Brasserie Blanc

TV chef Raymond Blanc brings his French accent to British dining with Brasserie Blanc, a chain of restaurants with branches in several UK cities including Bristol, Leeds, Chichester and Cheltenham. In the capital, Raymond's only London restaurant is located in the heart of the City in what used to be the Stock Exchange - not the original one which burned down a while back so don't go expecting a piece of Olde England. But the new building has been redesigned in brasserie style with red banquettes and brass railings. There's a mezzanine floor and a cellar full of real ale. When asked what a Brasserie Blanc is, Raymond replies, "if the Manoir is a delicate waltz then the Brasseries are the Can Can". The aim is to deliver simple, high quality food that comes as close as possible to the meals that Maman Blanc prepared when Raymond was growing up in Besancon. Order Maman Blanc's miscellany of salads as a starter and you get a healthy platter of cucumber and dill, celeriac, braised leek, carrot vinaigrette, blue cheese chicory and radish. The cooking is certainly not of a standard you'd enjoy at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, his Michelin starred Oxfordshire country house hotel, but at these prices you wouldn't expect it to be.