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Five to try: South of France
18.03.09
LA PETITE MAISON
54 Brooks Mews, W1 (020 7495 4774) £63
Sunny spells and the euro about level with the pound — you may as well settle for a Mayfair mews as travel to this restaurant's original in Nice. Arjun Waney, co-owner of Zuma and Roka, loved it so much he bought rights in the name. Provençal cooking is replicated faithfully and, in case you miss the point, fresh produce as table decoration hammers it home. Coquelet with confit lemon and bottle of rosé is a rite of spring.
LE SUQUET
104 Draycott Avenue, SW3 (020 7581 1785) £53 Pierre Martin changed the face of London's stolid and starchy fish restaurants with first (in 1975) La Croisette and a few years later Le Suquet, named after and inspired by the pretty old town at the heart of Cannes. Pierre, his wife Catherine and a band of loyal staff are constants at the restaurant and the famed plateau de fruits de mer is still a gloriously effective way to invoke the bobbing boats and sea breezes of the Riviera.
CLOS MAGGIORE
33 King Street, WC2 (030 7379 9696) £55
Chef Marcellin Marc previously worked at the Michelin two-star Le Clos de la Violette in Aix-en-Provence. Overblown décor — complete with gas-fired hearth — box hedges and bowers of fake blossom are reminiscent of some South-of-France country inns but the comfort is unassailable and the wine list far wider, deeper and more interesting than most you find in France. Take advantage of the set deals starting at £19.50 for two courses and half a bottle of wine.
LE COMPTOIR GASCON
63 Charterhouse Street, EC1 (020 7608 0851) £46
Moving south-west, this spin-off from Pascal Aussignac's Club Gascon, which was once their bakery and traiteur, is now a bistro as authentic as apple art with Armagnac. Traces of shop are still apparent in artisan breads, patisserie, cheeses, wine and chocolates available to buy, but more fun is eating in where irrepressibly Gallic waiters wish you charcuterie, confit, onglet, omelettes, oysters with sausages and the best of duck.
BISTRO AIX
54 Topsfield Parade, Tottenham Lane, N8 (020 8340 6346) £45
Owner Lynne Marie Saunders trained at Cordon Bleu in Paris and worked for Alain Ducasse in Monte Carlo and at his country inn, La Bastide de Moustiers, in Les Alpes de Haute-Provence. Crouch End must come as something of a contrast. Her menu aims higher than the word bistro suggests but includes many dishes you might expect such as escargots, onion soup, bouillabaisse, daube of beef, rack of lamb with thyme-scented jus and tarte Tatin.
Prices estimate a meal with wine for one.
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