Frere Jacques

Reviews

• Bit of a mixed review

  Bit of a mixed review here - the food was really good, but the atmosphere and service was a bit poor (in my experience).When we turned up to the restaurant we were left waiting in the entrance for quite a while before anyone bothered to come and seat us. The waitress who finally came over looked puzzled by our request for a table - so this wasn't the most friendly of welcomes to the restaurant.I found the atmosphere a little empty and pretentious (and the place isn't good enough to merit pretention). The restaurant wasn't particularly busy, but it still took 20 mins for an onion soup to arrive!The food itself (onion soup, another veg dish) was actually very nice.Maybe we just turned up at a bad time.The food is ok price-wise.

  Chinbergs
  Review Date: 01/09/2008 Report review
• Lunch by the River in Kingston

  On a mild spring day after a spot of shopping, we went for a wander by the river in the hope of spotting somewhere that tempted us for lunch. One place we came across, located next to Kingston Bridge, was Frere Jacques, a friendly looking French restaurant. After a quick look at the menu we decided to give it a try.We were seated at a table at the front, on the tow path - the perfect place for some serious people watching. I was pleased to note that most of the wait-staff appeared to be French, which gave me hope that this wasn't some sort of 'tourist' restaurant. Either way, the staff were friendly and service was good, until we tried to get the bill (but isn't that always the way!).Feeling like some red meat, we both ordered the Rib eye steak, which came with fries, mushrooms and watercress. I had the bearnaise sauce and he had the green peppercorn. The steaks were really good - cooked as requested and flavoursome. A cheeky glass of Bordeaux was a great accompaniment.We couldn't resist sharing a dessert, so ordered the special of the day - the Chocolate fondant with hazelnut ice cream. The fondant was pretty good, with a crispy outside and a gooey centre, and the ice cream was nice and creamy.

  Sue
  Review Date: 08/05/2007 Report review