l’orange with braised chicory, or the veggie gnocchi parisienne with roscoff onions and soubise. The unctuous pomme purée with its obscene ratio of butter to potato is another must-order, especially when pimped with the addition of Rollright cheese. Magnifique!
Where to eat French
Lapin, Wapping Wharf, Bristol
French in flavour yet resolutely Bristolian in attitude, Lapin delivers a casual, contemporary take on classic French cooking – in a shipping container. The wine list boasts a whopping 60 French bins, all available by the glass.
Caper & Cure, St Paul’s, Bristol
Caper & Cure takes a modern-European approach with a tonne of French influence. Feast on warm crab and crayfish butter with soft herbs and house bread, followed by braised Cornish octopus with cuttlefish and chorizo cassoulet.
Saveur, Exmouth, Devon
Chef‑patron Nigel Wright crafts modern, seasonal dishes with French flair. Expect plenty of seafood and meaty mains like Powderham fillet steak with bone-marrow mash, confit garlic, braised beef cheek and truffle sauce. The cheeseboard is great.
Chez Dominique, Bath
This family-owned restaurant radiates French charm and reflects owner Chris Tabbitt’s culinary experience in establishments like Bibendum. Scoff the likes of griottine cherry clafoutis with vanilla ice cream.
Le Champignon Sauvage, Cheltenham
David Everitt-Matthias’s Michelin-starred restaurant deals in modern French cooking crafted with exquisite attention to detail.
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