I don't need to tell you about Café Rouge, do I? You've probably been to one. You may even be in one right now (in which case, hey, relax, it's OK, no one's judging you). The ubiquitous mid-market chain, with over 115 branches and counting, probably serves more French, or at least French-ish, food to Britons than all our other Gallic restaurants put together. Bridget Jones and her friends got drunk there, and it has introduced a generation of terrified Anglo-Saxons to such unknown pleasures as moules marinières and croque monsieur. But now, more than 20 years after the first branch opened, the familiar bistro-meets-snug bar look is getting a little fatigué, and clean-cut newcomers like Côte are setting the pace. So Café Rouge is regenerating.
The new look has just been unveiled, with the opening of the group's latest bistro on a prime spot next to Charing Cross station in central London. Villiers Street is a narrow cut-through to the Embankment which serves as an informal Research and Development lab for the hospitality industry. The first branch of Eat opened there (designed by David Collins, who was also responsible for the original look of Café Rouge). Today, the street is lined with chains, would-be chains and oddities such as Herman Ze German, which serves curry wurst with pommes frites. Truly we've come a long way since the days when Brits were frightened of boeuf bourguignon.
In classic Café Rouge tradition, the new branch has taken over a corner site formerly occupied by a pub. We breezed in, past the pavement placards shouting 'Vive le Bistro' and 'New-look Café Rouge starts here', only to find the place absolutely rammed, at 6pm on a Sunday evening. Why were we surprised? They haven't got where they are today by not being busy. And the moodily-lit dining room does look fairly inviting. Just like a real restaurant, in fact, only a lot more crowded.
Read more at http://www.independent.co.uk/
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