Chez Tonton is outstanding, I've been passing for years meaning to go in and finally did last night…read morethanks to a taste card 2 for 1 offer and I have to say it was excellent, I really am kicking myself it's taken me this long to try it. The food prices are reasonable and the wine is excellent value, £31 for a bottle of Chateauneuf du pape. Tasty food, great wine and a very welcoming and gracious owner really make Chez Tonton a gem of a local restaurant. If you're nearby, or even if you're not it's worth the trip to this great little bistro, it gives Barnét an accent.

Possibly the best french bistro this side of the channel…read more Creme Brulee is the best I have tasted anywhere in the world, although recently I tried the assiette du chef dessert (a little piece of many things) which was equally fantastic, so now i'm torn whenever I go. A meal at Chez Tonton is always an occasion- Eric brings over delicious Kir Royale, and melt in the mouth cubes of garlic bread whilst you select your order. The french onion soup is lovely, as are the rillettes. Lunch is a steal, with 2 and 3 course deals on offer each day. Dinner is somewhat pricier, but worth every penny.

Excellent French cuisine bistro restaurant. Wonderful…read moreatmosphere, excellent menu, super service and great food. Everyone I know who has dined here has loved this place. Highly recommended.

From the owner: Table Du Marché (which translates as Market Table) is an independent French Gastro Bar and…read moreRestaurant with an emphasis on seasonal food, locally sourced, combining classical French dishes with a modern twist. Menus are updated daily with specials and plenty of options for vegetarians. We work closely with local allotment owners and regularly purchase their veg and herb harvests for use in our restaurant.

Amazing entrecôte! Mario was my server tonight and he was exceptional! Friendly, efficient, and…read morefast. The food was delish and came fast. Efficient chef and staff I was in and out with a full belly and a smile. They were so kind and patient. They allowed other guests to hang out and enjoy their wine. And they even had a bunch of regulars come in and everyone was treated exactly the same. With kindness and efficiency. If you are nearby staying at the hotel or if you are enjoying the British Musuem, check them out! I had a glass of Malbec (attached) with my dinner and it was well balanced and fruity!

Very good experience for French and Mediterranean cuisine. Good quality of food. Fresh and tasty…read more Service is remarkable comes from hart. Very fast. The atmosphere is very good. I like it.

Visiting on a Saturday, my date and I took a long Loooong walk around the countryside (try about 9…read moremiles, ya'll) and decided to reward ourselves with a quick drink before heading back to London. He ordered a pint, I ordered a bloody mary. Cue my exit stage left to use the toliet. Upon my return, the bartender grinned at me and said 'You'll never guess the secret ingredient.' Now, I'm all for innovative cocktails, so I gamely took a giant swig. My bloody mary...my beautiful, spicy, salty bloody mary....was sweet. Disgustingly sweet. I nearly spit it out. Raising my eyebrow in a most sarah-like fashion, I ask him what exactly is in my drink. 'Tia Maria...it's the special ingredient.' I'm sorry, but a) I didn't give permission for you to mess with my drink and b) WHO THINKS TIA MARIA IS A GOOD IDEA IN A BLOODY MARY? I shan't be going to a pub that clearly doesn't have a taste for mixing spirits. Just bad judgement.

Went here for Sunday lunch today. This is tucked away just off the A1(M) in the little hamlet of…read moreAyot St Peter. It is a picturesque little pub with an excellent French restaurant attached (which also serves rosbif on a Sunday). We arrived at a busy time and were given a drink at the bar whilst our tables were made ready. The staff were attentive...but stretched very thin, with what appeared to be two waiters and the manager serving the pub and the restaurant. I started with the charcuterie plate, which was very good (though quite a lot of rocket and not quite enough of the olive tapenade), moved on to the lamb fillet with panzanella (again with the rocket) and move on to lemon curd with raspberry sorbet for desert. The starter was pleasant though difficult to get wrong really. The lamb was a little overdone for my taste but my pregnant wife appreciated having hers well done (which she asked for), though it was still tender and the panzanella was lovely...there was another massive bunch of rocket on top of this, which is often foliage I could do without, but what the heck? I ate it anyway. The desert was perfectly sharp and sweet and cut through the rich lamb really well. All told, we were very impressed with the food and the portion size was just right. Service suffered from the lack of staff in an incredibly busy restaurant and was therefore predictably slow, but we didn't mind. The waiters and the manager were constantly pleasant and able to deal with the demands of our four year old. The pace allowed us to savour the food and enjoy the ambience and we certainly didn't feel rushed. All told, this is a really good little restaurant with some great food and is a real find. Highly recommend it!

I'm honestly puzzled by the high rating -- I must be missing something…read more This is supposed to be a French restaurant, yet the bread served was clearly supermarket bread (it tasted like Tesco bread), not a proper French baguette, which was a disappointing start. I ordered the pâté followed by the chicken. Both were fine, but very average -- nothing memorable or particularly well executed. My partner began with the onion soup, which was overly sweet and had hardly any cheese. It lacked the richness and balance you'd expect from a classic French onion soup. The biggest letdown was the main course: the ribeye. "Ribeye" it was not. It arrived cold, dry, and extremely chewy -- the opposite of what a ribeye should be. Overall, the experience didn't come close to matching the hype or the ratings. Sadly, we left disappointed.

High-quality food that's affordable, with nice ambiance…read more They have a dinner deal, 29 pounds for a starter and main dish. I got the salmon tartare and duck. The salmon tartare was a great starter, with fresh ingredients. It was well-seasoned, and not too heavy. The duck was quite rich and the portion size was massive.

This is a nice place. The interior is nice and the staff are friendly…read more I ordered from the set menu and had courgette soup and fish cake, both were lovely. However it did take some time for the staff to serve us and take our plates away etc. Nevertheless this is a great place for a tasty meal with a group of friends or on a date.

Very nice interior and the service was of very high standard. Try pumpkin mix -- very delicious!read more

This place has recently changed hands and is now Turkish themed rather than French…read more 7 of us ate here and had a combination of dishes. Mainly Mediterranean style food, we shared a mezze platter which had some great tasters and warm bread. I tried the moussaka, and others had fish or lamb. They also do roast dinners, chicken and pork. Most dishes came with veggies and salad or potatoes. Portions were big. Service was attentive. The venue has a great vibe, and the outside area is lovely in good weather.

Went on a beautiful Thursday evening which wasn't busy and sat on the patio. The infused gin was…read morespectacular and we shared a board with yummy fried croquettes and other items. People watched the very young teens smoking and drinking which not happens in the states when parents aren't watching...

Listen, I'm not so sure authenticity is something to hang your hat on if you're channeling a French…read moreBistro. Having trecked to deepest SW France every month for the past few years to visit mum I've seen the state of French rural cooking and it's not bon. So I was hoping a less intrepid short trek down the Shepherd's Bush Rd might yield something with a little more je ne sais quoi. The restaurant itself is most inviting. Obligatory 20's ad posters adorn the walls. Wooden tables with cloths, all that jazz. And I want the mustard tiles that adorn the loo. All very lived in and homely. And welcoming too. Our waitress bought the specials board with her and gave it some Anthea Redfern, our choices made all the harder for her doing so. Is there a man who doesn't tip up at a French bistro, scour the menu, deliberate, pontificate, cogitate and then order the steak and chips? If there is I'll show you someone going through transition. It's just what men do. And so did I. The steak on offer was onglet. Only the French can make a cheap choice sound exotic. Note. It's not cheap. £30. The missus went for a chicken and tarragon pie which sounded more French than that but basically it described a chicken and tarragon pie. We ordered a starter to share, anchoiade tartinette. Gentlemen's Relish on toast, not the strictest of Google Translates but serves my purpose here. What came looked a little uninspiring. I know bistro is homely and simple but this slice of toast with a mercifully thin spread of the salty stuff and topped with walnut and boiled egg needed a bit of sprucing up somehow. The plate looked bare but we both agreed any joy here was actually in the eating which frankly is the most important thing. We quaffed without quibble and enjoyed what we ate. Punchy, interestingly textured, it got the taste buds going for the mains. The steak was good. Quickly fried with lots of seasoning. Simple stuff for this simple man, The chips were excellent. Thin, brittle and immersed in good hot fat for a suitable period of time. I'm a lover of the big fat English chip but when a French fry is done this well it makes me wonder if Brexit may have been a mistake. The chicken and tarragon pie was a mess. This is the provincial French fare I remember so, um, fondly from my trips to see mum. Her eventual demise had one welcome upside inasmuch as I never have to face another boil in the bag confit duck horror show as long as I live. It really is a poor show food-wise out there right now unless you live in a city and even then it's slim pickings. This dish didn't disappoint in terms of authenticity. Leather-like pastry eventually giving way to dry chicken mush inside. There was a small jug of Dubbin for the purpose of lubrication but it only added to the sense that this dish had been lying around for some time before a quick tap tap ping. The mash potato accompaniment was even worse. Where they were trying to replicate the Robuchon butter heaven, sans butter,, what was delivered looked and felt like glue paste. Luckily it didn't taste of that, it tasted of nothing at all. And it had a skin on it. Something you had to break through to get to the warm bit. A complete disaster. I grabbed my pomme frites seven at a time as jealous eyes wandered towards the basket. That the same root vegetable could render two such contrasting end results seems almost impossible but there you go. I wondered why this cute little place couldn't just boil the potato, mash it, add a little milk, butter and salt, possibly some parsley and be happy with the result. It's hard to beat. Their efforts to do something more complex left us with wallpaper paste. Aside leather shoe with dry chicken mush. And gloop. The French beans looked sad. Well wouldn't you? A wonderfully authentic experience in some ways. A disappointingly authentic experience in others. Say Lavvy.

I loved this place. It was very cute. Good food and Amazing customer service…read more The owner came out spoke with us, & made sure everything was fine, he even brought me extra small deserts cakes because I loved the one I ordered so much. Ordered the Steak & Frites , presented Beauty. However, it unfortunately lacked seasoning, & or salt. May just be my personal preference. However the ambiance was magnificent. Very airy, small boutique feel, definitely has a French cafe vibe that I love.

Had lunch at this fabulous French restaurant. The menu is written on chalkboard. Reservation is…read morerequired (bookings filled up quickly online). Waldorf tart was our favorite of the day: unexpectedly refreshing with strong signatures, hint of citrus and a strong aftermath. Pan fried hake perfectly finished with delicious lettuce, smoked cod roe over a sea of lovely grapefruit green. Confit Hogget Shoulder was very tender with slightly crisp top served with haggis and swede. Forced Rhubarb pie had custard and nice crust. The ginger beer jelly offered contrast and playfulness. Prompt and polite service. Restaurant is not noisy.

A wonderful small French restaurant owned by a husband and wife team. They have a fantastic wine…read morelist and I believe you can byob for a fee. We ordered wine by the glass and they were pours on the smaller side. The menu is small on a chalk board with one or two specials. Everything we had was excellent. My only complaint was I felt the dishes were a little small but the food was amazing.

For any of you foddies out there, this is the place to go. They have a great selection of meats,…read morecheeses, pickles, and all the usual deli items. But the best bit about this place is their cafe. It is quite small, and very popular so there is often a queue for a seat. However, it is well worth the wait. Their hot meat sandwiches are to die for, and at around £3.50 won't break the bank. They are served with a side salad and homestyle crisps, so it is like a proper meal. I also love their posh ceese on toast, which is melted Brie, on thick slices of breadyummy. Even their coffees are great. The inside is decorated in a retro style, ice cream colours and there is even a cute bunting around the doors. The best cafe in Hitchin by far.

A very different kind of shop and it's the pride of Hitchin town centre. It's situated just off the…read moremarket place and at first glance it seems to be a very fine delicatessen (which indeed it is). But what makes it unique is that it specialies in local produce and will actually buy stock from locals (grown in allottments or gardens) for sale in the shop - what a fantastic concept and very much in line with the spirit of the age. The window displays are particularly mouth-watering and truly enticing, the staff very friendly and the produce always of the highest quality. It's not cheap but what it sells is well worth paying the extra for.