A birthday meal with a group of friends is always a difficult balancing act. You need to find somewhere that caters for your needs but isn't too divisive financially or culinarily. A night out to celebrate my impending 31st birthday had been arranged for some time but the restaurant had been left to the last-minute. Where to go? My favourite place Martin Wishart? - too austere and expensive. My favourite chinese Wang (Star Sea Inn)? Too out there (what with all the pigs ears and intestines). My favourite bistro The Honours? - too flash. At the last minute I decided on the extremely unhip but reliable Chez Jules (Hanover Street). I have been many times before and am always impressed by the quality and consistency of their simple, unfussy, french cooking that lets ingredients speak for themselves. This was to be no exception.
The ragtag mob I brought with me in celebration are not easily impressed. One of them is a fine dining expert who has eaten in multiple 3 Michelin starred establishments and another is a former owner proprietor of one of Lanark's premier eateries 'McChan'! High standards all round and they would not be slow in telling me my choice was a dead duck!
One of the immediate things that hit me about Chez Jules was how busy it was. 10pm on a Saturday night and it was absolutely heaving, not a seat in the house. Noisy and rambunctious in atmosphere, the place was abuzz with patter, tittle-tattle and the chink of glasses. Terrific, my kind of place and perfect for the occasion.
Fuelled by the light, cheap and eminently drinkable house red (£14.95)we were soon very settled in. One of Chez Jules appealing idiosyncracies is the 'free starter' that every table receives while perusing the menu. It consists of freshly cooked bread, french salami, olives, pickles and best of all (and i never thought I would say this), a big bowl of dressed salad. The leaves were fresh, crisp and the mustard dressing was bursting with flavour. We devoured the lot with such gusto that another free portion was hastily sent over! Of course, how this freebie affects the number of starters that people order is up for debate as a business aside, but for customer satisfaction it is top-notch. Another Chez Jules quirk that screams value is their water policy. It's a bug bare of mine when you ask for water and the restaurant brings you a bottle of £6 Tufa. Often you are made to feel like a philistine for requesting tap-water. Chez Jules has cold tap water at every table in bottles that they diligently replenish. If you want mineral water, it's there on the menu but you are not tricked or shamed into it.
After a reasonable wait, although not unexpected given the volume of customers, we received our main courses. I opted for the £19 'Surf n Turf', a half Scottish lobster, half 6oz rib eye steak combination served with french fries. The lobster tasted fresh, succulent and meaty. It was well complimented by the excellent home-made aioli served on the side. The fries were crisp, salty and moreish. A lot of my friends also ordered steaks of various kinds and compliments rained in over their seasoning and cooking. No steak, even the Fillet came in at over £18. Another big hit was the Dophinoise served as a complementary side dish with steak. They are served to the table in a large, hot pan, still bubbling away and they burst with flavour and creamy goodness. I would recommend ordering them at £2.75 regardless of having steak or not! The best dish ordered was the Bourride Provencale priced at £25.70. An enormous dish for 2 to share it contained half a lobster, Crab, fish, mussels, scallops, squid, aioli and new potatoes in a rich tomato based sauce. It is served with a pile of bread to dip in the so you can drain all the taste from the pan. Truly epic value and terrific, simple dish.
I was completely stuffed by my main but managed to cram in some mango sorbet which was delightfully cleansing on the palate and soothing to the throat. I'm not sure if it was homemade but the taste was very good. My friend McChan allowed me to taste his chocolate mouse which was dark and rich. A little bitter for my taste, it was clearly made with a very high cocoa solids chocolate. We rounded of the meal with a few Aztec (Kaluha) coffees, which at £2.50 a time, once again reflect the terrific value at Chez Jules.
With a bill for five winging in at £175. Chez Jules is cheap, cheerful fare but more importantly, it serves simple food very well. Recommended. read more
