Eat Out London!The French House
Welcome to The French House
Actors, writers, artists and wits rub shoulders with royalty, bohemians and the film world in this, the most iconic of Soho watering holes.
A fabulous and entertaining spot to raise a glass in London, the French House truly deserves its reputation as the best known pub in the world's naughtiest square mile.
Reviews and related sites
Polpetto, Upstairs at The French House, 49 Dean Street, London W1 ...
food drinks staff menu
The dark, slightly dingy bar area always seems to be crammed with sneerily trendy chaps and amazingly pretty girls from the Regent Street shops and magazine HQs, even though the wine list is tiny and the food rather routine.
Instead of starters, there are Cicheti (tiny bites, like canapés) and "Breads", but the breads cost as much as the meat and fish courses.
The Cicheti were mostly delicious: polpetti themselves, knobbly, wiggly, drenched in oil and garlic, were far tastier than their grown-up equivalents; a sliver of smoked swordfish, filled with dill ricotta and touched with lemon juice, was a tiny tri-flavoural dream; a crostino of chicken liver was smooth as an angel's cheek but involved too much bready chewing; only the duck and porcini meatball failed to impress – it seemed generic in its tomato sauce, with no trace of duck about it.
As I tried to find an abdominal corner for the scrumptious pannacotta with blackberries and biscotti, and basked in Polpetto's lovely informality at 3pm, I wondered if I'd ever complained before about a restaurant serving too much food – especially when most dishes were so well achieved.
The Venetian tapas at this Mediterranean bar on the waterfront include mouthwatering meatballs (£2.95) and crab claws (£8.95).
The French House
For those who don't know us yet, The French House is a new vibrant neighbourhood eatery set up by a team that live in and love the South East London area bringing all of knowledge from our gastro backgrounds.
If you are just after a drink we have a well selected French wine list and a French themed cocktail list.
We also have a large selection of French and local craft beers.
All this served to the rhythm of French 60's Yéyé interior design and music.
Our exiting menu is changing monthly serving French classics using a modern twist.
The French House, Soho - Wikipedia
food
The French House is a Grade II listed pub and dining room at 49 Dean Street, Soho, London.
It was previously known as the York Minster, but was informally called "the French pub" or "the French house" by its regulars.
Other regulars over the years include Francis Bacon, Tom Baker, Daniel Farson, Lucian Freud, Augustus John, Malcolm Lowry, Calum, Rosie and John name was changed to "The French House" after the fire at York Minster in 1984.
[1] In recent years landlady Lesley Lewis has encouraged Soho photographers to exhibit in the pub with regular contributions from John Claridge, William 'Bill' Corbett, Carla Borel and Peter Clark.
The dining room at the French House was opened by Fergus and Margot Henderson in 1992.
The French House, 49 Dean Street, London Chinatown, London ...
Counting the likes of Dylan Thomas, Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon among its former barflies, the French House is one of those Soho institutions that has the knack of making you feel like nothing’s changed in the city in the last fifty years.
Despite its massive popularity, the bohemian spirit still lives on at the French House, where its regular characters still prop up the bar, part of the furniture in this central Soho village local.Who knows what makes the French House so evocative but without doubt it’s one of those places people still come to soak up a little of that literary London louche.
Maybe it’s the half pint only beer policy, or the lean towards wine, or the familiar faces behind the bar that you see year in year out, which all have a hand in keeping the pub so in tune with the past and the present despite the fading Soho around it.Serving a weekday lunch menu only, food can be found between12:30pm and 3:30pm and despite the appeal of the likes of lamb rump and chicken liver parfait, the liquid lunch is likely the more popular choice at the French House.It may be everyone’s favourite Soho pub but the popularity of the French House hasn’t diluted it, changed it or negated its inimitable charm, and we’ll be visiting for Meteor halves, Breton cider and vin rouge until we can’t anymore, one way or the other.
The French House review: A Soho institution with a proud history ...
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The French is the ever-so-slightly upmarket cousin of the Coach & Horses.
Not everything is perfect – the red wine is headache inducing after the first sip – but the French has stories to tell.
The French will outlive them, and us, all.
Polpetto, London W1, restaurant review - Telegraph
food value
A slither of smoked swordfish tucked round some lemon and dill ricotta (£2.50) packed the flavour punch of a dish thrice its size.
N carried on with the crispy soft-shell crab in parmesan batter, over a fennel salad (£8), and also ordered the fennel, radish, mint and ricotta salad (£5).
It reinvented the whole genus of fish-in-batter: crispy not fatty, the crab meat of a perfect taste and texture for such rufty-tufty handling.
Petite portions of classic French dishes, from bean cassoulet (£5.75) to bourguignon-style braised ox cheek (£5.95) – warming and filling, and perfect for sharing A bustling, canteen-style operation with communal tables and views of the Anglican cathedral.
Drop in for pan-Asian small plates including Thai beef salad with aubergine and lemon-grass (£5.95), or seared tuna with dashi mayonnaise and soba noodles (£4.95) By night this chic Spanish hangout is fit to burst, drawing in the crowds with its reasonably priced tapas menu.