La Cage Imaginaire

French·
££££
·
Bronze Award
·

SquareMeal Review of La Cage Imaginaire

Bronze Award

“A lovely quaint restaurant with an amazing interior”, this bijou French enclave (with doors opening onto cobbled Flask Walk) has been serving Hampstead quietly for a good long time, matching a rather sedate neighbourhood atmosphere, decorative mirrors and close-packed tables with eager, charming service and a menu of resolutely bourgeois bistro cooking. In the evening, you might kick off with a warm salad of honeyed figs, beetroot and crispy goats’ cheese or a creamy casserole of snails with mushrooms, flageolet beans, carrots and parsley, before sampling coq au vin, pistachio-crusted rack of lamb or basil-infused sea bass fillet partnered by sweet potato. For dessert, consider white chocolate truffle cake or crème brûlée with seasonal fruit. Lunch is a simpler – and cheaper – affair (grilled Toulouse sausages with bean ragoût, for example), and the “delicious” wine list does its job.

Good to know

Average Price
££££ - £30 - £49
Cuisines
French
Ambience
Cosy, Traditional
Alfresco And Views
Outside seating
Perfect for
Romantic
Food Hygiene Rating

La Cage Imaginaire is featured in

Location

16 Flask Walk, Hampstead, London, NW3 1HE

020 7794 6674 020 7794 6674

Website

Opening Times

Mon-Sun 11.30am-11pm

Reviews

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2 Reviews 
Food/Drink
Service
Atmosphere
Value

Angela C

18 March 2024   - Verified Diner
Food & Drink 5
Service 5
Atmosphere 5
Value 5
Superb Sunday lunch!

This was a lovely lunch, and we sat at the circular table in the window. The service was prompt and efficient. 
The food was beautifully presented and very well cooked. We had the lamb chops, chicken and baked salmon. All of them were really tasty.

The desserts were also scrumptious- dark chocolate mousse, cheesecake and crème brûlée.  Absolutely great.

i can highly recommend this cosy restaurant. 

Lynn W

21 May 2012  
Food & Drink 4
Service 3.5
Atmosphere 3
Value 3.5
We last went here over 10 years ago and it doesn't seem to have changed a great deal, though I half- remember it used to be more formal. Also I haven't noticed it on restaurant web sites so we didn't know it was still going. That put us off a bit I guess but when it popped up on a Square Meal search we thought we'd give it another try. Now we found very enjoyable bistro type cooking with good flavours, and a decent bottle of wine from a modest list. We concentrated on fish and were very happy with the prawns, halibut and sea bass. The service team were charming and keen, if perhaps inexperienced. Food arrived promptly but we didn't feel rushed. The site is small and the style is busy with tablecloths and pink napkins, floral side plates, various wallpapers, and miss-matching decorative mirrors. Tables are close and you can hear other people's conversion. That Saturday evening the majority of the customers appeared to be mature and have probably been going here for many years – the atmosphere was on the sedate side though everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves. We enjoyed our dinner and will very likely go there again as it's local, but really we prefer somewhere a bit more buzzy and contemporary.
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