Balthazar the Latest King of London Brasserie

The long awaited Balthazar brasserie arrived in London three weeks ago and has quickly become the hot ticket in town. Expat Keith McNally went to NYC twenty years ago and opened Balthazar on Spring street. Since then it has become "the" brunch spot for New Yorkers, with queues around the block at weekends. Persuaded back to London by Soho house's chief, Nick Jones to recreate the Balthazar hot spot slap bang in the middle of covent garden. McNally is passionate about creating a beautiful finish on not only the food but the restaurant as well. The design and layout of Balthazar is wonderful, taking you back to an old Parisian brasserie. Brass railings, red leather seats, large marble columns and big mirrors make this a grand affair. However I can't help but think it feels a little like a very posh Cafe Rouge.

The restaurant is very large with a bar and coffee tables on the right hand side and the dining area on the left. Next door is the Balthazar bakery which deals in artisan breads, rustic sandwiches and Parisian patisserie. The cakes, tarts and pastries are exquisite and make up a large proportion of the brasserie's dessert menu. While the bread is simply divine! Not sure I've had better bread in London to be honest!

The menu is again similar to a cafe rouge offering, steak frites, frisée salad, mussels etc. This style of catering in the capital is exploding at the moment. With the owners of the Wolsey opening three more restaurants offering continental brasserie fair in 2012 (The Delaunay, Colbert and Cafe Zedal). All of which have proved very popular, therefore Balthazar is in good company in London. I plumped for the frisée salad and country sausage with creamed potatos. While my fellow diner had the seafood risotto and the duck shepherd pie. Both starters were of fine quality, if slightly rich.

The mains offered up slightly more interest. The country sausages were dense and flavoursome, with a good amount of pepper and herbs. These were served with a very thick potato, so thick in fact, I think there may have been some cheese melted in. Delicious but very rich! The duck shepherd's pie was very similar, rich, with cheese topping the potato. However the duck makes a great change to lamb, with its gamier taste.

Pudding was a masterclass of patisserie with a chocolate/coffee rocher and an intense vanilla creme brûlée! Even if you can't afford a full meal here you can pick up a cake for under a fiver from the bakery. I would thoroughly recommend doing this!

 Balthazar has caused such a stir to the London food scene and while it is a welcome addition, I can't help thinking it is a place to be seen rather than a Mecca for foodies. Go here for French baking and celebrity spotting (we saw three in two hours).