Brasserie Chez Gerard

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Contents 1 Blurb 2 Where 3 Atmosphere 4 Prices 5 Food 6 Conclusion 7 February 08 update 8 Other reviews

[edit] Blurb

The Chez Gerard experience is moving north. This small chain owns around 11 Chez Gerard restaurants in London and the south-east. The scaled-down Brasserie Chez Gerard has 22 branches, all around the south-east bar the one in Manchester and now Chester.

[edit] Where

Chez Gerard is located on the east side of Bridge Street on the premises of the former Caffe Uno. A rather alarming "it should be OK.." when we tried to book a table cautions us to suggest being firm when trying to reserve a table so that you don't get disappointed on the night.

[edit] Atmosphere

Fabulous. Smart, chic yet laid-back and relaxed. No checked table cloths in sight, thank goodness, but plenty of polished wood, rattan or leather-covered seating and lots of art - we spotted reproduction Chagalls and Picassos on the walls plus repro Robert Doisneau prints. Very Parisian.

[edit] Prices

Average. We ate two courses each, plus a side dish and a bottle of wine - our bill came to £64. There is a child menu for a very reasonable £5.50.

[edit] Food

BCG's menu is French with a twist. There are plenty of classic brasserie dishes on the menu as well as French-inspired dishes from other countries such as a good choice of tagines from North Africa.

I was sorely tempted by the French onion soup to start but opted for the terrine de porc instead, which tasted like a proper homemade French paté should. It came with half a dozen of those eye-wateringly sour yet strangely addictive cornichons (French gherkins). Three small slices of baguette was not quite enough to accompany but as my companion had ordered snails in garlic butter plus a side dish of bread, I pinched some of his. The snails were excellent, according to my dining partner.

We both chose the pavé rumpsteack and frites for our main course. BCG is renowned for its steak and chips so we were keen to see if it really was as good as you can get in Paris. We were not disappointed. We both asked for our steak to be served rare and it was - perfectly grilled on the outside, pink and bloody within. The chips were stick-thin, crispy, salty and piping hot. The steaks (of which there are a pleasingly good number of French butchery cuts such as onglet) come with a choice of pepper sauce or béarnaise so we had one of each. The pepper sauce was mouth-tinglingly hot but not overbearing and the béarnaise had the bright-yellow charm of a homemade mayonnaise with fresh tarragon. I also ordered a tomato salad on the side, which was pleasant enough.

We washed everything down with a 2006 Beaujolais-Villages that was fresh, fruity yet strong enough to cope with the food. Sadly, we had no room to try the dessert menu, but it looks good - platters of classic French cheeses, tarte au citron, sorbets and crème brulée. Next time... Oh yes, there will definitely be a next time.

[edit] Conclusion

BCG certainly lived up to to expectations after discussion on the Chester at Large forum from a former devotee who'd been a regular down south before arriving here. The food was very good indeed. Perhaps not quite as good as in France but very acceptable indeed for the UK (I'm spoiled as I lived in Paris for several years). The service was attentive but not fussy and it was very refreshing to have the waiting staff offer us chilled water from a jug instead of the usual restaurant habit of charging a fortune for bottled water. Despite the child menu, I'd say this is really a dining place for adults - perfect for romantic couples, groups of friends or somewhere to take your parents. And it's very good to have another French restaurant in Chester after the glut of second-rate Italian places we've had in recent years.

PurpleProse 12:29, 27 November 2007 (CST)

[edit] February 08 update

We had a delightful meal at BCG on Valentine's Day. Our previous visit had been on a quiet evening early in the week, so we were curious as to how BCG would step up to the challenge of a busy night.

They did pretty well, actually. There was an atmosphere of controlled chaos on our arrival at 8.30-ish, but our order was taken quickly and the wine arrived within 15 minutes. We ordered from a Valentine's menu (very good value at £27.50 a head for 3 courses plus coffee) - our shared starter was a platter of appetisers (calamari, fishcake, chicken, olives, bread) followed by sea bass for him and salmon for me. Both mains were perfectly cooked, my salmon being hot yet still slightly translucent with a deliciously dressed side salad of lamb's lettuce, cherry tomatoes and new potatoes. His arrived with a crushed potato salad and was pronounced delicious.

Disappointment kicked in with the desserts. His crème brulée was tasty but the brulée had been blow-torched rather than baked. My tarte au citron tasted of lemon but lacked the aroma and was so chilled I developed an "ice-cream headache". Mind you, the crème fraiche topping was wonderfully tart yet creamy. So - a few points knocked off there. However, the service was excellent - our waitress was there when we needed here, yet unobtrusive, and we adored our young wine waiter's interest and enthusiasm (he'll go far). Overall - 9.6 out of 10.
PurpleProse 15:09, 15 February 2008 (CST)

"BCG" (Bacille Calmette-Guérin) is perhaps not the best abbreviation for a French Restaurant - unless it is Tres Bon
Hooligan 12:11, 16 February 2008 (CST)

[edit] Other reviews

Review by Ian Burns on Chester @ Large

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