French Living

Claire (24 September 2009)

This is a truly wonderful restaurant with excellent food and wine at very reasonable cost. It isn’t pretentious or fussy and I've never been disappointed on the numerous occasions I've had the privilege to dine or lunch there. It's a real gem and stands out amongst the many chain restaurants around. Long may it prosper!

Amy (8 June 2009)

Visiting French Living was always a luxury treat when I was a university student in Nottingham some 8 years ago, so I was really eager to return to the restaurant 2 days ago with my fiancé, to see if anything has changed. We were really looking forward to the trip as we travelled some 100 miles just to get there. We're both pleasantly surprised that neither the decor nor the quality of the food has changed. We both chose the £16.50 three-course menu. My venison terrine starter with pickled condiments had interesting flavour chemistry and was really appetising. The cous cous royale main course with lamb and root vegetables were done the authentic Moroccan way, and it reminds me of some fine Moroccan cuisine I had in Paris. My fiancé had a garlic sausage brioche as starter, which he enjoyed very much. He then picked the onglet beef dish with veal sauce, vegetables and potatoes as main course, which had been my all-time favourite. The beef was cooked perfectly, by 'medium', the chef did mean 'medium', and the dish overall tastes plus looks very much like what I had in Paris. One thing I shouldn't forget to mention is the generous portion size. I'm generally a big eater even when compared to guys but I couldn't finish my cous cous main course. I felt it's a big waste to send the leftovers to the bin, but they don't usually do takeaways. Fortunately, somehow the staff managed to find a makeshift takeaway box and packed it up for me, which was very kind of them. Both of us finished our meal with crème brûlée, which was again finely done, where the hard caramel layer wasn't too thick, and the crème just smooth, not too sweet. It was one of the most enjoyable dinners we've had for years in the UK and I strongly recommend the restaurant to all lovers of authentic French cuisine!

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