My wife and I were wandering around Ranelagh, looking for something to eat. We were gravitating towards the Butcher's Grill, because predictably, I wanted a steak. She wasn't keen on the fish on offer there so we soldiered on, checking out the vast arrays of menus on offer in the village. We settled upon what seemed to be a new French brasserie- La Réserve Brasserie. First impressions were promising - a decent menu, pleasant staff, nice decor, although it is very small and could be seen as cramped. Unfortunately the meal didn't build upon the initial promise. My wife had a starter of fried calamari, which was average although a bit too greasy. We were given bread also, which was fresh and tasty and came with some olives to pick at, but the dipping oil was vegetable oil (ie not olive oil). My wife enjoyed her haddock main, although it was miniscule, and the accompaniments were lacking in flavour. My rib eye was wafer thin and not cooked rare as requested. I also asked for an alternative to the sauces on offer (pepper or Roquefort), maybe some garlic butter, but this was not entertained. The fries were great though! The wine list was small but the two glasses we got were fine. Desert for my wife was quite bland (an unripe plumb tartlet with ice cream). It wasn't a great meal in any shape or form, but even taking everything into account above there is some potential here. Hopefully it will get better with time. read more