Dining Out

Chez Gerard

    Having heard a lot about Chez Gérard and how different it was to the usual high street Café Rouge brigade, plus its claims of doing the best steak frites this side of Paris, I felt that it deserved a visit on a chilly autumn evening. 
    The brasserie occupies an enviable position on Chiswick High Road and as soon we walked in, it was obvious how popular it has become. We were shown to our table and given the menus by an accented waitress who looked slightly alarmed when my partner politely enquired, ‘Parlez-vous Français?’ and then said quickly, ‘Nobody speaks French here’. Yes, I know that Chez Gérard is a chain (with highly-regarded establishments in Kensington and Teddington), but I thought that at least one person in a brasserie would have spoken French and at the same time turned off Alicia Keys and played something more authentic instead – Gainsbourg, par exemple. 
    The wine list was presented and revealed a good selection of mainly French wines, with a 2004 Château Teyssier St Emilion grand cru red for £39. My partner’s family are French and he has the ubiquitous snobbish attitude when it comes to choosing wine. This makes me always slightly anxious at this particular juncture in the evening, as he is the only person I know who tells the truth when tasting. 
    Still, the grand cru passed muster enough to sit on the table next to our starters of a dozen snails with garlic butter and parsley. The snails were piping hot with oozing butter which was nicely mopped up by the fruity, spicy palate of the wine. 
    Seeing well-to-do couples walking arm-in-arm past the misted windows of Chez Gérard cheered me up no end and made me look forward to my next course of le filet (prime fillet steak with frites or new potatoes for £19.95) and a salad verte on the side (£2.45). My partner chose the rouget chermoula, marinated red mullet served with mint and yoghurt couscous (£10.95). My enormous steak fillet was perfectly medium rare with a tender pinkness in the middle. The frites were firm, golden and size-0 thin (which I wasn’t after eating them), while my partner’s red mullet was also tender and full of flavour and the  mint couscous light and refreshing. 
    We sat back and enjoyed the rest of the wine, adding a rosy glow to our complexions. All around us couples were cosily sharing desserts and the brasserie was filled with a lively buzz. Chez Gérard does excellent food at decent prices (as a brasserie should) but I just wish they’d get rid of Alicia Keys.