Les Deux Salons, London

I love Arbutus, absolutely, so I was quite keen to try this airy William St. spin off. They have a remarkably cheap pre-theatre menu so I dropped in on my way to see Fucked Up at XOYO. However I got distracted to the a la carte by a starter of lentils with poached egg, a dish I'm rather fond of. It was, apparently, a hearty starter so I went for Scottish Beef hamburger to follow. The warm lentil salad was indeed delicious - so much so that bread was employed to clean the plate and great value at £8. Excellent start I thought, sipping my Cuba Libre and singing in my head "hello my name is David..."



The burger arrived and it was at once clear the were not trying to go the American pile high route. Sadly despite a modest overall portion size the burger was impossible to pick up and eat due to soggy (and thus inevitably bland) bread. The burger was therefore eaten with cutlery, a messy process that required it to be consumed in odd fragments. The fries came already oversalted and had to be abandoned largely uneaten. Overall extremely disappointing at £11.

Burgers, like chicken, are all too often regarded un the UK as second class menu items, there for those who won't eat the rabbit, Ox or whatever. That's why I often make a point of ordering them. Taking care over these lesser dishes is the sign if a good restaurant.



So what did I think of Les Deux Salons? Good or not? Well, I enjoyed the starter and a dessert of peanut butter parfait was pretty good too, though the roast banana was a little bitter.

Service was attentive (and included on the bill at 12.5%). I was asked how I found the meal and said "ok, just about" and explained why. The waitress kept a smile on her face, nodded and asked how I found the parfait. Hm. I won't be hurrying back I'm afraid. It's only a five minute walk to Arbutus...


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