Le Gavroche (The Return), London

 

It was raining. It was cold. I was at Marble Arch station and I was early. ‘If I get there too soon, they will make me wait outside till they open,’ I thought to myself. But there was nothing else to do, nowhere else to go, so I headed down Park Lane. My toes had become numb from the short walk between Marble Arch and the restaurant, but as soon as I turned left onto Upper Brook Street, my heart, and my belly, were warmed by the fond memories of my last meal here. Instinctively, I started smiling to myself and my gait quickened, footsteps shortened, my heart began to beat a little faster. I felt the cold no longer.

 

Its discreet door is distinguished only by the simple signage above. As one approaches, a symbolic fleur-de-lis, the Relais & Chateaux logo, and caricature coq gaulois, the arms of the Traditions & Qualité association, assure the diner they have arrived at one of Les Grandes Tables du Monde.

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Le Gavroche, London

The Le Gavroche. That is not an error that is emphasis. Londoners owe It a debt of gratitude. A huge debt. Before Its arrival, fine dining did not exist in the city. Eating well was not a priority/desire/care; ‘we knew nothing of the British indifference to food because we had only ever cooked for the rich,’ Albert Roux has admitted. It was the sixties and Albert and younger brother Michel, already in London as personal chefs to the Cazelet and Rothschild families respectively, saw their opportunity. With their former employers turned patrons, Le Gavroche was established in 1967 and It changed everything.