Comptoir Gascon

Very friendly staff. Great, unpretentious french fare and good wine list.

Fairly quiet at lunchtime but it was school holidays. Food was nicely presented but was lacking a bit of quality in the final analysis, particularly the barbequed lamb which was over cooked and rather tough. NIce service though.

Lovely restaurant with great service. The duck confit with the fresh green beans was the perfect dish.

Excellent lunch and service.

food philosophy at Comptoir Gascon comes straight from the verdant pastures of Gascony, a gastronomically-rich region of southwest France. The phrase used interchangeably with this area, ‘douceur de vivre’ (sweetness of life), is adopted with ease at Comptoir Gascon. Like its Basque muse, the restaurant focuses mainly on serving duck, foie gras and truffle. These typically expensive imports are very reasonably priced at Comptoir Gascon, and both of the foie gras based meals are very reasonably priced at under £15 each. The only thing that might keep you from ordering two of everything is the inherent richness of the food, and the bounteousness of the portions. For a City restaurant, you get a whole lot of value for money. The foie gras is cut into thick slices, the biggest that you are likely to find on a plate in London. Their silken bodies are impeccably seared; their browned planes indicate the caressing touch of heat, a fact which is attested to by softened and impossibly buttery insides. Like any well treated foie gras, the texture is akin to bone marrow; slippery and lubricating, with a playfully gamey flavour. The first sumptuous chunk of it is served in a slider with shredded lettuce, cream cheese and truffle sauce – every bite is precious and accompanied with a breathless groan of unadulterated bliss. In another plate, a larger portion of foie gras is served with a confit duck patty in the ‘Deluxe Burger’. The pairing of foie gras with its mother duck is an elegant proposition, whilst touches of fruity chutney and salad keep it from being overly rich. The fat of the duck is also used; its application in the cooking of chips ensures a penetrating intensity which is increased with speckled flavour-bombs of salt.

The restaurant is small but with a great rustic charm and the high ceiling makes the place light and airy. Five of us met for a business lunch. The staff were charming, and willing to explain the menu clearly. Great meal which was cut short due to the tight schedule we were on yesterday. next time we will plan to spend longer and linger over a dessert and coffee. Looking forward to my next visit.

Our first time at Gascon Comptoir having lived locally for 8 years. Pleasant atmosphere and interesting menu. However, our main course arrived and my wife's cod dish was cold. We made the waitress aware of this and the dish was taken away for re-heating. It re-appeared and was still cold! By this time I had finished eating and my wife didn't want to eat alone. It was sent back again… They did offer another dish and to ‘take it off the bill’. I'm not sure this was particularly generous given the meal wasn't eaten! We contrasted this with another restaurant where we recently chose two dishes from the menu which weren't available. We were immediately offered our cocktails for free and the manager remained attentive to our needs for the rest of the meal. In customer service terms Compton Gascon just didn't step up to what is expected when something goes wrong.

Had lunch here on Saturday and spent a good 3 hours feasting on delicious food and wine and sheltering from the rain. The service was excellent and we were even encouraged to take advantage of the complimentary wine tasting which was an added bonus. The food was outstanding – I started with the sea bream cervice which was light and fresh and really delicate. My companions had the piggy treats, which is well worth going for – a real smorgasboard of all things celebrating the pig: black pudding, salami, rillettes – and all of the highest quality, and the crackling soft duck egg with mushroom concasse which was just an explosion of perfectly married flavours and textures. For mains I had the cassoulet which was a real treat and higly recommended, and my companions both went for the duck confit which they thoroughly enjoyed. We accompanied our mains with their crazy salt chips cooked in duck fat which are the stuff that food dreams are made of, and a refreshing chicory salad with a zesty orange dressing that was just perfect to cut through the fattiness of the duck. All in all, I would highly recommend the whole dining experience here from the incredible food to the great service and relaxed atmosphere. The price was pretty reasonable too considering what you can pay in some fine dining French establishments. Good value and great food – if you like French food, this is the place to go now.

Great place, very informal and relaxed. Was very tempted by Clams Papillote as a starter, which looked great, but assumed I would throw stuff down my tie, so opted for the “Piggy Treats”, which was a combination of salami, choritzo, pate and sausage. I followed with a stunning looking rabbit with pommes tartin served in a mustard sauce – this was very tasty and as it was haunch, not a fiddly as a whole rabbit can be. My fellow diners had the duck burger deluxe, which looked great if every so slightly rich with the lump of foie gras. No pud, but worked out at around £35 a head which I think was very reasonable.

Service beyond bad. Food is horrible. Worst cassoulet I have ever tasted, it did not have even the garlic sausage