BRASSERIE ZEDEL

Some people celebrate Christmas by having dinner with their friends before Christmas day with the full assortment of traditional festive dishes such as pigs in blankets, turkey with cranberry sauce and christmas pudding. This year we avoided the traditional with my boyfriend and indulged ourselves in a French meal at the Corbin & King's restaurant Brasserie Zedel.

It was exactly as I remembered, a long corridor full of art deco posters and a huge, magnificient dining room with marble column with French style red velvet banquet seats.
I really love the atmosphere in this restaurant as it makes you feel on the other side of the Channel and it has a romantic ambiance for dinner. It is exactly what I needed as I am usually nostalgic at that time of the year and look forward to being back in my hometown for Christmas.

We kicked off our meal with a Crémant de Loire, and enjoyed it with their beautiful homemade bread. I wish all the breads in London's bakery could be as good as the one they make.

As a starter my boyfriend had a steak tartare. It was totally spot on and made with perfectly tender beef. There was some mustard and Worcester sauce available on the side to add a bit more spice to the tartare. I opted of the onion soup and it was really nice even if I had expected to have a bit more melted cheese over the top like they usually do in France, but the flavour was right.

For the main, my boyfriend was so predictable and ordered the confit duck. Since he tried it with me three years ago, it has become his favourite French dish. it was served with Puy lentils. He was a bit disappointed as the confit duck was a bit dry. He is used to the confit duck of Chez Elles which is more moist and juicy.
I had the beef bourguignon. I remembered the first time I tried it at Brasserie Zedel, the vegetables were flavourless, but this time it was nice. The sauce was rich and the beef melted in the mouth.

Before the dessert, we went the French way and ordered two slices of cheese: goat's cheese and brie.

The next and final step was the dessert and we shared a crème brûlée and an ile flottante. The ile flottante took me back to my childhood. The crème brûlée failed the spoon test unfortunately and was grainy.

The restaurant was absolutely packed but the service was quick and really efficient. Despite some little cooking issues with the confit duck and the dessert, we spent a really enjoyable evening.
Brasserie Zedel is a trustful restaurant were you can be sure to enjoy French classics at a very affordable price.

8/10