Open Tue–Sat midday–2pm and 5.30pm–10.45pm (lounge 5.30pm–midnight)
Michael Gray, the former sous chef of Pascal Aussignac’s one-Michelin-starred Club Gascon, has recently joined French restaurant and bar Le Cercle (the sister to Club and Comptoir Gascons in Smithfield) as head chef. He’s continuing to promote fine French cuisine, with a lean towards south-west France but he’s already making his mark, having introduced a ‘beef club’ section – sourced from Bannockburn Farm in Scotland – in the a la carte menu while his vegetarian dishes show creative flair.
Located in a high-ceilinged basement with a long bar, Le Cercle’s service is attentive and its décor is elegant with soft drapery and colours, Oriental flourishes and discreet booths. A chic and cosy lounge area overlooks the venue. Our only gripe arose from the regular blasts of cold air hitting our table positioned close to the bottom of the deep stairs – perhaps the single automatic glass entrance doors could do with some clever drapery, too – and the newly introduced music policy (or at least since my previous visit when a pianist played beautifully). A bad-quality sound system played what sounded like a bad ‘80s mixtape. No one else seemed to mind, though.
Le Cercle attracts an international, moneyed crowd – a party of French 30-somethings; an Asian group sporting cashmere and pearls; glam and eccentrically-dressed Chelsea couples; and a gay couple and their extended family were among the guests during a Friday evening visit.
The restaurant excels at its sophisticated French tapas-style menus. We plumped for the five-course tasting menu (£35 or £60 with sommelier wine pairing). The wine pairings were excellent (the wine list is long, refined and mostly French, bien sur). Stand out dishes (all of which were gorgeously presented) included a grilled artichoke with smoked tomato and olive oil emulsion; ox cheeks pot au feu and winter vegetables (although my carnivorous friend was rather taken by my vegetarian dishes); and the celeriac compote and tapioca primavera could give Heston a run for his money for its inventiveness.
