Galvin Café a Vin

First time at Cafe a Vin having previously been to La Chappelle and Bistrot de Luxe and this is very much Galvin for beginners – a perfect introduction.

The room itself is rather less grand than the other restaurants in the group, its more Bistrot de Luxe than La Chappelle or Windows; lots of faded mirrors, dark wood, fans, zinc bar, relatively low ceilings etc. Don't expect table cloths, rather you get brown paper clipped to the tables, but actually this works really well. Having gone early on a very snowy Thursday atmosphere was slightly lacking, not busy, no music and having the table by the entrance to the toilets didn't enhance the experience. Tables are also a bit squeezed in places, though not everywhere, never a favourite of mine as you don't always want to hear your neighbours conversation!

Service was so near to being flawless – let down by the change of waiters mid way through dinner and having to ask for the bill again, something that always bugs me – it's really not that hard to take my money when I want to pay but otherwise a better experience than most places in London, though they do turn you round very quickly; despite the mistake with the bill we were in and out inside an hour and a quarter, so perhaps more somewhere to go when you want to be fed than somewhere to linger for a while.

Value for money is good – £135 for 3 people, 3 courses and wine; no complaints about that and its not like the food isn't very good for that price either, indeed lots of far more costly venues would be well served trying to produce something so enjoyable.

Started with celeriac, chestnut and caramelised apple soup – hot, thick and very tasty although the apple was a slightly odd addition that didn't totally work. Then daube of beef with shallots, potato puree etc – the beef was meltingly soft, almost caramelised, and the combination worked well. Dessert was quince and apple crumble with vanilla ice cream – lovely oaty topping and large chunks of tasty fruit, but not truly exceptional. Portions are decent sizes, though you won't come away feeling overly stuffed.

Its well worth a trip to get top quality food at reasonable prices.

Word of warning – don't go here if you want to keep your conversation private. It is not the biggest space in the world and as such, the tables are somewhat crammed together – fine for parties of four, not for parties of two. We dined on a Tuesday evening and fortunately it was not too busy so the adjoining table was empy, otherwise it would have been akin to dining with strangers. The tables are tiny too so require a degree of dexterity to juggle, wine and water glasses, bottles, bread basket…not to mention plates of food!

That said, the food and service were truly excellent and made for a relaxed and enjoyable evening. Menu is not extensive, but what they do, they do very well. Portion sizes are generous, although the irresistable french bread and creamy butter probably added to our inability to make it to dessert. Of our starters, the salt cod, poached egg and hollandaise arguably won a close contest against the chestnut pasta with duck ragu. For mains my friend went for the daily special of seared squid with chili on a bed of coco beans – whilst it didn't look that appettising on the eye, it certainly worked well from a taste perspective. My fillet of plaice was perfectly cooked although the accompanying vegetables were a tad overdone for my taste. Two courses, glass of white wine each to start, nice bottle of red with the meal and coffee brought the bill in at £110 including the now obligatory 12.5% service. No issue in paying that here as the waiting staff are worth every penny.

We went to Galvin Café a Vin for lunch on Sunday after a wander around Spitalfields Market. There are so many places to eat in the area, lots of them yummy (Canteen, S&M, etc) but all very very busy, noisy, big queues, etc.

Café a Vin is just to one side of the new modern shopping centre which leads into the old Market, opposite Patisserie Valerie. There was a good buzz but it wasn't crazy noisy, so it was a bit calmer to eat in than some of the alternatives.

Sunday lunch is exceptional value. It's 14.95 for two courses from the set menu, which has 3 choices per course. I had the fennel, tomato and anchovy salad for starters. It was lovely and light, very fresh. My husband had butternut squash soup with parmesan and pine nuts which was really rich and creamy with a lovely toasted taste. Very warming and seasonal.

For main course I had the red mullet with roasted potatoes, roast tomatoes and black olives. The red mullet was BEAUTIFULLY cooked – not dry at all, and the black olives gave it a very Mediterannean taste. He had the roast lamb which was served pink in the middle and was melt-in-the-mouth good.

Definitely worth a visit if you are in the Liverpool Street/Spitalfields area. A great way to sample the Galvin cuisine without paying Galvin prices!