cafe st honore

maybe it was the prosecco before, and the cocktail, and then the wine, but i think i fell a little bit in love with cafe st honore. i'm all about being transported by food, and this tucked-away restaurant does that: the floor tiles, the chairs, the candlelight.
along with some very quaffable red wine, we had the cafe classic menu - limited options but great value (twocoursesfor £18 or three for £23.50): a pork rillette rolling around with hazelnuts, apples and amazing croutons (i could feel my arteries lining themselves with fat - in a good way) then melt-in-the-mouth venison stew with buttery mash. we shared a perfectly crisp and flavoursome treacle tart that went so well with the dollop of creme fraiche on top. oh and there was delicious crusty bread (soda, i think) with amazing butter that was so thick and rich and creamy it might as well have been cheese.
portions are generous, atmosphere great and service friendly (lack of photos i'm afraid due to the lovely staff taking my jacket, where my phone was, on arrival).
i half expected to see the eiffel tower when i went outside. then again, it might have been the prosecco; and the cocktail, and the wine...

now we love a good bargain as much as the next person and when we discovered on bookatable that cafe st honore had a lunchtime special 2coursesfor £15.50 or 3coursesfor £19.50 we knew we had to go along and try it out. they also offer a full lunchtime menu alongside the set menu. for those of you who don’t know the chef behind cafe st honore is neil forbes. neil was crowned chef of the year 2014 and scottish chef of the year in 2011. the main ethos of cafe st honore is making the most of local produce and showcasing it in a simple yet extremely tasty way. the use of local produce is evident in the ever changing menus with a new one each day for both lunchtime and dinner service offering slightly different choices.

we ventured here on a saturday lunchtime and were surprised how busy the place was. set back of thistle street, it's the sort of place locals in search of great food would know about. we thought what better way to sample the food on offer than to take advantage of their lunchtime deal. 3coursesand a glass of wine for £19.50. we can tell you now that this is an absolute steal!! it's so good we almost don't want to tell any one.

on the lunchtime deal menu there are two options for each of the courses. each dish we ordered was fantastic. it was packed full of local ingredients used to their full potential. 

we'd recommend booking as it's a popular place!

do you wish to discover france in the 1950's? don't look further! the café st honoré is the place to be.
out of time this establishment is a real french brasserie. you could be in paris without a doubt (although the staff is way nicer than typical parisian waiters ;)).
i went 2 times for lunch and diner and there was nothing to argue about the experience!
we enjoyed the classic brasserie menu (3coursesfor £19,50) both time. the dishes are local, seasonal and always reflecting the core concept of the brasserie food : simplicity and deliciousness.
the chef neil forbes is fond of his producers and always try to use the best of scotland in his dishes. he is completely involved in the slow food movement.
only downside of the experience: the wine. they are very expensive and sometimes not up to the expectations (for instance, i was disappointed really by the albariño ...)
the café st honoré is a place to try if you love scottish food and products prepared with a french twist!

if you want to know more about my experience, check my restaurant review on my blog:
http://travel.oohmyworld.com/2013/11/08/restaurant-tasting-cafe-st-honore-between-france-and-scotland-mon-coeur-balance/