French food is my dream and I was craving it very badly last week. So I headed over to Knightsbridge in the hunt for a little restaurant called Les Gourmets des Ternes. Now my friends, this restaurant may be small, but it is mighty (thanks Shakespeare for that line).
Les Gourmet des Ternes is an authentic French restaurant. It started off as one restaurant in Paris that opened in 1962. It became very popular has since become a celebrity hang out for the likes of Jack Nicholson (cough*name drop*cough). Since it did so well over there, the owners decided to open up a restaurant in London in Warwick Avenue but this place (Les Petits Gourmets) only had 26 seats. As the demand grew, they opened up in Knightsbridge which is where I hurried to to soak up the atmosphere, authenticity, wine and more importantly – fresh French food.
When I arrived, I was taken upstairs to the bar to have a cocktails before the meal. The bar was so cosy and beautifully decorated – an old school table football and cinema seats, big armchairs, gorgeous wooden bar and paintings everywhere.
We went for one ‘Southside of Saint Germain’ cocktail which was incredible – gin, cucumber, mint, elderflower liqueur, lemon and a splash of Absinthe – and one ‘Perfect Thyme’ – gin, crème d’abricot, thyme syrup, orange bitter, egg white and lemon. They were absolutely delicious.
And so pretty.
After the cocktails, we headed back downstairs for dinner.
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| There is nothing better than warm baguette with salty French butter |
For starters we got one homemade Foie Gras and six Escargots…Because you can’t go to a French restaurant and not try snails
The Foie Gras was so deliciously creamy it had the same texture as the butter. It was absolutely amazing. I would have been happy to sit and eat that on toast all evening.
The escargots were also delicious. This was my first proper snail starter. I have had deep fried snails before but never had a whole plate of them before. I must admit to struggling to work out how to use the snail utensil. However I got there in the end – and my goodness, weren’t they good.
I sat there pouring the sauce onto the fresh baguette and then placing the snail on top and I was in total heaven. I wish I had ordered more (you can order 6, 9, or 12) as I finished these very quickly. Perhaps I should of eaten at more of a snail’s pace.
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| Look at all that garlic buttery goodness |
For mains, we had one Beef Bourguignon and one Veal Fillet Normandy Cream, which was recommended to us by the waitress.
The Bourguignon was really tasty but out of the two, the veal fillet was definitely my favourite. The sauce was divine and the meat was cooked perfectly. Plus, the chips were amazing.
I didn’t get the chance to try the pudding but when I go back I will absolutely be having the Chocolate Mousse or their famous Crème Caramel.
The staff were really friendly- happy to give their own recommendations of what they liked best, we had great wine and great food and a really great experience. I have already booked to take my friends back to this restaurant! A new favourite and definitely a hidden gem of Knightsbridge!
Plus – its a pretty nice stroll back to the tube..
I highly recommend you head down there! Please do let me know what you think! Likewise – have you got any other French restaurants in London to recommend?
Jessica x
