You may not know but French bakery chain PAUL actually have two restaurants in London – one in Covent Garden and one in Tower 42 in the City. They have just launched a new Autumnal menu filled with classic French dishes perfect for the colder months ahead.
We visited the Covent Garden branch which has the restaurant tucked away behind the cafe and takeaway. To start we chose the Charcuterie Board and Moules Au Curry. The charcuterie board, made for one, was big! It included saucisson sec, Bayonne ham copper, rosette, smoked duck, pork pâté and cornichons. As you would expect, the selection of meats was great quality with the smoked duck a particular highlight. The pork pâté was also delicious and meaty. The moules had a delicately flavoured curry sauce which didn’t overpower the flavour of the mussels and was a nice twist on the usual offerings. Make sure you order a basket of bread – this is a bakery after all!
To follow we went for the Cuisse de Canard Confit Grand Mère (Slow cooked duck leg with pommes mousseline, button mushrooms, pancetta and caramelised onions in a red wine sauce). A classic dish and a forever favourite of ours, you really can’t go wrong with confit duck! The duck melted in our mouth and was the star of the show. We also sampled the Cabillaud Provençal (Oven baked fillet of cod served with Provençal stew & baby chorizo, with a parsley crumb) a rich stew with a twist courtesy of the chorizo. The cod was well cooked and the stew had great flavour but was a tad overpowered by the chorizo.
Feeling quite full but tempted by the desserts (always!) we couldn’t resist sampling the cheeseboard (Fourme d’Ambert, Tomme, Camembert, Mini Rocamadour and Reblochon with grapes, apple) which had a lovely mix of cheese, the camembert being the fave. We also had the Mousse au Chocolat Paul which was so delicious but also so rich we were defeated, not something that happens to us very often!
If you’re looking for classic French food in a laid back environment, PAUL is a great choice. They also offer pre-theatre menus for £15 for two courses which is really good value for money in the heart of Covent Garden.
For more information visit, https://www.paul-uk.com/restaurant-homepage
