Les Deux Salons, 40-42 William IV Street, London WC2N 4DD

Les Deux Salons, 40-42 William IV Street, London WC2N 4DD

20/04/2013

www.lesdeuxsalons.co.uk

She said: We were in the Covent Garden area and hungry when I remembered wanting to try Les Deux Salons but hadn’t until now as he never seemed enthusiastic about it. I must have caught him on an off-day as he agreed to dine here. Les Deux Salons is designed as a classic French brasserie – two floors with metro style lighting and brass railings, dark green banquettes and starched table cloths and the obligatory distressed mirrors. A glass ceiling is a central feature of the room. On entering a near empty room we were given a nice table in the centre on the ground floor. The menus and complimentary bread were quick to come but after sitting around for too long, surrounded by waiters nattering to each other and therefore oblivious to our gestures to place our order, he went up and got a waiter to come to our table. Thankfully, the food service was good. I had a beetroot salad which was light and tasty, followed by the fish pie which, for me was a bit thick on mash and light on juicy fish although he liked it. I quickly ordered a side of spinach to cut through the dryness of the fish pie which worked nicely – although the spinach was more salty than I would have liked. We had noticed a nice new cake place up the road so decided to skip dessert.

During the meal more customers arrived creating more of a buzz in this retro, smart room. The ground floor feels more classic and open although upstairs has a nice intimacy to it. In the heart of tourist-land Les Deux Salons is always going to attract more out-of-towners than locals which makes for a different atmosphere although the lack of a pre-theatre menu will take care of one segment of tourists. Les Deux Salons is a pleasant enough place with pleasant enough food and if you choose wisely, reasonable prices at £50 for two courses for two with soft drinks.

He said: push the door & you can skip the Eurostar – the atmosphere here is genuine Paris, including the sometimes indifferent service. A few things on the menu raised the eyebrow: hot dog & chips, and mac & cheese, for example; but hey, this is Convent Garden, and Billy-Bob and Marge need to eat too. Otherwise this is as convincingly ‘Brasserie’ as nearby Balthazar and Zedel. I chose the very tasty soupe du jour, priced at a democratic £2.50, followed by a kind of Gallic fish and chips: pan-fried cod, with mushy peas and potato boulangere. This was delicious but the portion of fish was a little mean, irrespective of collapsing fish stocks. Having resisted going there for so long, I had to admit reluctantly that she was right – Les Deux Salons is a very good bet for the area. I’ll definitely be trying the mac & cheese next.