Bouchon Fourchette

Stumbled in here on my way home about 11.30pm on a Friday. Was ravenous after an evening at the pub, luckily they were still serving. Had their burger and it was a delight — juicy, well seasoned, bit pink in the middle and came with a funky but nice cheese. Best decision I ever made and a cut above the usual post pub grub. They also do a nice selection of beers — some Belgian triples and a french blonde if you are that way inclined.

Went here for my birthday, was a Monday night so fairly quiet. The hostess was really friendly and help. Had a raclette and wine which was absolutely amazing! Really recommend for those looking for something authentic and cosy!

Two thumbs up: 1 for the Unilocal app and 1 for Bouchon Fourchette!
We were in the area to drop our pooch off for a bath and trim at nearby *Molly & George, and as I got her situated with the groomer I charged my husband with «quick breakfast» option decision.
He had a supreme look of confidence as I approached… and Bouchon Fourchette was our destination. A quick 2 minute walk and we were settling in for coffees, croissants and breakfast.
Bouchon Fourchette is a neighbourhood eatery, not overly fancy but the quality of food is surprising given the low prices. You can have a very nice meal here for under a tenner, hard to say at other places nearby.
My scrambled eggs, salad and salmon with sourdough hit the spot and my husband’s omelette with chips was hearty and filling. We ordered a side of sausage to split and it was distinct and tasty, not the usual bready affair at most English spots. (Probably because it is French here, ahem).
Service was nice, and it was a very low key Sunday morning, even with our child in tow and short amount of time before picking up the dog. The chef came out to say hello as we were leaving and our stay from entry to exit was pleasant and tasty. I would certainly return and am glad to have found it via the other reviews — otherwise I’m not sure I would’ve stopped in!
Besides the ornery patron nursing a coffee and hangover nearby that kept shooting our kid dirty looks (mind you, he barely made a noise as he was so happy with croissant)…and exclaimed an exasperated «OMG PLEASE STOP» when he babbled a bit. Sorry to you dude, not because of our well behaved offspring but because you are a wanker and have to live with yourself for eternity. Bummer. If you expect your restaurants and cafes to cater to your every whim for a £2 coffee, well… get a life. That’s all I’ll say on that.
*child seat available.
**try not to sit near ornery patrons.
*Molly & George:

Finding this place felt like finding a French diamond in the rough. 5 stars for the Unilocal app!
Good service, whole simple food and all at very reasonable prices. We had brunch the day before for twice the price in the city and half the quality.
At 1030 on Sunday it was not crowded at all, but that should change soon.

O.M.G. The food is fabulous. Bone marrow on toast? Cheese board? Snails? Go ahead and order any or all the appetizers and you will be in heaven. Main course could range from duck to steak or bouillabaisse — no wrong choices! Small restaurant with talented chef and great wait staff. Definitely a place where you can have a dinner with friends where the food privides the perfect backdrop for great conversation and multiple bottles of wine. Good wine list too. Ideal for semi-​special occassion or great night out with friends.

Bouchon Fourchette is good neighbourhood restaurant on a street otherwise known for its Vietnamese joints. That said it, along with The Advisory and Ritas it forms a small gaggle of restaurants directly opposite Well Street which compete favourably with the nearby Broadway Market for weeknight dining.
We have friends in Lyon (the home of the bouchon), so are well versed in what good bouchon food is– homely cooking (not haute cuisne) served in a convivial atmosphere. Bonjour Bouchon Fourchette, for you are tres bon!
We arrived on an unseasonably cold August night and were promptly seated, given menus, poured wine and offered bread. As in France this was just standard white baguette with good quality butter (slight gripes– there’s a charge for the bread, which seems slightly mean, and our butter was fridge cold).
We ordered Steak Frites (for me) and Duck Confit (for my boyfriend) along with a green salad. The waiter was lovely– very chatty and made us feel at ease (not always the case in this part of the east!)
The food was of a very high quality for a pretty cheap price (I think both of our meals were around the £12 mark). The steak was cooked perfectly medium rare and the shallot sauce which accompanied it was dreamy. The frites had a good crunch and were a very generous portion– good job too as my companion was pretty keen on them! His duck was delicious– cooked the way duck confit should be so it’s crisp on the outside and falling apart on the inside. The earthly lentils and salty lardons were the perfect companion, although I think the salad, with its sharp dressing was essential to cut through the richness of the dish.
We both had a glass of wine from a fairly decent selection– no complaints here! As an added bonus we got a 15% discount voucher for use next time. One way of persuading us to come back!
The décor is quite industrial-​concrete floors and school tables and chairs, but with some 70s kitsch in the shape of G-​Plan sideboards and cabinets and vintage maps of France alongside the gingham table cloths.
In brief– a brilliant place to spend a few hours, eating yourself happy.

Stopped by last night for dinner to catch up with a friend.
Service was friendly and I understand the casual ambiance but still a bit unpolished.
I personally don’t like it when FOH will try to discuss issues out in the open with the chefs. They were brief but still distracting.
Food timing was pretty decent and the server gave me a heads up on how long the bone marrow would take, that was nice of him, and allowed me to change my starter. The mixed board was very good value, my slight quip is that the chicken rillette was a bit too dry for me but the pork rillette was very tasty. Friend had the Mackeral rillette which was also good but preferred the pork.
My Duck Confit was good and I think well prepared as my lentils weren’t destroyed and maintained good texture. Personally I would have just like something acidic as a reprieve for such a heavy dish, but I was the idiot that ordered a side of frites! Pork belly had good flavour but the potato gratin was a bit dry for me.
Had absolutely no room for desert because the starter I finished by myself was for two people :)
Look forward to going back with more friends for some decent value French grub!

Took my mum for dinner at Bouchon Fourchette as a first timer.
Food arrived promptly and was delicious, steak was tender and moist, burger huge and tasty. We then shared a massive French take on a sundae, that was topped with the most delicious hand-​whipped cream I’d ever tried.
Service made the night, our waitress was delightful and attentive.
Really good value for money, a dinner for two with wine, dessert and service came up to £40. Highly recommended :)

Tartare de boeuf is excellent. Well seasoned, and cut vs minced. Didn’t need any extra seasoning. They know what they’re doing.
The côte de boeuf is generous, and more than enough for 2 people. Well prepared, with that lovely chargrilled taste that kind of reminded me of Robert et Louise, that restaurant in the Marais area of Paris famous for its rendition of the same dish.
House red is a bit stingy, and slightly harsh on the throat, but good value.
Service is super friendly here… Will definitely come back. Great place for dinner before catching a movie at the Hackney Picture House.

Excellent food, and very kind staff.
Only French restaurant that I’ve found in Hackney London and really noteworthy !
Jazz music in the back is really appreciated, and their sorbet are delicous !

Watching a good friend pull a cum face as she loads soft, crumbly, chocolate cake into her mouth makes me shift uncomfortably in my chair. Trying it though, it’s not difficult to see why I was (briefly, until I started my own pud) wishing I was having what she was having.
It’s not that Bouchon Fourchette is doing anything innovative to make us squeal, or that its genre-​bending, future fusion food is turning our knees to jelly. This is more the lovely sensation you get watching something work, pretty much, as it should do.
It’s a labour of true Gallic love. For the food, and the wine, and the insouciant atmosphere of a hundred and one small town bistros. God only knows why you’d try and recreate any of that on the most unloved part of Mare Street, but someone obviously felt that they were up to the challenge. Thankfully for the casually tattooed locals, they look like they might be.
Inside, you’re snugly insulated from the roaring of Mare Street by the atmosphere, if not quite the ersatz décor. Concrete floors, cabinets half-​inched from a house clearance yard and reclaimed 70’s school furniture are fun, but closer to a supper club in an artist’s studio in the 20^th arrondissement than a ‘proper’ restaurant. Still, it is Hackney after all…
I’m sure there’s a very specific European word for a menu that consists only of things you desire to eat immediately. Mackerel rillette, dense and well-​seasoned with the fragrant tang of juniper berries, came with jewelled pomegranate seeds and slices of earthy brown loaf (unexpected and an improvement on the general standard sourdough). Densely lardy saucisson was more than adequate too.
Our main was a well-​hung and gamey cote de boeuf, as well cooked as I’ve had for a difficult lump of cow such as this. Proudly carved table-​side, and at £35 with sides for two people, one of the best priced cuts of steak I’ve had out for a very long time. The side of spinach arrived towards the end of the meal with a cheerfully shouted apology to our table by the kitchen for forgetting it, and I’m back in that supper club again.
Barely-​together crème caramel whispered to me like a sultry French chanteuse, the minxy little temptress wilfully ignoring the fact that I looked (and sounded) like Mr Creosote after that Cote de Boeuf. Much as I love it, such a cliched dessert rarely lives up to expectation. This one did, and certainly made up for the fact I wasn’t heading for a cocoa-​based knee-​trembler like my dining companion.
The wine list isn’t seemingly one for experts, it’s one for drinkers. A handful of bottles, all available by the glass or carafe too, with nothing that isn’t fizzy over £35. They bounce casually around the world’s wine regions and have obviously been selected by someone who had a bloody good night trying them all, rather than a suit seeking to maximise profit ratio.
Slight niggles? I’ll give a shoulder shrug and a scowl for the need to pay for my bread. Lovely it might be (white baguette, natch) but it’s not really done these days. I’d make a bigger deal of it if it wasn’t offset by the pricing elsewhere.
Bouchon Fourchette doesn’t exactly feel like a restaurant, and that may be its biggest strength. It’s like being cooked for by unhurriedly fashionable friends with astonishingly good taste in food and wine. Get them to invite you round for dinner soon.

Tasty baked camembert, terrine was a tad dry for our liking. I had the tartare which was as it should be while the other two went for burgers and had no complaints except for the lack of a pink centre. We felt the «frites» advertised on the menu were in a traditional British chip territory which was a little disappointing. Excellent value Pion Noir at £19. Happy we have another option for dining in the east end. Unpretentious, decent value and in general a nice evening out.