Inside Richoux - yes, it's a beautiful room.
What can you tell us about Richoux?
If you've walked down Piccadilly at any point in your life, it's likely you've walked past Richoux in one of its former guises. There's been a Richoux cafe or restaurant in this space for 100 years and that long run looked like coming to an end when it closed last year, as one of the victims of the pandemic. However, it wasn't long before new owners swept in, keen to keep this part of London's history alive. It's now been revived and is being taken in a fresh new direction - but one that also stays true to its roots.
So who's in charge now?
Leading the way are chefs Jamie Butler and Lewis Spencer, who come with impressive CVs. They met at two-Michelin-starred Moor Hall, with experience at 50 Best Restaurants list-topper Eleven Madison Park and Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir au Quat' Saisons behind them. They're taking Parisian grand cafés as their starting point and we've seen chef Neil Rankin describe this as a "baby Zedel" - something that's not too far off the mark, given both the food on offer and the affordable pricing.
This is what you're looking for on Piccadilly
Where actually is it on Piccadilly?
If you're walking from Piccadilly Circus, it's just past Fortnum's on the left - almost opposite the Royal Academy.
And what about a pre-post dinner drink nearby?
We've always wanted to give the hidden gem Swans Bar at the Maison Assouline a try (just up the road) and nearby Frank's bar underneath Maison Francois is well worth a look too. There are a few small spaces for a drink at the front of Richoux, but it's really set up as a restaurant primarily. That said - the cocktail list is well worth a look (see below) and drinks on that are around the £12 mark.
Two of the cocktails - the Heritage on the left (vodka, lillet blanc, Italicus, St Germain, orange bitters, £12.50) and the Sauvage (Slingsby rhubarb gin, creme du poire, lemon elderflower syrup, apple, £12.50). Both are good - but the Heritage would look better in a slightly more petite glass.
Where should we sit?
It's worth mentioning that the room looks incredible - keeping the framework of the previous restaurant but bringing everything around it tastefully bang up to date. It's a particularly good example of respecting the past while still making various parts (colour scheme, chairs, wall coverings) seem much more current. It's very instagrammable, for sure.
The room is lined with alcoves, with tables for two or four within them - if you're in a group of four these are perfect, but even for two people, they're nicely spaced out. Towards the back are a couple of larger booths and there's a tiny hidden room behind a curtain that we assume has to be hired out - as you'll be a little on everyone's laps in there but it's very private.
And what about the food?
As mentioned earlier, there's a French brasserie-style to the whole affair - but one that's notably good value for a restaurant in such a prominent Mayfair/St James space. You'll see a lot of classic dishes that you'll recognise at prices you'll feel very comfortable with.
Here's a selection of what we tried:
Things kick off with the snacks, including these pain a la tomate (£3.50). There's also a Welsh Rarebit snack at the same price.
Warm prawns with olive oil and lemon (£12.95) - a simple dish, well executed.
A French brasserie classic is this exemplary French onion soup with gruyere and garlic croutons (£6.95) - incredibly rich, almost a meal in itself. If you're in search of comfort food and need warming up - pop in for a bowl of this.
Beef fillet carpaccio with rocket and Parmesan salad (£11.95) - nicely done, but just needed a little bit more seasoning.
The steaks are a particularly good sign of the value of Richoux. This ribeye steak frites is only £19.95 (and there's a flat iron version at £14.95 - the bearnaise is an extra £2). The fries are perfect too - we can see this dish alone being extremely popular.
Salmon a la plancha, crispy black rice salad, pickled cucumber, lemon, artichoke (£15.95).
And who can resist a restaurant that has dauphinoise potatoes as a side (£3.75) and the peas a la Francaise with bacon are very good too.
Anything else worth mentioning?
There's a selection of eggs (omelette, benedict, scrambled with smoked salmon), sandwiches (including a club sandwich, although we're not so keen on the use of seeded sourdough for that) and salads.
For vegetarians, dishes include the vegan "Green burger" and fries (£11.95), Chili broccoli and black rice salad (£10.95) and their "yummy vegan salad" which is baby gem, sun blushed tomato, avocado and marinated artichokes (£7.95/£10.95 as starter/main).
And dessert?
Much as there's a temptation to go all-out on the main menu, you'll need to hold yourselves back for dessert.
You'll note when you come into Richoux that there's a patisserie section at the front of the restaurant - very handy if you're passing by and fancy a snack> You can also order pastries to take away from here. Their signature pastries are the "cruffins", which are, as you might imagine, a mix of muffin and croissant. Flavours include passion fruit and banana creme or sea salt and caramelised white chocolate custard. By all accounts, they're well worth ordering.
Back on the main dessert menu, there's a lot to entice. We were strongly tempted by the milk chocolate mousse (£6.75) as sometimes doing something simple and well is to be applauded. There are also frozen berries with hot white chocolate sauce on the menu, so a nod to The Ivy there.
Here's what we opted for in our visit:
A very. very good apple tarte tatin (£7.95) which comes with ice cream or creme Anglaise. Although in this case, we didn't hesitate when offered the option of "or you can have both".
Meringue Gateaux with marscapone Chantilly (£6.75). Yes, it's the size of your head, but it's really very light.
What about drink?
The affordable nature of Richoux continues with the wine list which starts at £24 a bottle (Bellefontaine Chardonnay 2020 or Les Coteaux Cotes du Rhone 2020) which is very keenly priced at a time when we've noticed many restaurants open with the house wine costing £30 and over (there are actually over ten wines under the £30 mark on the list, including beth rosés). We find ourselves drawn to a Bourgogne Aligote which we've seen on a few lists recently - and it's a well priced £36 here.
If you do fancy splashing out, though, there's a £98 Vallet Freres right at the top of the list.
Overall thoughts?
Richoux feels like a hit in the making. The French brasserie menu is already very welcoming before you factor in the prices and the quality of what's on offer here. Combine all that with a beautiful room in a busy part of town and we think this will do very well indeed.
Hot Dinners ate as guests of Richoux. Prices are correct at the time of writing.
More about Richoux
Where is it? 172 Piccadilly, St James, London W1J 9EJ
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @richouxrestaurants.
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