Chez Gerard, London

...Our venue of choice was Chez Gerard on Trinity Square just opposite the tower of London.
I have had the pleasure of eating at another of the Chez Gerad chain, located above the opera house in Covent Garden, so I knew it would be good.

First impressions
*******************
As you enter the restaurant you turn to your right and walk up a few steps into the main eating area. This was bright and airy due to all the ...
...I can say is wow, Chez Gerard really does know how to put together a fantastically tantalizing list of treats. I couldn’t possibly list them all but some were:

Starters

Traditional French onion soup with Gruyère cheese croutons £4.95

Grilled marinated tiger prawns with a spicy lemon and tomato dip a puff pastry base - £7.25

Isigny Camembert baked in its box, malted wheat biscuits and crudités ... more

Our team have been working very hard at work lately, with barely any time to socialize together. What's that about? Anyone would think we were paid to work 9-5 or something. So to break the holding pattern of working through our lunch hours day after day we felt something special was in order. Our venue of choice was Chez Gerard on Trinity Square just opposite the tower of London.
I have had the pleasure of eating at another of the Chez Gerad chain, located above the opera house in Covent Garden, so I knew it would be good.

First impressions
*******************
As you enter the restaurant you turn to your right and walk up a few steps into the main eating area. This was bright and airy due to all the windows facing out onto the park. The floor was tiled and the room edged with booths big enough for 4 to dine, with beautifully laid dark wood tables filling the rest of the space. A bar is located along the back of the far wall. The décor is obviously intended to convey up market French bistro, which it does wonderfully.

Our booking, which I made online using the toptable website, was found effortlessly by the Matride who greeted us with a pleasant smile and welcoming air. She took our group of four over to a booth and then left us to be attended to by an waitress. The table was already set up with a basket that had lovely thick crusty French bread, butter in one dish, anchovy butter in another, and a small other dish with salty nuts and olives in. During the few moments we were alone at the table I glanced around and noted that the restaurant was not even half full, which surprised me as it was a Friday, and 1pm. It did get a little busier during the 3 hours we were there, but not much. This worked in our favour though I think as we had excellent attentive service from our waitress.

When our waitress joined us it was obvious from the word go she was Italian, and she was a lovely charming woman who made us feel very welcome. To begin with we were handed menus, and left for a little while to take it all in. My manager had a quick look through the wine list and then handed it to me for a squizz. I have to say it wasn’t cheap. The least expensive bottle from memory was £16, which is a little on the pricey side for house wine, and was a Vin D'Pays D'oc. In the end the others chose a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, whilst I opted for a glass of Piper Heidseick. We also ordered some sparkling water for the table. The waitress returned around 10 minutes later and took our drinks order, and explained to us what the specials of the day were. I cant remember them all but fish featured heavily and Salmon was definitely one of them.

The Food Menu
******************
All I can say is wow, Chez Gerard really does know how to put together a fantastically tantalizing list of treats. I couldn’t possibly list them all but some were:

Starters

Traditional French onion soup with Gruyère cheese croutons £4.95

Grilled marinated tiger prawns with a spicy lemon and tomato dip a puff pastry base - £7.25

Isigny Camembert baked in its box, malted wheat biscuits and crudités - £7.25

Grilled goat's cheese served on country bread, toasted hazelnuts and mixed leaves - £5.25

Main Courses

For main course you really were spoiled, there was a really good mixture of dishes, and there must have been at least 20 main courses you could have. Represented was, fish dishes, pasta, chicken dishes, a lot of steak varieties, wonderful salads and even burgers if you wanted them.
A very small selection of the overall menu:

Penne pasta in a hot and spicy tomato sauce with fresh parsley, crushed chillies, garlic and olive oil -£8.75

Half a boned corn-fed chicken served plain, or with your choice of rubs or sauces and pommes frites £12.95

Prime fillet steak (225 grams) £19.95

Duck leg confit with sautéed potatoes, onions, bacon lardons and thyme - £10.95

Chicken salad, pine nuts, celery and Roquefort cheese dressing - £9.95

A classic Niçoise salad with tuna, egg, new potatoes, tomatoes,
green beans, red onions, olives and marinated anchovies - £8.95

Grilled fillets of sea bass, baby spinach salad with a
tomato, herb and shallot salsa - £14.95

Chez Gerard Burger
240 grams, 100% pure beef burger plain grilled, garnished with
tomato relish, sweet pickled gherkin, tomato and shredded lettuce - £8.95

Roquefort cheese cream sauce £9.75

Red onions, jalapeno peppers and Monterey Jack cheese £9.75

Grilled smoked bacon and Monterey Jack cheese £9.75

Moroccan chilli £9.75

Smokey barbecue £9.75

Provençal tomato and Monterey Jack cheese £9.75

In the end we all decided just to have main courses and then dessert if we wanted to. For my main course I had a wonderful fresh chicken salad with an interesting honey and lavender dressing. It tasted fab and the salad was really crunchy and delicious with plenty of chicken. That cost £12. Two of my colleagues ordered a lovely looking seafood pancake that was served like a burrito all folded up but with a sauce drizzled all around it very thickly, you could really smell the seafood when they arrived at the table. Inside the pancakes were prawns, crab and white fish. I am told they were delicious although I didn’t get a look in. My last colleague had the duck listed above, and that was presented well too and again I'm told was very nice.

We really took our time over lunch, and the only slight mishap was that one of the seafood pancakes didn’t arrive until the other mains had been on the table a good few minutes. Apparently they had a mix up in the kitchen. But it was worth waiting for.

When it came to ordering dessert the decision was instantaneous for me. I and another person eating both chose the Petit Pots, which came served in four dishes. In one was a lovely Valrhona chocolate mousse, thick and almost bitter. In the other three were a small sprinkle of crushed nuts, a pot of mandarin orange pieces, and one of blackcurrant coulee. You had to dip a little of your chocolate on a spoon into each of the pots. Truly delicious.

One of my other colleagues had the crème Brule which did look fab, the creaminess was just right as was the caramelised crust. Finally the last person chose the lemon tart. I nicked a little and the mixture of the lemon and the sugar was really good. The desserts all came in at around £5 a time.

After dessert we all ordered hot drinks. My manager and I had Earl Grey, and the others had Cappuccino. Each came served with a Valrhona chocolate on the side.

Before we left I paid a visit to the ladies, which you have to go downstairs to reach. This was clean and tidy, although nothing flash. I didn’t see a lift so I'm not sure how disabled friendly this restaurant would be.

In total the bill came in at exactly £35 a head, which isn’t cheap for a work lunch, but in my view was really worth every penny. If you wanted to get a taste of Chez Gerard at a much discounted rate then they do a fixed price menu at £13.50 for two courses and £16.50 for 3. You need to check what time these are available when you book, but I know they are definitely not available on Friday and Saturday nights.

I would really recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a really nice dining experience, and the Trinity Square branch is doubly recommended.

Thanks for reading.

Shona 

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