Cafe Rouge - Canary Wharf
I planned to go ice skating with my girlfriends at noon. It had been a while so we forgot how to get to the ice rink, we ended up walking round in circles for over thirty minutes 😭before eventually stumbling on the ice rink, which was 3 minutes away from our initial starting point.😪
We'd just missed a slot and had to wait fifty three minutes for the next session. Two of us had dates planned for after skating, but since the entire plan was going up in smoke, everyone but me ditched their dates and decided to go get food and come back for a later slot.
My dinner date was in the area already and so I invited her to join me and my other girlfriends at the ice rink (I know I broke my own etiquette rule😬). After studying several menu's and debating dessert requirements, we settled on Cafe Rouge.
Disclaimer - I am a foodie; but by no means a professional critic. I'll eat whatever you put in front of me at least once. All of my reviews are based solely on the singular dining experience described and is subject to change if revisited. When it comes to food; I'm very opinionated, making me incisive, especially when I don't like it.; This doesn't mean you won't, it just means I don't or I've had better.
Cafe rouge is an elegant Victorian style French bistro by the Canary Wharf middle dock, just opposite heron quays. We arrived at about 5pm to a mostly empty restaurant save for the staff and one other couple. We sat all the way at the back, received our menu's almost immediately and got on with the very important task of choosing our meals. (They also had gluten free and vegetarian options)
Everyone, except me ordered a burger. Burger brothers has made me a burger snob and ruined me for all others, I'm now really cautious about where I order burgers.
I ordered Escargo as a starter and for my main Confit de canard, which is a slow-cooked Brittany duck leg with homemade dauphinoise potatoes, mixed greens and cherry or orange sauce ( my waiter let me try both sauces😍 - both good but I recommend the cherry)
Escargots isn't everyone's cup of tea, so if you're squeamish or don't like snails, this isn't for you. The herb-crusted snails were served baked in chestnut mushrooms with garlic butter, bacon lardons, shallots, thyme and a slice of warm toasted bread. I added a little salt after the first bite as I felt it was lacking something, a little more garlic butter would have made it better.
My main was soooo good, I'm salivating just a little bit. I usually have issues with chunks of meat or poultry being bland, but that's the beauty of confit, it retains all the tasty flavour. The duck was just right, not dry, over cooked or overpowered by spices, the potatoes were just as good and the cherry sauce was a perfect compliment.
Two of my friends didn't like their burgers (pulled pork and rouge burger) and one did.
Dessert is my favourite part of a meal so skipping it wasn't an option, plus I'd ordered a starter, I might as well come full circle. For dessert I ordered Crème brûlée served with a strawberry and an almond tuile. It was ok, but when I indulge I want every bite to be an ecstatic treat worth the calories, unfortunately this didn't do that for me. I would have liked a it a bit sweeter but that's just a personal preference.
Bare in mind that this is a cold dessert so if you want something warmer, skip this and go for the Fondant Aux Chocolats (hot chocolate fondant with a melting middle served with chocolate & raspberry fondant ice cream) or Tarte Aux Pommes (warm apple tart with tarte tatin ice cream)
In a nutshell
Taste - 4 out of 5
Aesthetics - 3 out of 5 (It's not fancy, but would be ideal for a date who likes to try different cuisines)
Service - 4 out of 5
Value for money - 4 out of 5 (Bill came up to about £28 - My friend had a 50% off voucher so I only ended up paying £15 including service charge )
Would I go back?
Most definitely! There were other things on the menu that I'd like to try, I can only hope it lives up to my expectations.