French – Chow Down

It is not often that I head SOTR -(South of the River) to Clapham/Battersea, however, I had been promised ‘one of the best lunches in London.’ How could I refuse?

Soif, is somewhere that had not been on my radar, on arrival I realised it is from the same owners as the critically acclaimed restaurants; Terroirs, Brawn and Green Man & French Horn. From a quick glance at the menu I learnt that Soif was french and fine French at that. A simple menu that included all the French classics; moules frites, bavette accompanied with chips and cafe de Paris butter as well as grilled fish like only the French know how. I was strongly advised to go for the lunchtime chef’s special deal, the special changes daily and comes with a glass of wine of your choice and is followed by a coffee for the very reasonable price of £10. The special for us was fried sardines with tomatoes on grilled sourdough. A dish that had the potential to be very standard – nice but just nice! Not, however in the case of Soif. This very simple dish of effectively bread, fish and tomatoes simply blew me away. The sardines were meaty and delicious, covered in perfectly ripe, juicy tomatoes and topped with the most delicious, flavoursome dressing. Which I am guessing was made with the most simple of ingredients; olive oil, lemon and garlic. This dish proves that simple really can be best, especially when the raw ingredients are of high quality and uber fresh! The prefect addition to this dish was a glass of light white wine. Apres, I substituted the coffee for a fresh mint tea.

Honestly a truly perfect light lunch for a crazy light price, but still premium quality french food. I really wasn’t expecting to find such a gem, it just shows, venturing slightly further than you usually would can pay off. If Soif is on your doorstep you are too lucky! Perfect for a working lunch or laid back catch up with friends. J’adore.

Pure Chic.
I had been completely overwhelmed by the unadulterated chicness of St Tropez, a million miles from the popular song ‘Welcome to St Tropez’ with my particular favourite line being ‘too much money in the bank!’ Which most people around here really do.

The iconic Club 55 is a perfect blend of elegance and that St Tropez chicness, mixed effortlessly to create a dream like ambiance.
Firmly grounded on Pamelonne beach, the very first beach club in St Tropez and by far the best, in my opinion in a league all of its own.
Upon entering on a Saturday lunchtime in late June I was greeted by a wash of white and natural wood, with bronzed, perfumed bodies eating, chatting and laughing idly.
I have an obsession with the use of fruit and vegetables as decoration and centre pieces. When I see this in a restaurant, it is a good sign. On every table there was a large piece of irregular wood laden with crudites -fresh, raw whole vegetables; tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, artichokes, carrots, mushrooms.

The French as a whole, with Club55 very much included, just get it right. They keeps things so simple but do simple so well! To start we had hard boiled eggs, served in their simplistic form with the shells on and a perfectly salted anchovy dip to accompany. It tasted divine, seriously how can a hard boiled egg with a sauce taste so good and I loved how it was served with everyone peeling their own eggs and cutting as they so desire. We were in a sharing mood/ wanted the opportunity to try as much as much as possible. We had a number of different salads including nicoise, mozzarella and tomato and a goats cheese with lots of fresh fish, grilled and served with lemon. I know I have mentioned simple numerous times already, but it really does go to show how that can win through, especially when you have high quality fresh ingredients. Whatever you are eating it just tastes better when you are beach side with the sun shining and right in the middle of the best beach club on earth.
A true experience, weather you are a regular or more a once in a lifetime type of client. This place has been open for over 60 years and still has all the glamour and cool that you would expect from the top spot in the South of France. Eat the most simple food, prepared and cooked to perfection in an absolutely stunning environment.