Bastille

I love this place. It is under new managment now and they are really nice. It is a great place to go relax and take a pint. It also serves great food. The waiters are great too
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claire
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Saturday, June 28, 2008

Ended up in here on a Friday night after the restaurant we planned to attend was such a huge dissappointment. We were dining on a special offer from the Telegraph and so headed to this option as they were able to take our late booking.

Found a lovely relaxed atmosphere with a good French menu. There was a good choice despite being a special offer menu. Both enjoyed pate to start, the course country style pate was particularly good. For mains we had a crepe which was enourmous and very tasty, and went with our waitress's recommendation of the stuffed chicken breast. This was fantastic, poached chicken stuffed with leek and apsaragus then served in a rich creamy sauce with frites.

The whole experience was greatly added to by our our waitress who was warm, enthusiastic and efficient. She made the evening from the moment we arrived. It was great to be served by someone who truely enjoyed their job and had a good knowledge of the menu and wine list.

I have read somem negative reviews of this place and did note some odd menu items on the main menu which were clearly not French but for quality food in a relaxed atmosphere this was an excellent choice.
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Sam - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Sunday, January 20, 2008

Just thought to add my views in light of the comments that have been made. Have lived down the road and frequented this place for the previous 10 years and in that time seen it change hands a number of times. The current owners have none the less taken a French run (I assume) stylish gastro-pub with a French twist and made it into a road side cafe that serves beer. Up goes the giant TV screen with live football beemed in. Menu's in that main room (didn't venture into the restaurant, but was told the menu was the same) now came on lamented paper with such gastronomic delights as 'omellette and chips' and such stuff that would make French chef's turn in their grave. Arty pictures have been replaced by erotic titillation.

It's not often you see something that works turned into something tacky. If your looking for quality food in a relaxing environment, you can do a hundred times better in Islington.

In contrast to other views, this is not somewhere to take a girlfriend (unless of course it has changed again since i went there in early March '07).
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Craig
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 4
Friday, April 27, 2007

Despite living 5 minutes walk from Bastille, I had not sampled it's cuisine until last night (Saturday). A friend and I had decided to catch up over a latish dinner and arrived at about 9 to a packed and lively scene.

Having been seated the service was friendly, courteous and light hearted - a real change from the norm for the area. We both opted for a hearty dish to keep us going - duck and cassoulet respectively. The dishes themselves were exactly what we needed - good tasting comfortable portions which did not detract from our conversation.

Other reviewers have mentioned the decor, and while it is indeed quite spartan, with low lighting and a full room it is not of importance, besides I was here for a meal and conversation, not to sample the owner's taste in art.

I would have only one criticism and that was the accordion based duo playing all your recognisable tracks from French films and your childhood. While they were good, I felt it was a stereotype that the food did not require as an accompaniment.

The service was perhaps a little slow at times, but this was excusable as the staff were at their limit. We had one minor hiccup in splitting bill whereby the amounts were wrong, but this was made up for in a genuinely apologetic way by providing us with some liqueurs and a non-alcoholic cocktail for my friend who does not drink alcohol - a very homely way of dealing with a minor issue which all to often is not forthcoming in other establishments.

To conclude this is homely good French food served by friendly staff without pretence.
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Stephen
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 8
Sunday, March 04, 2007

I took my girlfriend here the Friday after Valentines as we were busy on the night. The last two reviews sounded good and I'm glad I tried the place out. We had proper French starters of snails and frogs legs which were superb and mains of lamb and tuna steak which were again excellent, desert was a lemon sorbet with raspberry sauce. The restaurant was only about half full when we went and we spent the night there with a bottle of wine. All up I'd highly recommend this restaurant. You can pay a whole lot more at a city restaurant for food this good. My compliments to the chefs as we were both very impressed with the quality and taste of all of the courses.
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Tim - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Sunday, February 18, 2007

I'm surprised at some of the less complimentary reviews. I've eaten here twice (the second time because my girlfriend and I really enjoyed the first time). Food is fairly pricey, but worth the money. The portions are generous and it is well done without being at all fancy or over the top. The interesting, well-cooked mains (ostrich, wild boar steak) aside, the dauphinoise potatoes are great.

The service is not inch-perfect, but I personally prefer human, helpful and smiling staff (as here) to overly-efficient, robotic and pretentious staff often found at more upmarket (and aloof) restaurants.

Sure, the decor is somewhat plain and uninspiring and, for some reason, the music selection curious (not really music to dine to at times), but overall this is good, proper food which is about fair value. Can easily pay this much elsewhere and feel robbed.

Would go back again.
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OJ
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 8
Friday, January 26, 2007

Wow - when I saw the reviews below I couldn't believe they were for the same "Bastille"! Since I moved to the area a year ago I've dined there three or four times and have been consistently impressed.

There is a great range of dishes including hearty English fare (from steak to rabbit), some French specialities, pasta and seafood. The wild boar in particular is recommended. The portions are generous and the food is (with very rare exceptions) fantastic.

The servioe is very friendly (if a little slow when busy) and the atmosphere is excellent - no loud music contrary to some of the below reviews!

My only qualm would be value for money - I'd say the menu is marginally overpriced, but overall this does not detract from a very enjoyable gastro pub.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Saturday, December 30, 2006

From the reviews I've read here and on other websites I thought it couldn't go wrong. But surely other people must have been writing about another restaurant entirely. We went at 2pm on bank holiday Monday - the place was totally deserted. OK presumably everyone had gone to Notting Hill. We proceeded to make our choices and both went for the (sauteed) frogs legs and I had the chicken 'Bastille' and my partner the breast of duck. It was nice to see the kitchen spring into life with the 2 chefs chattering in French give some assurance that the food would be good. How wrong I was! The frogs legs were deep fried in batter, and presumably in very old oil, the whole thing just reeked! The mains were, at best, what I described as the height of British 'fine dining' - back in the 70's. The Chicken was wrapped in bacon and cheese, and the uncovered part was burnt and stiff. The bacon and cheese combo was very salty, and the whole mess was drowned in a pepper sauce. It was inedible. The duck breast was way too tough at one end (despite my partner asking for 'pink') and very heavy, smothered in a dark sauce with flaked almonds on. Together with the dark dated interior which was crying out for a lick of paint it felt like we were in a time warp. We couldn't leave quickly enough..
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Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Monday, August 28, 2006

I went to Bastille last Sunday evening with 3 friends - it was the first time I had been since it had changed from Centuria.

I was worried when I saw what they'd done to the interior. The decor in the dining room was horrible. The menu rang further alarm bells - far too many dishes and some very odd inclusions. Don't people realise that you can't expect to do 12 main courses and various pasta dishes well. Far better to have 6 or 7 excellent main courses.

The food lived up to expectations. Badly prepared, bland, poorly presented and definitely not worth the money.

I won't be returning in a hurry. Such a shame because the location is excellent.
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Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 3
Friday, June 02, 2006

I was very excited when I found out that the Centuria (bad almost-Italian food with rude staff) had changed to the Bastille as I live within 200 metres of it.

However, my suspicions where aroused when I noticed that half of the new menu is still from the Centuria days, with frogs legs and a few 'French' bits added.

Nothing has changed!! The music still ranges from just bad to earsplittingly loud for a relaxed gastro-pub. The food is the same - big portions but zero flavour - and the restaurant staff are still unattentive and sloppy.

The Bastille is in a unique position in Canonbury, has a great space and should be amazing - but it just goes to show how important a decent chef and caring management are to a place, as this clearly has neither.
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Hopey
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Sunday, April 23, 2006