food & drink
connoisseur
French Fancy The Hotel du Vin brand has branched out by opening a French-inspired bistro in Clerkenwell. Richard Brown pays a visit to see how it compares to its vast number of City rivals
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aving only recently emerged from a recession, when it comes to city dining it’s hard to know, per pound, what you should expect in terms of service and cuisine – especially in an area where so many restaurants compete in such a small space. Even so, when a new restaurant promising “wholly satisfying dishes created from the finest home grown and local produce” opens, it’s hard not to arrive with certain expectations. Located less than a five minute walk from Farringdon Station, Bistro du Vin Clerkenwell is a bistro in the truest sense of the word. Complete with awnings and street tables outside, the restaurant is a contemporary version of the original Parisian cafés that inspired it. Inside, the walls are decorated with wine related artwork and artefacts, and, as well as an open island kitchen, Bistro du Vin boasts an impressive glass wine cellar and large bar area. As a restaurant that advertises its attention to locally sourced produce, it was good to see that when we were provided with water and a selection of breads that the accompanying butter was a regional goats cheese butter and that the bread had been selected from a local baker. Thoroughly content with our choice of wine – albeit a choice heavily aided by the help of Bistro du Vin’s expert sommelier (he had advised a Waterkloof
Sauvignon Blanc, £45) – we turned to selecting our food. Consisting of six or seven options for both starters and mains, in addition to several grill-based dishes, the menu reflected that of a traditional Parisian bistro; simple and modest yet heartily appetizing. To start, I opted for Crispy lambs sweetbreads while my companion chose the Lobster bisque. Whereas sweetbreads I’ve had in the past have been soggy and overcooked, Bistro du Vin’s were crisp, plump and delicately seasoned, and although the bisque was a little too sweet for me, my friend found it both filling and flavoursome. For the main course, finding myself absorbed in the restaurant’s French theme, I chose the Saucisson à la lyonnaise. Served as three thickly sliced disks, the garlic-infused sausage was agreeably piquant and proved far more substantial than it first appeared. The ratte potatoes that accompanied the dish were smooth and buttery, if a little dry towards the middle. My friend settled upon a mediumrare 35 day aged rump steak. For a restaurant that doesn’t market itself as a steak specialist, it proved far more capable than many that do. Flamegrilled on the restaurant’s indoor barbeque, the meat was crisp on the outside yet deliciously moist and angrily red on the inside. The accompanying fries were lightly salted and golden to perfection, the ideal companion to the melt-in-the-mouth meat. Ordering a Summer Fruit Sundae
and Vanilla Ice Cream seemed a rather placid end to a full-flavoured two courses but when the desserts arrived they proved the opposite. Soft, simply presented and served with a drizzling of sweet brandy (unrequested but adding a boozy treat to an otherwise obvious dish), the ice cream was soothing after the kick of the saucisson. For my friend, the highlight of the sundae was the blackberry sorbet which, he informed me, completely outshone the brownie, cream and cherries that lay underneath – which, although tasty, lacked the twang of the sorbet. During our meal at Bistro du Vin we were given plenty of time to make our culinary choices, yet at no point did we feel forgotten. When we were ready to order, a waitress miraculously appeared and whenever our wine and water glasses neared empty they seemed to top themselves up as if by magic. On the evening we visited, the bistro seemed pervaded by an apprehensive kind of atmosphere; the quiver of a new restaurant trying to make an impression on a highly receptive public. But to me, this only proved endearing – at least they cared – and if a restaurant’s ambition is demonstrated through the effort it puts into its food and service, then Bistro du Vin is likely to do very well indeed. n Bistro du Vin Clerkenwell 38-42 St. John Street, EC1M 4AY 020 7490 9230 www.bistroduvinandbar.com
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