It may be the least arriviste movement of all time. London’s food scene is quietly having a French moment, with a crop of new restaurants taking timeless inspiration from across the channel. This anti-trend manifests itself in summer berry and lavender choux buns at Battersea Rise bistro Ploussard, or Basque chicken ballotine at 64 Goodge Street, another winner in our inaugural 2023 New Restaurant Awards .
It’s there, too, in the classic frog legs at the new Josephine in Chelsea, the veal sweetbreads at Haggerston Wine Club/bistro Planque, or the even more challenging tête de veau calf’s head at Bouchon Racine, chef Henry Harris’s much-loved Farringdon follow-up to his original Racine. If you’ve read a Jay Rayner rave in The Guardian in the last few years, there’s a decent chance it involved some degree of comforting, quality-driven Frenchness. In Covent Garden , chef Jackson Boxer joined this nouvelle vague with the smart, Parisian-inspired Henri at the Henrietta Hotel – owned by the French Experimental Group, and itself part of an influx of Francophile London hotels , including Hôtel Costes relative One Sloane and Notting Hill ’s upcoming Grand Hotel Bellevue.
With its marble-topped tables with coffee-coloured skirts, highlights on Henri’s menu include crispy-unctuous pied de cochon (pig’s trotters), and an £8 carrot râpée with black olive and sesame, cooked in carrot reduction with lime and fermented chillies for an explosive take on the tradit.