To stimulate the economy and get people spending again Rishi Sunak –Chancellor of the Exchequer and the most implausible waiter in history –introduced ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ which took effect on 3 August. The scheme entitles diners to 50% off their main meal (no booze) up to a value of £10 in both restaurants and pubs. If you’ve seen the crowds in Greater Kennington restaurants over the past few days, this is the reason.
We decided to inaugurate the season visiting local French bistro Toulouse Lautrec. TL has been hit by a double whammy of being closed for the past three months both as a restaurant and as a live Jazz venue. Your ravenous scribe had the chicken chasseur; a meaty chicken dish with spiced tomato sauce, well cooked mushrooms, and just the right amount of tarragon. As it was served in the skillet that kept it at the right temperature to be served on a plate with homemade mash. Highly recommended.
My associate indulged in the confit duck burger served deboned on a sesame brioche bun with a surprisingly smoky relish. We don’t usually associate smoky with French food but it worked. Said associate got far too excited about the homemade mayonnaise and chunky chips, which were as massive as they appear in the image. For the dessert, my associate had the (insert breathy female Masterchef porn voice) melting molten chocolate fondant —– with hazelnut ice cream. Without the additives (i.e. wine) our bill came to just under £29, which for a French meal and a pudding ain’t that bad.
There are a lot of local restaurants taking part in this scheme. To see if your favourite is on the list stick your postcode into this snazzy thing to find out. You know you want to…
