Brasserie Blanc

I went here for breakfast with a group of people from work, as we were being treated by the boss before a meeting. We were a large group, c20 people, and I was very impressed at how efficient the staff were.
Most people had pre-​ordered, but of course there were tweaks to be made, and the staff coped very well with that, and they were so lovely. Everyone was brought their breakfast at the same time, and we were kept well topped up with cofees and teas.
Being French food, the breakfasts were mostly posh eggs — Eggs Florentine, Eggs Benedict, Eggs Royale and so on. There are also options for a full English breakfast, or yoghurt, fruit, sourdough toast with jam or marmalade, and of course, croissants, pain au chocolat and such.
The restaurant itself is as you would imagine a Brasserie to be, and it is 2 minutes away from Tower Hill Underground station, and practically right opposite the Tower of London. If you’re a tourist looking for a lovely breakfast before seeing the sights, or fancy a special breakfast before starting your working day, I’d say Brasserie Blanc would be a good choice.

We came in here on a whim for an early supper this evening and were blown away with the food.
It was very early when we sat down — around 5.45pm, but while we were there, the restaurant didn’t seem to fill up at all — with only a couple of other tables by the time we left at 7pm.
I had the fillet steak with a side of mushrooms and a salad. (They very kindly made the mushrooms specially, as it was not on the menu). My sister had the starter of risotto as a larger portion main course. They were really accommodating with our requests, which we really appreciated. The food was exquisite — even the roast tomato with the steak was bursting full of flavour! The only odd thing was the Roquefort sauce for the steak, it tasted of nothing — but when I mentioned that, they whipped it off the bill immediately.
The service we got from our waitress was excellent, but there were three guys all standing around watching her work. (Typically!) I think that they could have been a little more engaging, particularly as we had stated our intention to leave promptly and our empty plates sat for quite some time as the hard working waitress was serving the other two tables.
I would definitely return — great food and pretty reasonable prices for the quality of it.

i’ve been to this restaurant for a corporate event so didnt really chose it but ate for free :)
1^st thing to note is that we had a room for ourselves, which was nice as we were more than 20 people!
I got the scallops for starter that were ok, they were mixed with potatoes so unfortunately you couldnt taste them.
then went for the steak tartare! partly because i didnt have a chance to eat one since i moved to the UK and also because i wanted to see the face of my colleagues seing me eating raw meet and egg :) the dish was nice enough but not the best i ever had (probably the most expensive)! few of my colleagues got the chateaubriand that looked more exciting!
so yeah, average experience in this restaurant! nothing was bad but i was expecting something a bit more original for a raymond blanc restaurant (i would probably given a better rating if it was a random restaurant)!

You’d think that coming from Blanc (albeit a chain), there’d be a certain attention to detail and finesse to maintain integrity in the name… but you’d be wrong.
The food is good, passable, adequate. As expected, the food is just that little bit more expensive than you’d expect, but certainly not exorbitantly so.
I ordered the specials that day. The starter was a prawn and lobster cocktail, which was well seasoned, but for £9 I was expecting the interpretation taken a little less literally. Without the solitary slice of lobster on top, the prawn cocktail could have come from any pub that takes some care in it’s food. Main was rack of lamb and roast vegetables, which was cooked well. Again, not presented with particular care, but the portion was far larger than I was expecting, so I was extremely grateful for that! My father had the cheese soufflé, which was nice but a little on the large side, and the baby turbot, which he devoured.
Then came the dessert… Meringue with Chantilly cream, vanilla ice cream and chestnust sauce. The meringue was huge! Crispy for the most part, with a chewy base. I was hoping the chef would have done something to prevent this being sweetness laid on top of sweetness, but unfortunately, no. It was a massive sugar rush, and since the ice cream and sauce were served with restraint, it left me with plenty of sickly sweet meringue left over. Meringue is great and all, but not on it’s own! I understand this isn’t THE Blanc restaurant, but I would have thought rookie errors in balance like this would be spotted a mile off.
It’s tasty and simple, but it’s not really deserving of Blanc’s name. The bill left me thinking I could have had an equally good meal for 20% less, but I guess that’s where the name comes in. I wouldn’t complain if I had to eat here again, but if a friend suggested it, I would probably suggest going elsewhere. I don’t mind paying extra for skill or quality, but not for the name alone.

This was my second time to Brasserie Blanc for a business meeting. My first time was for a breakfast meeting this time it was lunch. The food was absolutely beautiful. I had the ham hock and pea soup followed by the grilled cod with mash. Nothing complicated but extremely tasty and well presented. The staff was extremely attentive. I would have given 5 stars but for the point the I felt cramped at the table that could comfortably sit 4 but not the 5 in our party. It was cramped.

Not bad. I think the miscellany of salad was great and the fillet steak was decent. Nothing out of this world. I ordered my steak medium and it was overcooked, which was disappointing. The best part of my meal was the frites, actually. All in all, the food was good but nothing spectacular. The restaurant is beautiful and our waitress was friendly (albeit slow at times), but I wouldn’t come come back regularly.

I went to Brasserie Blanc in December for the work’s Christmas party but I was restricted to a set menu because of the large size of the group so never really explored this place’s real potential. For the main course I had cod but wasn’t really blown away by the food on offer compared with other French restaurants in the City like La Bouchon Breton.

An oasis of French-​inspired dining in the middle of the banks and offices of Moorgate, Raymond Blanc’s Brasserie was a welcome change to the typical fare.
I went here for an client meal so was perhaps a bit more liberal in my dining choices that I would be on my own dime but I’m not ashamed of it. I had made a reservation and then had to change the time and was pleased that the staff remained very courteous and friendly about it (some of these posher places tend to get a bit irritated when plans change at the last minute). Upon arriving and finding I was the only one on time, I was quickly seated and served with bread and a drink so it definitely started on a good note.
When the others finally arrived, our waitress introduced herself (I always think that’s a great little touch) and proceeded to describe the specials in tantalising details… or maybe I just found her tantalising. Anyways, I elected to start with some Burgundy snails in garlic and herb butter followed by the duck main. Most of the party opted for the steak as a main although contrary to French standards went for it medium to well done.
The snails were tasty (although to be fair even cardboard in garlic and herb butter is tasty) although a bit small. I was a little disappointed that they had already been shelled as digging out the meat with that tiny fork is one of my favourite parts. Then again, I’m very much an interactive eater so most people probably preferred the shelled snail over the one hidden way. My duck was cooked perfectly with enough fat and crispy skin to add flavour and texture to the moist duck meat. Needless to say I cleaned my plate.
The wine selections recommended by our waitress paired perfectly with the food and our table ended up crowded in glasses as everyone wanted to try both the red and white. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to sample the dark chocolate fondant that I had my eye on as the party opted to hit a bar for more drinks instead (not complaining too much on that!).
Overall, price wise it came to about £40−50pp including wine which isn’t too bad for a finer dining place. I’d definitely keep in mind due to the quality of food and the excellent location to the city.

Raymond Blanc has achieved something unusual in the City; a place where good restaurants jostle for space. A beautifully designed, warm and interesting brasserie which, despite its location in the shadow of the Bank of England and beneath the former Stock Exchange, is very reasonably priced.
I went there early for Friday lunch and was given a table in the bar as the restaurant itself was fully booked, and had an utterly satisfactory meal. The menu is quite short — always a good sign — and the descriptions confidently brief. We had a superb tart with St Loup goat’s cheese and fresh figs on the finest crisp base, a haddock with chunky chips and mushy peas which put British fish and chips to shame, and a delicious grilled squid on a rocket and parmesan salad. The girls then exceeded their brief by ordering a Bombe Alaska (for two) and the smell of Grand Marnier singed meringue was soon drifing across the table and attracting admiring glances from around the room. For me, Bombe Alaska isn’t as good as a crêpe suzette (which sadly they don’t do), but it made the girls very happy and there was plenty left for me.
Charming and quick service added to the surprisingly wallet-​friendly bill (though admittedly we only drank water) made this one of the best finds of all my years in the City.
for another superlative fish and chips, see the Grosvenor House/​JW Marriott — again, not British…