Although amongst the capital’s gourmands chef Raymond Blanc may be best known for Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, the two star Michelin restaurant in Oxfordshire, he also has a successful chain of casual brasseries scattered around the UK. The latest one has opened in The City, offering reasonable French dining that seems a perfect match for a casual business lunch.

The Venue
For those who have visited other Brasserie Blanc locations, the decor at the Threadneedle Street branch is remarkably similar. With brown leather seats and banquettes and pale yellow walls decorated with bright artwork, the venue ticks all the boxes of posh French brasserie and the warm colours do well to make the large, high-ceilinged space seem more intimate. In the windows a selection of French sweets, drinks and Raymond Blanc’s cookbook are piled up artistically, giving the austere area some much needed eye candy.

The Atmosphere
There are several different areas to the restaurant, including a small bar area by the entrance and a mezzanine, but the main dining room is bright, open and buzzing. Its location on Threadneedle Street means that the customers are mostly made up of the area’s financial workers – you’ll see a lot of pinstripes – but early on in the week the atmosphere is more restrained than you may expect, with mostly tables for two and four.

The Food
The menu is the same across all eight sites, and so are the prices, which is always good news if you’re dining in Central London. Brasserie Blanc doesn’t take advantage of the neighbourhood’s bigger wallets and keeps prices between £5.50 and £7.30 for starters. Mains are a bit more expensive, the most being a £27.50 eight ounce fillet of free range Aberdeenshire steak with chips, but there are plenty of options under £15. Dishes are mostly French classics, many made with British meat and fish.

A starter of Bleu des Causses cheese souffle with pear and walnut (£7.25) is a kind of deconstructed salad, with a blue cheese souffle balanced on a bed of greens, accompanied by a thinly sliced pear and a ring of walnuts in a vinaigrette. The souffle is brilliant, soft and light with the strong tang of blue cheese – there’s even a swirl of blue running through the centre. The pear is fresh and sweet and works well with the cheese, although the vinaigrette with the walnuts is slightly bitter.

Mains include Toulouse sausages with mash and onion gravy – for £10.95 you get two fat sausages on top of a large mound of smooth, creamy mashed potatoes. The sausages are cooked well, their coarse texture and slightly salty flavour proving a good match for the potatoes and the onion gravy. For dessert, a rhubarb and custard cup (£5.20) actually arrives served in a martini glass, with a caramelised top sprinkled with pieces of honeycomb – a nice touch. The custard is lovely and smooth, livened up by the crisp pieces of honeycomb and caramelised sugar topping, but whilst the rhubarb is a pretty pink colour the sharp, sweet taste isn’t as pronounced as it could be and it seems slightly watery.

The Drink
Like the food, the wine at Brasserie Blanc stays well within a reasonable price range and those looking to treat someone to a bottle will be pleased at the number of bottles under £30 – which are most of them, in fact. About 15 choices are available by both the small and large glass, starting from £3.85, whilst bottles start at just under £15 for a Domaine St Jean de Conques Vin de Pays d’Oc. The most expensive is a £190 bottle of Les Forts De Latour from their fine wine section of the menu. Champagnes hit £123 for both a Cuvee Dom Perignon Vintage and a Krug Grande Cuvee, the cheapest being a £38 bottle of Joseph Perrier Cuvee Royale.

The Last Word
With pinstriped City workers already more than eager to sample Raymond Blanc’s budget-friendly brasserie fare, London’s branch of Brasserie Blanc is sure to be a big success with the business crowd.

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