Bouchon Racine — Restaurant in London

On Saturday afternoon, we tried our luck for lunch at a popular French restaurant in London. The uber driver couldn’t drop us off in front of the restaurant because of construction so we walked the rest of the way. There were hundreds of people shouting and what seemed like a protest in the same direction we were headed. But, as we got closer to the big crowd, we realised it was a tailgate party in front of a pub for the fans of the Luton Football club. They were really loud and cheering pridefully for their team prior to the game. It was a big game as a win would move them to the Premier League next season.

So we finally made our way into restaurant on the second level. Bouchon Racine was opened last October but they had a cult following for the chef. We were met at the front door by Dave. We told him we didn’t have a reservation and that we came a long way to try the food. The restaurant has a few empty tables waiting for the guests to arrive and Dave was doing his best to see if there were any no shows or cancellations but people were still making their way to the restaurant. Desperately hoping for some sort of miracle, Dave suddenly had an idea. He rushed out to the stairs area and quickly came back with a small table and two chairs. He found a corner to place the intimate table and we were set!

Dave brought over a chalkboard with a full hand written menu, he went over each item from the starters to desserts with extreme detail. We decide on the Tomato French bean anchovies salad and Chicken liver pate to start. It went so well with the red wine Peter, our server, recommended us. For the mains, we went with the John dory mousserons leeks noir de bigorre ham and the Lamb chops wilted escarole rosemary garlic piment. The lamb dish reminded us of the mutton chops at the famous Keens Steakhouse in NYC. It was absolutely devine. Of course we had to have the Creme caramel armagnac prune for dessert, it was so creamy. 😋❤️ A French meal would not be completed without a coffee and a glass of Armagnac.

Everything was so good, that we couldn't help but to look again and again at the chalkboard menu, thinking of what we could have tried. Haha 😁😁😁 Thank you Dave and Peter for your genuine...

If you want a special evening, go elsewhere

Perhaps we were unlucky with the menu and the service but sadly we can’t really give it more than two stars on this occasion.

Firstly we waited 15 minutes for our table (we arrived promptly at 8pm which does not happen often) - delays happen but there was nowhere to wait other than a cold and drafty staircase landing. Secondly, I did mention it was a birthday celebration and this was completely ignored - you could give at least a basic chocolate ganache with a candle?

The service was subpar - we waited over 15 minutes for our starter plates to be cleared then another 25 for our mains to be served and no one came with the card machine until we stood up and went to the bar. No one tops your water up or asks about your food.

Finally, we did not find the food particularly special. The boudin noir was a bit dry - the beans in a creamy sauce were amazing though! The Bayonne ham with celeriac remoulade was lovely. The steak tartare was a big let down - it was very bitter and we did discuss it with the waiter but reached no conclusion - they kindly did offer to take it off the bill which we refused. The hake with fennel and saffron was definitely the highlight. We shared Mont Blanc dessert and it was very disappointing - ordinary meringue with some cream topped with chestnut purée which was unfortunately not sweetened enough. White wine list was slightly disappointing for us - nothing oaky or buttery under £80. This could be just personal taste but if you want to be looked after and have a special meal / night out, I would definitely go to other places like Chez Bruce, Otto’s, The Ninth or...

I chose Bouchon Racine for our lunch club on the basis of great reviews and boy what a great choice! What an amazing meal. Having had a couple of drinks in the pub downstairs we made our way to our table and were welcomed warmly by the lovely staff. Unlike many restaurants these days they seem to have plenty of staff, all of whom seem to enjoy what they are doing. Eyebrows were raised when we ordered the Magret de Canard and Cote de Boeuf sharing platters in addition to mains for everyone - the waiter said it caused some laughs in the kitchen. However, not only did we meet the challenge of the mains but the creme caramel dessert was so good a couple of us had two!

The food was superb. The melt in the mouth charcuterie and chicken liver pate were stand out starters and all the mains were excellent and perfectly cooked - hake x 2, rabbit x 2 , veal chops x 2 and the aforementioned duck and beef.

We sat down at 2.30 and gently squeezed out of our seats at 6 and we had a ball. Incredibly the bill for 6 of us came to around £900 even with all the extras and several bottles of wine and pisco sours. So good to see some good value bottles on a wine list in London for a change. Overall, incredible value compared to any other London venue of similar (or inferior) quality. Can't wait to return - if I can get a booking, given how popular the...