But I haven’t been to France since last Christmas! That’s more than six months ago! I have never gone so long without a France fix; I haven’t even made it across the Channel for bulots in Le Touquet! What is up with my internal France o’clock?!
So I was delighted to discover a little bit of authentic France in Bermondsey Street, just a few minutes walk south from London Bridge.
Casse-Croute is a small, unassuming bistro with big credentials, as far as I’m concerned. It’s the sort of place you’d find in the back streets of Paris – just 20 covers and a limited menu written on a blackboard, depending on what’s in season and what they happen to bring across from France. A couple of weeks ago, the special was Charolais beef (to many tastes, one of the most mouthwatering, perfectly marbled, meltingly tender French beef), which they announced on Twitter. If you follow @CasseCroute109, they post a photo of their daily menu. Be quick, though, as even on a Monday night at 6.30pm, all that was available was a bar stool as I had not booked in advance.
Casse-croute means ‘snack’, and snacking is the best way to enjoy an evening on a bar stool. It is also the most opportune way to purvey the scene.
The first remedy for my withdrawal symptoms was Pastis, a drink I only ever consume in shabby tabacs in France (the restaurant must be authentic!) Then my friend and I went on to reds – she chose full-bodied, I went for a light red – both excellently recommended by Blandine, the pretty bar lady from Paris, who’d much rather be here than there though I never discovered why. To accompany the wine, we stuck to the charcuterie menu board:
The coppa Corse (below) was particularly succulent, the pork rillette respectable, breads were sublime, and the Pont Eveque perfectly ripe as you would find cheeses served in restaurants in France. The wine list is all French and refreshingly limited. Many are served by the glass so you can try a different wine with each dish.
If I was sitting at a table, I would’ve followed their main menu – a choice of three starters, three mains (around £12 each) and three classic desserts. You can see what’s on the menu on Twitter.
I was delighted to see they had my favourite dessert – ile flottante, a lightly cooked meringue floating on creme anglaise with toasted almonds on top. I’ve only ever had it in France, and it tasted exactly the same the last time I had it there. Matched perfectly with a delicious dessert wine, again by Blandine. The bill for two plates of charcuterie, rillette, cheese, two desserts & six glasses of wine & a pastis came to £70.
All in all, a fine French fix in Bermondsey, thanks to owners Alex (from Provence), Herve (from Rhone-Alps), chef Sylvain (from Normandy) and of course, Blandine from Paris. I will be back to try the main menu, and to find out why Blandine prefers London to Paris. And, if I may request, just in case I don’t make it over to France in the near future – any chance of some bulots? Fruits de mer, perhaps? And a nice provençal rose wine? Then I’ll never leave Bermondsey!
Ile flottante
Delicious dessert wine
Blandine
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