We spent another rare Saturday in London today. Why so rare? As both of us commute from Suffolk or Essex every weekday, we don’t really want to spend weekends riding the trains, too, especially as they’re normally full of day trippers and noisy travellers going to the football, heading to the shops, or taking in a show.
But today, day trippers we were, as we had a lunchtime appointment celebrating a friend’s birthday. As her mum is French, Emilie had chosen La Trouvaille in which to mark her 30th birthday, and with its light décor, and interesting lunch menu serving the ‘finest ingredients, and an extensive wine list from the south and southwest of France and Corsica in an upbeat but relaxed environment,’ I can see why.
Sitting in the dining room upstairs (which we had to ourselves as there were 23 of us) with its deco-esque panelled mirrors, black iron fireplaces, and stripped and polished floorboards, it was like sitting in someone’s grand front room. With the sash windows open to let the summer still air in, and the flowerboxes full of brightly-coloured pansies (and reflected in the window boxes opposite), the whole place exudes a laid back, relaxing, and very French atmosphere.
The staff are genuinely French, and from bringing the arrival drinks, serving the menus and food, topping up the copious amounts of wine, to clearing the tables after we’d eaten, they were polite, courteous, and more than accommodating. The food was exemplary, too. The chicken pate and toast was more than up to expectations (the only criticism being that there could have been more toast, but that’s true of most restaurants), and the guinea fowl stuffed with halloumi cheese, marjoram, and tomato in a beetroot sauce with curly kale was deliciously tender.
Three of us picked one each of the trio of desserts, and I can say that if you choose either of the chocolate mousse, crème brulée, or selection of cheeses, you’ll enjoy them. The price was good too; at £20 a head for the three courses (or £16.50 for two courses), it was all very reasonable. In true French or continental style, it was also one of the longest lunches I’ve had for a long time; we ate, chatted, and drank for over four hours.
Open Monday to Saturday from 12.00pm to 3.30pm for lunch, and 6.00pm to 11.00pm for dinner, and situated at 12A Newburgh Street (a stone’s throw away from Carnaby Street and Oxford Circus Tube) La Trouvaille comes highly recommended.
Tags: Dining Out, London, Restaurants