Le Saint Julien

Le Saint Julien is a cosy bistro. As soon as I walked in the door I knew it was going to be a good night, due to their display of desserts wine and their cheese cabinet near the entrance.

Food

The menu is all classic French, nothing too fancy, not too flashy, just right for the setting. And to top it off, the servings are huge! We started with some (what else) baguette with butter, which also went very nicely with the snails in garlic butter. Nicely garlicky, with that chewy texture. A beauty, and the butter is definitely bread dip worthy. The Country style Terrain with red wine jelly - again, another hit. This is a rough and ready terrain, with all the goodness of the meat and fat mingled to give the most melt in the mouth taste.

After the excellent start, we were looking forward to the mains. The steak frites with onion marmalade didn't disappoint. This had fat chips instead of the French fries and mayo instead of Bearnaise sauce. Still, it was nicely done, medium rare as requested. It wasn't as good as the one at France Soir though. The duck breast with poached pear and truffled mash was so fatty and gamey and juicy. The truffle mash was very heavenly.

Even though we were really full, we couldn't resist a creme caramel. Executed very well.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

We were seated in a fairly crowded table, after the wine glasses, didn't leave much room for anything else. Le Saint Julien isn't one of those poshy places with low lighting and steel or wood. Instead, it has its own charm. The cutlery is old world, the tables small. The crowds seems to be group of older men, on business. Still, it's a relaxed kind of place you can go for a full meal or some wine and cheese for an afternoon.

Rating - 2

Service

The staff were friendly, but sometimes a bit hard to attract attention. One particular waiter was a standout, whereas another didn't even seem to speak English. They were nice enough to wrap up Amber's meal in a doggy bag since she didn't actually make it afterall.

Rating - 3

C-factor

2 courses for £19.95, 3 for £24.95, but with supplements for a lot of the dishes on the menu. We had 2.5 courses + wine for £25 each, which was reasonable.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 13.5

Info

63 Long Lane
London
EC1A 9EJ
Phone 087 1971 4388