"I’ve been enjoying meals at this spot every 2 3 months for years now. Unfortunately on my most recent visit, the quality of food has dropped slightly, and isn’t as enjoyable as it used to be. The starters were decent, especially the olives : they were absolutely delicious and very well seasoned. The smoke salmon filled balls weren’t that special and I wouldn’t really recommend them at a French brassiere. The calamari were obviously not fresh, and honestly not that enjoyable either at, once again, a FRENCH restaurant. The bread is always quite tasty with the butter and a good simple starter to order. The highlight undoubtedly is the onion soup though, it’s consistently quite tasty and even though I never have it because I personally don’t like onions, the party I’m with always recommend and rightfully so. For mains, I’m an expert in the Steak Frites, and I have to say the quality has dropped. It wasn’t pleasant to see chargrill marks on a steak frites which shouldn’t be cooked in that way, and the meat itself felt cheap and tacky. They never used to cook it this way, and it’s a real shame because you end up walking away with a rubbery piece of meat rather than what used to be a relatively enjoyable steak. The duck, on the other hand, looked brilliant for a chain restaurant: it was tender and not too ****. If I were to eat here tomorrow that is what I’d order for sure. The salad which was ordered was fresh, however it was plastered with unnecessary bits of lettuce scattered around the plate to a standard you’d see in a Costco takeaway box of salad not very impressive. The standard of food is never that high, as you would expect at every chain restaurant these days, even though I here their breakfast/brunch is quite enjoyable, but what really ties the experience together is the staff and service. They’re very nice, and understanding, and always up for a nice chat whether that be explaining the menu items or a talk about the premier league matches that are being played on a Saturday. The service in terms of food is not that fast unless you SPECIFY for them to bring everything out as soon as it’s ready, which if you don’t do: they will bring food out as if it were a 3 course meal. In summary they’re all very nice and chatty. In conclusion, if you’re looking for something quick last minute, then this isn’t a terrible place to go. The restaurant is never that buys these days and finding a table should be relatively easy if you please."
