Brasserie Zedel

Down a flight of stairs off Sherwood Street, in what used to be the ballroom of the old Regent Palace Hotel, Brasserie Zedel does a convincing impression of a Parisian institution that has been there for a century, despite only opening in 2012. The room is genuinely grand, marble columns, a gilded ceiling, a scale most London restaurants cannot afford to attempt, paired with prices that feel like a mistake in this postcode.

The prix fixe menu, two or three courses for well under twenty pounds, covers French brasserie staples done properly: onion soup gratinee, steak hache, coq au vin, and a proper choucroute for anyone wanting something heartier. The a la carte adds oysters, steak tartare mixed at the table, and frogs’ legs with garlic butter for anyone wanting the full theatrical version of French dining.

Live music plays most evenings in the main room, a pianist or small jazz combo, which adds to the sense of occasion without tipping into pastiche. Service moves fast, sometimes too fast for a leisurely evening, a function of the sheer number of covers the room needs to turn to make the pricing work.

It suits almost anyone: pre theatre diners racing a curtain time, groups celebrating on a budget, solo diners at the counter with a glass of Sancerre. The attached Bar Americain and the cabaret room downstairs extend the evening if you want it to keep going.

The honest caveat is that the cooking, while perfectly competent, is not the main event here. This is a restaurant selling atmosphere and value in a part of town where both are scarce, and anyone expecting the technical precision of a top tier French kitchen will be mildly disappointed. Come for the room, the price and the pianist, and the food will not let you down either, it just will not be the headline.