Frenchie's Covent Garden - Hello, Baby!

Dear Frenchie, you had me at the entrance tiling... 

Kicking off the new year with a spanking new blog post because, like they say, start as you mean to finish.  It's officially Day 6 of  2018 and I suspect the new year's eve hangovers are fading blissfully into the grey matter, unless you are still celebrating, in which case... I salute you!  Anyhow, my hope is that this post will help kick-start my blogging on a regular basis. (Huge emphasis on hope!) 

So, I've wanted to write about a fab restaurant I finally got to check out back in summer, and it's definitely in my top 5 culinary experiences in London and worthy of a share.  If you're ever in the capital, I recommend a detour to Frenchie on Henrietta St, Covent Garden.  Here's what we found when we stepped inside the beautiful interior of this little restaurant. 

After snapping the obligatory entrance tiles for the Insta (yes, I did), we  were warmly greeted and seated.  The decor is stunning and subtle and a little retro so if you're like me and into interiors - you might experience a little whiplash. After downing bubbly whilst perusing the menu, we moved onto glasses of red and started on the bread and french butter.  Yup, the "no carbs" rule is firmly out-the-door when dining out. I'm training myself not to go overboard on bread, but in this case, the bread was bloody amazing.  So, I had a slice or two.. nuff said.  

Sublime foie gras.. 

Moving swiftly onto our starters, the foie gras was utterly sublime. I'm still thinking about it now, nothing short of orgasmic, and I mean that sincerely.  

Amuse me:  Apple and crackling to die for.

Like 99.9% of folks eating out - I love a good surprise.  I want to experience something new - a new way of cooking or a bold combo of flavours.  Obviously beyond my skills but you know, knowledge is power and all that, and I'm very keen to learn about EVERYTHING.  This is where the Amuse bouche ticked all those boxes.  The apple jelly sitting on top of the best crackling  - literally melts in your mouth and the flavours are an old favourite  but the dish isn't what you expect, and well, that's what I love. Amuse bouche literally translates to amuse mouth and that is, essentially, what this dish does.

The other winning starters we scoffed down? Bacon maple scones! These scones are a must-try, honestly, you can thank me later.  And we can't forget the pigs head croquettes - they were delicious.  I would happily order all of these dishes again, and again. And again.

Pigeon done two ways, with beets and cherries

For my entree, I had pigeon with seasonal beets/berries, and honestly, I paid quiet homage to the bird before devouring. Some things look so pretty, you just don't want to ruin them - but I absolutely enjoyed every mouthful. 

So, what did we have for pudding?  Well, as we're in London - it is pudding. The strawberries and raspberries pavlova (deconstructed) with the cutest baby meringues were lovely.  And, the choc mousse and bacon ice cream  I sampled a mouthful of chocolate heaven before my little side-kick heartily wolfed the lot down. 

Fab decor at the bar.. 

From the lovely tiled entrance and greeting on arrival to the gorgeous decor, amazing food and impeccable service - we were definitely won over.  As we strolled out into the evening, my dear foodie friend and I both agreed, "We HAVE TO COME BACK HERE."  And so we will.  I think this was probably my most memorable meal of 2017.  This year, I'm going to hunt down something at least equally special. Wish me luck! x

Ps:  Restaurant website is here: http://www.frenchiecoventgarden.com/