Richoux - St John's Wood

Richoux restaurants have been around since 1909, when they were founded in London by two French émigrés, in Baker Street. At the time, they started out as a patisserie but have today evolved as stylish, French style cafés, which serve food all day and cater to different kinds of people, on business and pleasure.

The cafes are attractively done up in their trademark deep red, and have a spacious, airy feel about them. The food is tasty with a homely feel, and the service is warm and friendly. The nicest part about the restaurants is that diners can have a light or hearty meal at any time of the day.

The typical breakfast menu has an early riser and a traditional option which offer fresh juice, toast, bacon, sausage and croissants. The restaurants use only free range farm eggs. Their New Yorker breakfast includes golden waffles while there are healthier options available with muesli and fresh fruit along with whole wheat toast. They also have an impressive range of beverages ranging from several types of coffee, tea, fruit juices and hot chocolate, which help one finish breakfast and start the day on a great note.

The rest of the offerings cater for lunch, afternoon tea and even dinner, and have a limited but delicious range of soups, starters, sandwiches, pasta and noodles. These include roasted fillet of sea bass with green beans and mashed potatoes, Welsh rarebit, shepherd's pie, a chicken curry served with rice, poppadums and mango chutney and also, a chicken and vegetable stir fry with egg noodles, among other delicious fare.

Their sensible wine list provides enough choice for everyone, and is complemented ably by the list of beers and spirits. As Richoux was originally known as a patisserie, the dessert section, with its fresh fruit salad with cream, hot chocolate fudge, apple pie with vanilla ice cream and sundaes and ice creams are enough to arouse more than cursory interest.

The fact that Richoux has stood the test of time and changing tastes is ample proof that they continue to offer diners the kind of food they want at reasonable prices.