http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1e36n6s/l-absinthe <b>L'Absinthe</b><br />London, 40 Chalcot Road, NW1 8LS, United Kingdom en http://trustedplaces.com/uploads/placepics/trustedplaces.comaPlacePic['name']}.140.jpg http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1e36n6s/l-absinthe http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1e36n6s/l-absinthe/1s5n68
Review by up_shiraz

Rating: 5.00
Tags:
Working in primrose Hill got a whole lot better (okay - it was already quite fun...) a few months ago with the opening of this gem of a neighbourhood French bistro. I'm sure everyone goes through the process of wondering whether to recommend somewhere that is so well hidden and unspoilt. Will the fame change it, will the hordes ruin it? But the truth of the matter is that JC and his gang deserve it.

It's not complicated. The cooking is very authentic and the menu is very simple. £8.50 gets you 2 pacily-served courses from the daily changing lunch menu of 2 starters, 2 mains and 2 desserts. The fact that it is a mere 2 minutes from my office and that it's the perfect place to take out visiting winemakers is only a bonus. In fact I think I might come here every day until i can no longer fit through the door...hopefully getting stuck on the inside rather than the outside...

Over the last couple of days I managed to put away marinated herring and potato salad followed by onglet with frites, then organic salmon rillettes followed by cottage pie (hachis parmentier in case you're wondering). The onglet was perfectly cooked and meltingly tender. The salmon another highlight, perfect with their complimentary toast and to-die-for butter. Pretty much everything comes with green leaves doused in gorgeous french dressing as well.

Jean-Christophe is the larger than life host with a passion for wine as well as food. There is a small wine shop and the list simply replicates this selection with £6, £8 or £10 corkage added on, very transparently, depending on the level of the wine. Good, mature grand cru Burgundy in a London restaurant for under £60 - are you joking me?

There is a longer menu available at lunch or dinner with the usual staples on it: jambon persille, confit de canard, lots of fresh fish. Garlic, butter and salt are deliciously ever-present too. It's quite a bit more expensive to go a la carte - probably £70 for 2 with a bottle of cheaper wine...but that still seems like decent value for what you get.

So le chat is out of the bag. I'm not too worried about lunch becoming untenably crowded...it's a pain to get to if you work elsewhere in London. And if you do make the trip, you probably won't want to head back to the office. Which might get you the sack. Which is bad. So i think we're safe...for the moment anyway...

(pictures to come from my next visit)
]]> Sat, 27 Sep 2008 13:57:54 +0000 /review/uk/london/restaurant/1e36n6s/l-absinthe/1s5n681999292021 up_shiraz 51.54035 -0.154296 http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1e36n6s/l-absinthe/1r6758
Review by ProfMagellan

Rating: 2.00
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Located in London's scenic Primrose Hill, this place opened about three months ago. It was noisy and very crowded.
We sat downstairs which was somewhat stuffy with tables jammed closely together. The food was ok but the service was a total letdown. The staff were just not interested.
Lots of rushing around and palpably stressed but to very little effect - painfully slow. The food was ok, usual French bistro fare. Wine ( a modest corkage on top of retail prices) was reasonable. This place has potential but they need to work on training their staff to be prompt, efficient and jolly.]]> Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:29:14 +0000 /review/uk/london/restaurant/1e36n6s/l-absinthe/1r67581474460033 ProfMagellan 51.54035 -0.154296