Le Boudin Blanc Restaurant, London

As you have noticed it from it's name, yes it is a French restaurant, indeed. Set in French rustic cottage look with a lot of wooden features. We got the idea of what the owner is trying to portray, but certain details do need some extra care. To us, the first impression, the place looked shabby, in great need of refreshment. For example, the upholstery on the seats, definitely worn out and smells musty. Some decorations on the wall covered in dust. This is a restaurant after all, we thought health and hygiene are important factors here. The waiter station looked really sad too.. 

Ok.. Let's get into the food. To start with, we chose Bruschetta with basil, tomato and epoisse cheese. You might be wondering after all that trouble to set up the restaurant as authentic as possible, yet they serve an italian starter. We wondered the same thing, until we noticed that they use epoisse instead of mozzarella cheese, so it is now become an italian starter with a french twist. So they got a way with it. It was well seasoned but a little bit dry, we had to ask for some olive oil to moist the bruschetta. 


We also tried pan fried calamari with chili pepper. Apart from the fact the calamari was tender but under seasoned, the focaccia bread that came with it was excellent, good portion and nice flavor.

For the main course, we chose a Confit of Duck and White Pudding sausage to be accompanied with a bottle of Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Les Caxetier 2005. Well.. we have to say that both main courses were rather disappointing. The confit of duck was again under seasoned and undercooked. The best part of that particular meal was the roast potato, it was strongly seasoned with garlic and parsley. The white pudding sausage came out very attractive and appetizing but the taste was like pre-packed food we can pick up from local supermarket. And not the fancy version of it either. 

Not too happy with the main courses, we were hoping the dessert could lessen the disappointment. We chose a classic creme brûlée and special dessert of the day, peach with almond cream tart and irish coffee. Creme brûlée was indeed good. Good texture and flavor, but it was pre-prepared, they did not bother with last finishing touch like blow torch the sugar coating which would give room temperature creme brûlée with slightly warm crust. Everything was done before the order came in. It such a shame, as that little detail would make a lot of difference. The peach with almond cream tart was rather difficult to describe. It was sweet and sour, a little bit sticky yet it tasted dry, not our idea of a tart. Good job the irish coffee was reasonably good. So not all went wrong at the end. 


When it comes to quality of service, like in most restaurants, some staff are friendly and accommodating some just ignorant or even showing arrogance. Although it was a bit slow, we were not too bothered with the service. It was more the noise of heavy foot steps came from the floor above. We found out that the kitchen is actually located above the dining area. Unusual, we must admit. We suppose, location is not the main problem, it's the sound proof that should be underlined here. Had the restaurant was not busy with customers, we would hear all the movements in the kitchen clearly and loudly, which can not be pleasant... 




Le Boudin Blanc
5 Trebeck Street, Mayfair, London W1J 7LT
Phone: +44 20 7499 3292
Website: www.boudinblanc.co.uk