Le Cafe du Marche

Had an excellent meal at cafe du marche tonight. Delicious starters of beetroot risotto and my friend had a baked egg thing. Wow. Main was lamb with tarragon in pastry with incredible parsnip mash and the sauce was perfect. House red wine was great.
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8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Thursday, November 15, 2012

I had dinner last night (16th) and was a bit disappointing, for many years I'm a regular customer and this place is not the same, my veal was over cooked and burnt, my wife had the bream, dry, over cooked and over seasoning with a disgusting sauce (not French at all). The table next to us were complaining that the meat was over cooked and cold.
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Zach
5 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 2
Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Had a wonderful meal at cafe du marche.

The food was fantastic, especially the cote de boeuf, and the service was borderline psychic. Lovely atmosphere too, with a pair of musicians on piano and double base.

Quite pricey but worth every penny.
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10 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Monday, May 02, 2011

I was very disappointed with the experience I had at Cafe Du Marche last night. I went for a special occasion, and the food was OK, but the tables are far too close together. It's very uncomfortable physically and of course its intrusive socially. Worse, the restaurant seems to draw some noisy City types, who shout and carry on as though they are in a pub rather than a restaurant that easily costs £50 or £60 per head. I was very disappointed the management did not ask one table to keep the noise down. The couple sitting immediately next to them had to move, but still the table carried on shouting - much to the discomfort of everyone else in the restaurant.
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Walter
3 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 1
Friday, March 18, 2011

Having read some of the reviews on this site I was rather perplexed by some of the comments and felt that I should contribute to London Eating for a change.

My wife and I take a yearly pilgrimage (on her birthday) to this fantastic little restaurant. As soon as you turn left into Charterhouse Square, the vibrant atmosphere of Smithfields is suddenly refined and you get a sense that you could be walking along a quiet street of a French village, well away from the touristy areas.

As you walk through the door, the manager is there to welcome, take your coats, introduce your waiter and show you to your candlelit table. The chairs are very comfortable, tables are generously sized and are laid with white linen and silver. There is an upright piano in the middle of the restaurant on which light background music is played ‘una corda’ so as not to overpower the intimate ambience.

The menu is admittedly lean, but better that a restaurant prepares a few notable worthy French classics than the alternative. The starter of mussels never fails to disappoint. Cooked to perfection the large bowl of assorted sized mussels is exactly as you would expect to find them cooked in Provence. For the main course, the signature Cote Du Bouef is outstanding. The beef rib is of an excellent quality, marbled with just the right amount of fat. It is served well charred on the outside and rare within. It literally melts in the mouth and has bags of flavour.

After a short break, I would recommend the amazing cheeseboard. The quality and variety of the many superb cheeses is di-stink-tive! One cheese is so runny (not to mention smelly) that it is served with an ice-cream scoop…

Despite some comments below, the wine list is thoughtful and prices suit all pockets. On our last visit, the House White was a dry flinty number, comparable to a Chablis and at £15 or thereabouts it was a bargain and a perfect accompaniment to the mussels. To compliment the beef, we ordered a delicious Cotes Du Rhone. The very reasonable price reflects a traditional wine that has become increasingly ignored in these days of trendy staunch 'New World' South American reds. A real Bargain.

The waiters are friendly and food and wine are served with the perfect amount of formality and elan however this is not a hype restaurant and it appeals to a different crowd from the wannabe set. As our yearly mission is a formal affair we dress up for the occasion but there are equal numbers of casually dressed diners. It's going to set you back £100 after wine, supplements and service but if you are looking for a French gastronomic treat in an intimate setting where you can feel comfortable and relaxed then this is a place you must try.
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Iain & Albany
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Monday, January 17, 2011

I ate with two friends at this restaurant last night. The ambience and the service appeared very convincing. However, my starter of fish soup was a brown sludge which was made palatable only by the condiments - croutons, grated cheese (cheap cheddar I think, very Morrisons) and a fish (?) paste of some description. The main course, a veal escalope, was absolutely vile. The meat was tough and leathery with no taste whatsoever. I should have sent it straight back but that would have meant my companions waiting for an alternative plate arriving, or me eating on my own after they had finished. So I ate a good portion of this dish, but when asked 'How was it?' I told them that it was shocking that a restaurant could serve such a piece of so-called veal. There was then much shaking of heads and talk about 'telling the chef' and they didn't charge me for this course. But any chef of quality would be thoroughly ashamed to serve both these dishes. I certainly won't be repeating this experience.
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3 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Thursday, October 14, 2010

Went for dinner on Friday. The atmosphere is fine and so is the service. The food was not good.

The starter I had was just about ok, but the main course was disgusting, It was not what it said it was...it was supposed to be a pastilla (a Morrocan pastry). It turned out to be a nasty lump of school-dinner-at-its-worst upside down kind of dried out attempt at a savoury pudding. The coffee wasn't good either.

My companion watched as the dessert was assembled from a central counter...he noted that it didn't look hygienic at all.

The whole experience was torture; I was a guest so I couldn't say anything, My companion ate the same as myself and had the same comment. My hosts both had the veal main course which looked so dreadful I had to look away when they were served.

Had I been hosting the meal, I would have sent all the main courses back - what an insult serving food like that. It was really nasty.

I have eaten at this restaurant before, three or four times in the past ten years...but I would never, ever go back again.
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4 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 0
Sunday, October 10, 2010