The Comptoir Gascon

Went here for lunch for the third and last time today. The ambience of the place is great, and the food is always interesting (if a little salty), but the service lets it down every time. Waiters are completely apathetic if not downright rude. Service is extremely slow and never entirely accurate (always something has been forgotten). The lack of passion or even vague interest in the food they serve is extremely disappointing. How hard is it to smile a little!
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VHT
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, May 08, 2007

It's strange to like a place so much and read such bad reviews. Am I missing the point, are they? how can one experience the same place in so many different ways? I went for dinner again last night and once again had a lovely meal. Landes asparagus to start with, delicious seasonal produce comes at a price and if we stop paying for it then we're opening the gates to even more fast food joints. My friend had the rabbit terrine which was equally delicious. Main courses were very good, my friend went for the cassoulet while i went for the salmon, luxurious comfort food at its best. We shared chips and a lovely bottle of Madiran, very smooth and round for a Madiran. Le Comptoir is one of my favorite places to eat, the staff are friendly and I think we are lucky there is such a place.
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David Jenkins
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, May 03, 2007

Friday lunch.Made us sit at the bar on very uncomfortable wooden stools,even though many tables for 2 stayed empty the whole time.Waitstaff was not French and knew very little about the dishes.When asked what the sauce basquaise(tomatoes,onions,red pepper) was,the response was a green herb sauce!!Even when prompted several times,instead of going to find out(I knew anyway,but it was a test) continued to insist.The barman had to intervene and correct the waiter.4 asparagus(with no adornment) were £8.50 as a starter-and this at the bar-no tablecloths on any tables and rudimentary glassware and cutlery.The bread was £2 extra.The small piece of poached fish(smoked even though no mention made on menu that it was smoked) £12.50 ,with veg extra.With a tiny dessert and coffee and a glass of wine(no water offered) it was £50 per person.The word RIP-OFF springs to mind and should be highlighted in neon over the entryway.

Indifferent service by unknowledgeable staff completed a very poor lunch experience.If you have way too much money and don't know what to do with it,by all means go to this place.
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C.Elder
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Friday, April 20, 2007

I stumbled across this at lunchtime with a colleague. Despite being vegetarian I was lured in by the lovely looking cheese counter. It's true it's not a place for someone who can't stand the sight of meat, but actually, given the size of the menu, there was quite a lot of choice for a veggie (about six dishes, which is more than I normally get!). Loved the truffle omelette and had a very generous beautifully dressed salad. My colleague said his beefy thing (I know nothing about meat!) with tagliatelle was good. And the place looks great.

But we didn't get any bread (odd for a french restaurant). When we came in as we hadn't booked we were told we couldn't sit by the window - but no-one came in to sit there. And we weren't told about dishes that were unavailable or that the kitchen closed at 2.30. So not the best service ever, but not as awful as some comments have been!
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Louise
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Thursday, April 05, 2007

What a fantastic restaurant! It is hard enough to find simple, well-sourced French cooking of this quality in central London - but the fact that these people manage to do it in a beautiful space at gastro-pub prices is really worth getting excited about. Everything we ate (bar the not-for-me-thanks pig's ears and rolled tripe on an otherwise impeccable charcuterie plate) set my food-obsessive paces racing. My perfectly cooked duck Magret with a creamy wild mushroom sauce was a complete bargain at £12 - generous extra orders of juicy greens and a

terrifically seasoned roast butternut squash with chestnuts made it a feast, made even better by reasonably priced and unusual red wine. An unctuous lemon tart, thankfully modest in size and price, and very good coffee ended the meal on a high note. Next time I will keep some room for the regional cheese plate.

I have read the other reviews on this site complaining about the service in this restaurant, which really surprised me. My husband and I like our service low-key, with the minimum fuss and servility - if the general style of the service here is what we received, then it suits us well. Waiters were there when we needed them, describing food and wine accurately and enthusiastically, avoiding reverential overtones. We were rightly discouraged from ordering too many side dishes, and pointed towards a cheaper wine on the basis that it would go better with the duck. This all added up to a brilliant meal, which left us remembering what is good about living in London, and going home clutching several bottles of the Comptoir's deli-priced red wine. We will definitely be going back to this restaurant, often.
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Michelle
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Saturday, March 17, 2007

I'm not in the habit of writing restaurant reviews but some of the commentaries above are so opposite to my recent experience at the Comptoir Gascon that I feel compelled to offer my opinion on the subject.

My friends and I occasionally like to gather in a restaurant when we tire of the smoky pubs or the noisy bars of London. Last Friday we chose the Comptoir Gascon. There were nine of us present, some having traveled from as far away as Glasgow and Leeds. We were all hungry and in need of a decent meal. Amongst us where a couple of Francophiles, accustomed to some of the more rural menus of the Dordogne and Charente Maritime. So, our expectations of what constitutes a good French meal were pretty well formed.

We arrived at 8:30 to our reserved table (the big bench and table next to the bar). We browsed the concise menu and specials board and most of us felt drawn to the "Piggy Treats" option for starters, which turned out to be an ideal amount of food to share between two. The head waiter, a tall Australian by the name of Tim, offered his Sommelier services and to our request for "Something white, something red" provided us with a fine choice of two unusual wines that I haven't encountered elsewhere. The Bergerac was golden and "unctuous" and is the nicest white that I have sampled in a restaurant for sometime. The Madiran went down a treat with the red-drinkers and we were universally grateful for having been guided away from the easy house options.

We chose our mains next, and some of the more unusual of the menu's items were picked. I went for the Cassoulet, another went for the Beef Tartare (always a courageous choice), the smoked haddock and frothy peas proved popular. Fortunately for one, another selected the last remaining sturgeon and was so advised to go for the Mallard. This proved to be the best choice of all, "anointed" in the sweetest beetroot sauce and complete with the authentic gunshot, it won high praise from all who sampled it.

The desserts were no disappointment either. The Pear Caramel was to die for, the Creme Catalan was admired by the cream lovers and the cheesecake was a treat.

Our waiter, who did a mean Jude Law impression, was attentive without being fussy and our meal was well-paced so that we could relax and enjoy the night. The highlight for me was the wine selection and the atmosphere was conducive to a fun night out with friends.
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Donovan - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Monday, March 05, 2007

i can only assume that the restaurants recognized the reviewers and so therefore actually made an effort to serve them. can't say they did the same for us, even though we went ready to spend and with five people. not sure we've ever encountered such rude and haughty service that was also completely incompetent. being told that we couldn't order anything but water until our entire party was seated because "it would be much easier" for the waiter was a bad start and it never improved. my neck was sore by the end of the meal from all the craining i had to do to try to grab someone's attention even though it's a small restaurant with not many tables and plenty of staff (even the person who poured said water said we couldn't ask him for anything else, just pouring. right.) the food was good, which makes it all the more of a shame that we won;t be returning because the easiest part to get right -- being half-decent at service -- they got very, very wrong.
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 4
Sunday, January 14, 2007

I love this place! I feel spoiled living nearby and having this as my "neighbourhood bistro", the atmosphere is pleasantly unstuffy and informal, the service is generally friendly and efficient. I often take friends here because the food is of a consistently high standard and makes what on offer at many other French restaurants seem unimaginative and dull. The menu is seasonal and the specials are always worth a punt. The prices make it easy to keep going back
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Roger Browning
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Monday, December 04, 2006

The atmosphere is exceptional, and provides for a bit of a change in London's somewhat dull, over-commercialised and boring restaurant scene.

Food is down to earth and tasty. Haven't seen piggy bits around since moving out of Italy a few years ago
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Friday, November 24, 2006

You should put the real reviews up about this restaurant, not just the only good one Rayner. It's a terrible restuarant that i would recommend avoiding. The worst service i have encountered in London. If i was the owner of this joint i'd sack all the waiters and get a restaurant manager in who runs the place and its staff esp' the kitchen..the food was an insult.
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Sobral Greene
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, November 21, 2006