This restaurant had some consistently scathing reviews when it first opened having moved from considerably smaller premises in Ramsden Road. My wife had been in its early days but had said that she would not go back again, such had been her experiences with the food which she described as awful.
Nevertheless, a year or so on, we decided we ought to give it a further go although I went certain that it would be my first and last time.
I was very wrong.
On the basis of our visit tonight, this is now the restaurant it should have been from the start. The food is very good, particularly the steak tartar which I thought was very special, the wine list extensive but at prices to suit all budgets, and the service, which had be singled out for some particular criticism in the past, cannot now be criticised. The predominately, or maybe even totally, French staff are efficient, knowledgeable and very pleasant.
Whilst the restaurant has lost some of its quirkiness with its move, there are still the random pots and pans in which side orders are served, something that I like.
If the mood takes you, try one (or more I suppose) of the range of eaux de vie that are on display by the entrance.
Having resisted going here for a long time I will certainly be going back again.