No need to hop on the Eurostar to get a slice of French cuisine. There is an excellent traditional French creperie in the heart of South Kensington.

The Venue
The Kensington Creperie is set in the heart of South Kensington, in amongst many of London's famous landmarks such as Harrods, the Royal Albert Hall and the National History Museum. The building itself is a Grade II listed building that used to be a dairy. The interior retains the original tiles that date back to the 19th century and also has pictures by photographer Shimon Mizrahy on its walls. With its typically French furniture and outdoor seating, you could well believe that you are sitting in the middle of the Left Bank of Paris.

The Atmosphere
Given its location, the creperie attracts a very cosmopolitan crowd and is very busy in the late afternoon and early evening when exhausted tourists and culture aficionados on their way to a concert populate the place. At this time, the lights are dimmed and relaxing music is played, giving the place a very intimate feel. Given that the creperie is situated in a part of London that is favoured by French ex-pats, the place is also very popular with French speakers and many animated conversations in this tongue can be heard.

The Food
Given the name of the place, you might expect to only find crepes served here. Not so, as the establishment also has salads and galettes, which are similar to crepes but made with Sarrazin flour, giving a dark, nut-flavoured offering. You are also not limited to the combinations offered on the menu. The chefs are very open to new ideas and are happy to cater to any suggestion of what you would like in your crepe.

Both savoury and sweet crepes are served and range from £3 to £7.50. The ham and cheese galette is very well done with the nutty promise of the crepe combining exceptionally well with the ham and cheese. The Salade Parisienne comes with lettuce, frisee lettuce, ham, cheese, sweetcorn, egg, cherry tomatoes and the establishment's own special French dressing. It is a bit unbalanced, with the vegetables and the egg overpowering the cheese and ham elements, although the French dressing gives it a well-rounded feel.

However, it is in the sweet crepe department that the creperie truly outdoes itself. The Crepe Normandie has a thin sliver of apple purée loaded with calvados inside the crepe and is delicate at the same time as being very luxurious. The Strawberry Cream crepe comes with fresh strawberries loaded onto cream together with Belgian white chocolate with a helping of Chantilly Cream. Whilst not as potent as the Crepe Normandie, it certainly has a lot to offer.

The Drink
This being a French establishment, there is plenty to choose from in the drink department. Not only is a good selection of red, white and rose wines offered but there is also the chance to savour some Normandy cider, which goes very well with the savoury crepes. There is a somewhat limited choice of beers and soft drinks but the creperie does have a good selection of coffees with which to end your meal.

The Last Word
Given that this establishment is open seven days a week and can stay open until midnight, this is a fantastic place to sample French cuisine at surprisingly reasonable prices. The only difference between this and a Parisian creperie is that you get much better service here.

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