Café Rouge

lovely restaurant, lovely staff, nice an clean defo recomend to others

No fashion outlet mall is complete without a Café rouge or a Strada or a Bella Italia. These are well polished chains which we have all come to have a love hate relationship with. The standardized nature of service and food is impersonal. Something which I could live with until all this fiasco surfaced last year regarding the staff getting paid below the minimum wage, and the rest being made up with tips. That is really bad isn’t it. Like slave labour, thus going here and giving them your hard earned cash is almost condoning it isn’t it?
It takes a long time to build customer trust and a few seconds to lose it. For all its great façade and publicity through Bridget Jones diary and all that malarky, I simply cannot bring myself to go here anymore but for a mere cup of tea, or quick refreshment drink from all the shopping. If you can get past all the aforementioned and what the chain stands for as a symbol of capitalist greed, it actually isn’t that bad a place.
Apathy is not a solution. We the masses do have the power, the power not to go here as a show of protest. I for one am exercising it … to a certain extent anyways!!! Not saying you should or shouldn’t, just saying perhaps there are exceptional circumstances, where it really isn’t always about the food.

This is one of two Café Rouge’s in the city centre, with the other located in Liverpool ONE. With this branch situated on the upper mall of the MetQuarter, it gives you the impression that you’re walking into a posh brasserie with all the luxury shops that surround it.
Anyhow, I was somehow impressed being sat in this pretentious restaurant as it serves up some classic French food. The menu’s are not overly priced that you wouldn’t want to dine here again. For the food itself, it is simple but effective and tastes fine. In terms of service, I didn’t have to wait long since the attentive waitress being as cool as she was, did a great job.
For anyone stuck on what to choose, I would suggest the Baguette Poulet — a chargrilled chicken breast baguette with oregano, Dijon mayonnaise accompanied by French fries and a salad garnish. You often can’t go wrong with chicken (unless you’re a veggie of course!) but if you’re still unsure or keen on something more different, staff are always willing to help.

Located in the Metquarter, Café Rouge is a great place to grab a light lunch, afternoon snack or bottle of wine inbetween bouts of shopping. The staff are friendly, the service is excellent and there’s plenty of tables to choose from. It’s usually much quieter than the Liverpool ONE branch too.
As for the food, there’s a small but satisfying menu of light appetisers, soups and salads or more filling mains like salmon fish cakes, roasted chicken, steak and so on. The French would probably tut-​tut at my choice but I usually opt for the brasserie classic croque monsieur or croque madame with crispy french fries. If I’m particularly hungry or hungover, I follow it up with a strong black coffee and a piece of lemon or apple tart. Prices are reasonable for a city centre brasserie and there’s a pretty good wine list too.
In short: Tres bien!

The Café Rouge restaurant in Liverpool one is situated in an ideal location in the heart of Liverpool’s central region. My first visit to this adequate yet somewhat pretentious restaurant was on Valentines day of this year. The restaurant staff were polite and welcoming offering myself and my girlfriend a table to wait at on the restaurants upper floor whilst a windowside view was prepared for us.
The low lighting created a romantic and consuming atmosphere which perfectly encapsualted the spirit of the occasion. The food was delivered to our tables promptly and efficiently and was full of an array of mouthwatering flavours. Unlike some restaurants of this genre the staff were far from condescending and myself and my girlfriend found them to be patient, helpful and attentive. We were the last couple to leave the establishment but at no point were we coaxed towards the exit or encouraged to leave in anyway. Far from this the establishment’s employees gave the impression that they were more than happy to wait and attend to our needs.
If anything my only qualms with Café Rouge would be that it almost tries to hard with its faux french décor and desparate desire to impress. The result of these factors is an enjoyable experience but one which seems a little false and pretentious. I will be visiting Paris this coming summer and hope to soak up an entirely authentic French experience, something which Café Rouge busts a gut to achieve but understandably falls short of this elite marker.

Café Rouge is somewhere convenient to go for a bit of posh lunch. The Met Quarter was somewhere, before Liverpool One was built, that I’d go to to pretend that I had more money than I actually did, and could peruse the posh shops umming and ah-​ing. My friend could always be found eyeing up the ties and cufflinks in T. M. Lewin and I could always be found eyeing up the make-​up in Mac. Together we’d journey up the escalator to Café Rouge, and hope for a table near the window so we could eye up the men walking past and the shop assistants in Flannels opposite.
But enough about all that. The food here is delicious — I tend to go for one of the light bites (‘plats rapide’) so it doesn’t soak up too much of the wine, which is also lovely. I’m not a fan of French wine you see, so this often surprises me. Another thing that surprises me is the service here — despite often being filled to capacity, the service is prompt, the food always hot and the glasses always full. I get the impression that the hiring process here is a little more than a standard «can you carry plates? Only one at a time? That’ll do. You’re hired.»
And if you’re confused by all the French-​ness, the staff will never be condescending or pretentious. If Bistro Jacques is the budget place for French cuisine, this is the other end of the scale, although the price tag really isn’t too bad in comparison.

Great location, tasty food, nice décor.
The tables are crammed close together, so privacy is not likely, and the food is not authentic French but tasty enough for what it is.
Great coffee.

Great location in The Met Quarter, the restaurant is really well decorated and laid out, although at times it does feel slightly crowded. Great choice of food at reasonable prices, the croque monsieur should not be missed! The breakfast menu is good as well, especially if you want to try something a bit different.
Service is good, although a bit disappointing to go for a French meal, and be served by a Scouser! Although I suppose this shouldn’t be too much of a surprise for a chain restaurant, it does sort of ruin the ‘authenticity’ that they have tried to achieve in all other aspects such as décor and menu.
Overall, a great place for a bite to eat after a days shopping, or even at the start of the day.

Standard Café Rouge fair, situated in the Met Quarter shopping centre but also accessible from Stanley Street outside centre hours. Have eaten both breakfast and lunch there and can’t complain, although breakfast is a little pricey. Sells in my opinion anglicised French food but if its what you like its fine. Main fault (across the chain) small tables crammed together