Cafe Des Amis

Blahhhhhh … Weird way to start a review but hey I never told anyone that I wasn’t! Soooooo my friend and I went to this restaurant a while back it was so damn mediocre I forgot to do a review … Firstly! The chairs were dirty and torn! Time for a renov! But on the plus side the staff were friendly!
I ordered the calamari and Ive got to say it took me off guard! BOOM crazy flavour! Well what I mean is it was very delicious! It didn’t look like much but it defo did a tango on my tastebuds! The rest of the meal was blah. Basic pasta and a very basic profiterole for dessert … Basically I haven’t been back and won’t again *kanye shrug*

Went here under the suggestion of the London Pass Dining Guide assistant. I made the reservation, as recommended for that day.
We were seated promptly at our arrival and shown into a modern dining room with table cloths and silverware. Our waitress, Lousia from Italy was so charming and helpful. She guided us through every aspect of the menu, from soup to nuts (or cheeses, if you please).
The French onion soup with a unique herb that I never tasted in the 100s I’ve enjoyed before, was fantastic. I went with the sautéed calves liver with bacon and garlic mashed potatoes in a light sauce… as tasty and tender as could be. Of course accompanied with a nice large glass of house vino.
BUT, the dessert was to die for. Chocolate soup with black pepper ice cream. Oh man, is sounds weird but it was on of the most amazing desserts ever. Rich, smooth, luscious and sooo rewarding.
The night was wonderful from start to finish. Café des Amis is a great choice when you’re in the Covent Garden area of London. And ask for Louisa to serve you.

Always on my top list of favourite restaurants in which I like to visit when in central London. They say that all of the best restaurants in London are neatly hidden away or they do not draw too much attention and this restaurant surely does not disappoint.
Ambience: Very warm and welcoming. Having eaten here a dozen times you get a sense of feel for the restaurant. Downstairs is more formal looking, has more group tables and has a professional finish whereas upstairs is just more casual than downstairs.
Food: Top quality food (although I need to explore the menu more) but I can assure you that portion is never an issue and you certainly will leave this restaurant feeling comfortably full after 2 courses.
Price: Very good value for money especially for the portions you get.
Check out the restaurant, top quality food, excellent service and I have been here over 3 times and introduced this restaurant to many people so check it

Went to this place before going to a movie in Leicester square, I strongly recommend this for all the French food lovers. I ordered a tartare and a piece of lamb and I must say I wasn’t disappointed.
The place is very cosy and the staff very nice, even though they struggle at the entrance and the cloak room, as we waited a bit to be sat on a table. Apart from that, this is a nice and warm place, ideal if you’re in central London !

We went here because we had a voucher for a two course meal for two including a glass of wine. Considering its in covent garden we were excited to have a date night around that area. We were a little let down to find out that the café des amis restaurant and bar were two different things. To use the voucher we had to go to the bar, eventhough the restuarant was REALLY empty. So we went down in the basement to the bar. It was not a typical date night ambiance. After we set down and ordered our meals we really felt like the service was really rushed.
For the appetizers we ordered the steak tartare and the fried squid. They were tasty but the plates came out like 3 minutes after we ordered! Talk about speedy! For the main course i got fish n chips and my boyfriend got the shrimp linguini. The meals were tasty. Usually the fish is battered when you order fish n chips but mine was not. However, it did taste fresh and lovely. Again, just like the appetizers, the meal came out extremly fast! We were out of there in like 40 minutes!
This review really is mainly for using the vouchers at their restaurant. I really wish they would disclose as to for which establishment the voucher is for.

I came here last night armed with a 50% off coupon, and thank goodness I did. While normally my partner and I would be fine with treating ourselves to a £90 meal for a special occasion, last night was not a special occasion — nor was the food worth the full price.
Between the two of us, we had the hangar steak, sea bass, crème brûlée, chocolate soup (more details later — yum!), a beer, and a glass of wine.
The service was friendly, if a bit rushed. While we were eating the waitress cleared our bread plates, even though we were still picking at the bread — something I’ve never noticed done at any other restaurant. We ordered, were served, and were nearly done with our mains in 35 minutes. Clearly this is the place to go for a quick, nice meal. They also automatically reduced the bill according to our coupon (which we’d mentioned when booking), so we did not have to say anything to them — a nice touch, I thought.
I don’t eat red meat, but my boyfriend said the hangar steak was only alright — something he’d pay £14 for in a pub, as opposed to the £20-​something at this restaurant. The chips it came with, though, were delicious if lacking in salt.
The sea bass was forgettable. It was bony and lacked meat — it was a very thin piece of fish. The garlic mash was borderline unbearably garlicky (I could taste no potato, only garlic), the prawn salsa was too onion-​y, the beans were limp. The single piece of courgette tempura was the highight of the dish, despite it being damp instead of crispy like a good piece of tempura should be.
So, onto dessert — which we primarily ordered because we could only get the discount if we ordered two courses each. The crème brûlée was lovely if a bit heavier than I like — the boyfriend loved it, though.
I opted for the «indulgent soup au chocolate» because, well, with a name like that, who could resist? It was, essentially, a bowl of thick, rich, decadent liquid chocolate with a tiny scoop of black pepper ice cream in the centre. I’ve had black pepper ice cream and didn’t mind it, but this was too peppery. Also, I really would have appreciated being told the dish was burning hot — when I reached up to adjust the bowl (it was a bit off centre and tottering on the plate it was sitting on), I mildly burned my finger :-/​
If I had to sum the food up in a phrase, I would say it was a bit too, «too. Too peppery, too oniony, too garlicky, etc.
Was it worth £45? Sure. The full £90 price? Absolutely not.

Very disappointed. Expected a romantic dinner but the place was so noisy we couldn’t even hear each other from across the table. Food was average (we had the steak and fish) while first course are about 10 pounds and mains are about 20.

The food was so lovely! Beautiful presented and super delicious. We had gotten a deal through groupon otherwise I don’t think we would have gone since its quite pricey. But the food was worth every bite to be sure!

I have been here a couple of place. Nice restaurant tucked down a side road at Covent Garden.
It has a downstairs bar which is a nice place to meet friends for a drink.
The restaurant is 2 floors. This night we were shown upstairs however, having declined the table next to the gents toilets they took us to the ‘private area’. This section was much quieter than the main section however, much preferable to the gents toilet table!
As we sat down, they told us that there was a 2 hour turn around on the table. We were not aware of this before hand and always find this an annoyance when restaurants do this. But, we were here now.
They seemed to be a little short staffed this night. We had to ask to be provided with wine. I had noticed the glasses on the table had ‘bits’ in them and had hoped these were for display (you know at some restaurants they always take the glasses off the table and serve you new ones) however I had to stop the waiter pouring the wine in them showing him the little bits at the bottom. I am not sure he was happy for me to point this out!
I ordered the beetroot and warm goats cheese. Whilst there could be a little more cheese, it was a really tasty dish. My friend ordered the onion soup which she said was delicious (no bread served with this or before our meal).
I then had the seared scallops and crab risotto which was delightful. I was very pleased with my main meal and then finished with Chocolate fondant and white chocolate ice-​cream which was well made. All in all the food there was great and would definitely come back again. Additional down points were that they seemed to be short staffed. Took us ages to get the bill and they had to go into the other room with my credit card to get signal. These days you really don’t like having your credit card taken away from you.
Good point was that I think they were so busy they forgot to kick us off our table at the two hour mark ;)

So one day after calling up one of my friends, I met up with her and her sister in covent garden. After some research she picked Café Des Amis. We walked there pretty quickly and were seated immediately because my friend had made a reservation on our walk to the restaurant. We 3 did the French Brasserie Pre-​Theatre Menu 2 courses @ £14.50 or 3 courses @ £16.50.
Starters: My friend and I chose French Onion Soup…(wasn’t super amazing but it wasn’t bad either) My other friends chose the steak tartare (£2 extra)
Mains: I ordered the rib eye steak with black pepper sauce and chips (£3 extra) it was decent, again it wasn’t super memorable
My friend ordered the duck confit with sautéed potatoes (£3 extra) and the other friend ordered the café de amis style fishcake with mixed salad that was small looking to me but then again, I’m american…
I ordered a dessert which was the selection of ice creams… i don’t really remember the flavors I ordered but I think they said something about black pepper ice cream was a choice. All in all the dessert was good.
Will I go again? Most likely not… I wasn’t really impressed…

Very buzzy restaurant went on Sunday 3 course meal for £15 set menu special offer from
great value. The main menu is a bit pricey but good location and not bad service. Lots of people eating the steak £21.50. Must say the management should try switching on air con. All in all we enjoyed our meals. House wine £17.50.

Food nice, service nice but front staff 50% rude. Arriving for our reservation the new person at front was gracious pulling up our reservation; when her colleague asked our name… she repeated said NO. We said, yes we had a reservation and yes our name was our name. The food was good, no wow. The place jammed. Seemed like another tourist trap, though with a Tim Out coupon… worth the cost.

A simple potted-​plant and white linen filled little French place tucked inconspicuously down a tiny street in Covent Garden.
Two-​act eating establishment: bar downstairs and slightly more posh upstairs. (Don’t worry– there is a bar upstairs as well). The service is great here with staff coming by regularly to fill up our wine glasses and water glasses. They asked how everything was after the first two courses and were outstandingly attentive. Not your typical French-​style waiters.
The menu was vast enough for a French restaurant, though weak on veggie options and I was disappointed not to see duck as a main. My medium-​rare steak was cooked to its promised degree but fattier than it should be. Further, it just wasn’t tender and juicy like steak should be. The peppercorn sauce was forgettable as were the 6 chips on my plate… The portions are small as per French. The French onion soup was sweet and lovely– a pleasant path change from the sometimes salty finish. The dessert was marinated strawberries with sorbet and a lady finger. The strawberries were nice but perhaps a bit hard when I was expecting a slightly more liquored/​macerated softness.
Overall a good experience, though for almost £60 a head, I expected the food to be a little more up to par, especially for a central French café. The food was unremarkable with little personality and even a little mediocre. Unfortunately the atmosphere was not memorable either. But simple and straight-​forward.

Ate here on the 9÷2÷13. We were seated upstairs. Lovely area. Nice half booth tables and candles made it very cosy. Service was efficient and not overly friendly, which I liked. Food was excellent. Signed up to their membership online and got 50% off a la carte menu. Great deal. Very nearly 5*.

The pricetags do not quite match the food. I suppose that’s the only reason this is getting a 3. Despite the tastecard discount, I am still not impressed.
The flavours were nice enough. The scallops cooked very well. The tortelloni absolutely huge and delicious. The steak, plentiful and the small jenga-​chips, very good. But I never would have paid the full price for that.
Also, the place was so incredibly loud, that I could barely hear my partner across the table! So I can’t recommend the place. It’s not bad. It’s actually quite good. Except that it’s not so incredibly good to warrant a detour. Nor would I say there was anything on the menu I am longing to have again or try. So maybe even those three stars are generous.

Visited on a Thursday night, and found the restaurant to be full, and very noisy upstairs. There just isn’t enough soft furnishings in there to soak up much of the noise.
Food was good, but not great. I was looking forward to the French Onion soup classic, but it wasn’t worth going out of your way for. The lamb + jersey royals side was good.
The bar downstairs was small, but good.

A group of four of us were going out for dinner on a Friday night and one of our group suggested this place. I checked it out and it’s on tastecard, and we booked in.
I had a starter of scallops and crab risotto, which was above average, my husband his usual oysters, and our other diners scallops and one with french onion soup. All parties were pleased with their choices.
For main, I had a lovely duck and sweet potato mash. I love duck and this was up to my standards. It paired well with the sweet potato, and both were complimented by the plum sauce. Other choices on the table were two of their fish options, the halibut and one other. To be honest there wasn’t a scrap of food left at the end. All being very happily consumed.
For dessert, I had a vanilla and fig coulis cheesecake — highly recommended, and the apple tarts went down a treat.
The staff were decent and I didn’t have to remind them about the tastecard. Overall the bill came to £33 a head including 3 courses, a bottle of wine (and a few diet cokes), and service. Would have been about £48 a head without the old tastecard.

I have been to this place a couple of times, mainly in Summer, when you can sit on the small but pleasant outside space, enjoying a coffee and relaxing from a busy schedule in Central London without being disturbed.
This restaurant is tucked away in an alleyway off Long Acre. It looks quite small on the outside, but it is surprisingly big inside, spread over 3 floors.
On the lower ground, there is the bar, and the restaurant is on the ground and first floor.
It is usually quite busy at pre-​theatre times, especially on the weekends. In fact, it is unlikely you will get a table unless you book for those times.
It is right next to the Royal Opera House, so very convenient if you are going to see a performance there.
Now, the food… There are some dishes on the menu that are real winners, like the French onion soup as a starter (very filling as well, so it could be your whole dinner if you are not too hungry) and the lamb with lentils as a main course, which is absolutely yummy and cooked to perfection every time I have ordered it. This is a big dish, so you could have it on its own as dinner too (now, you may be a greedy eater like me and have both :). However, some of the other dishes are a bit of a hit and miss.
The desserts are ok, but I would expect much better from a French restaurant. However, I may be a bit difficult to please on this front as I love my desserts, and although anything with sugar in it will satisfy my sweet tooth, I am quite the expert dessert-​wise.
If you are into desserts yourself, I’d recommend to order the chef’s platter recommendations, in which you get 4 or 6 desserts (full size each dessert!) plus fruit sorbets on the side (these are very nice). This is a real treat, so leave some space for it as it is quite filling as you can imagine, and definitely to be shared. You may be daring and go for the 6 dessert platter between you and someone else alone, like I did once — I learned my lesson and I opt for the 4 dessert one now. These platters will attract the attention of everyone sitting on the nearby tables, I guarantee it.
And the price… it is quite overpriced, with main courses averaging at £19 or so. However, there are prix fix menus that make a 2 or 3-​course meal more affordable or there is the super duper tastecard (what would I do without it!?), which will get you 50% off the food bill, and it is available every day of the week, including Sat nights ;)
I will finalise by saying that the service is quite attentive and friendly (even when they are busy), just what you would expect everywhere, although sadly it is not that common.

This French restaurant is tucked away off of the bustling Long Acre in Covent Garden. What sold me was the 12.50 pound 2 course plus a glass of wine deal from toptable. The french onion soup was pleasant but nothing outstanding or leaving me wish for more. The chicken was cooked perfectly but I thought the sauce and mashed potatoes were a little too salty. The service felt a little ackward at times but nothing terrible. I find that it’s one of those restaurants you typically get when you take advantage the theatre ticket and dinner deals for 20 pounds on
. Atmosphere and location is probably the better highlights of this restaurant.

This was a place initially recommended to me by a work colleague, a little while ago. Upon her recommendation that Café des Amis’ Champagne & Wine bar was a fine place for an evening of good cheese and wine, I promptly suggested it to friends as a good, central place to meet after work one evening.
My first experience was excellent, easy to get a table, good service, friendly bar staff and the cheeseboards looked delicious (although we didn’t order food on this visit). After this I arranged another evening a few months later to catch-​up with another group of pals and again we had a good time, even ordering the cheeseboard and mezza dishes this time. The food was ideal, nibbles which were tasty and complemented the wine we were enjoying.
The third time I visited was with a friend who is somewhat of a connoisseur when it comes to fromage! I had highly recommended this as somewhere she might enjoy, but I was left with more than a bad taste in my mouth. When we entered the main entrance and descended down the stairs to the bar area, there was a strong smell of toilet cleaner and disinfectant. Once we’d ingested it (which you couldn’t avoid doing given it’s strength!), it made for a very unnerving visit to the bar area, but we persisted with my pal remaining gracious and not put-​off by initial first impressions.
The smell from the bathrooms subsided a little, and we settled in undeterred for a glass of white and a cheeseboard to share. Both were fine, but the clientele appeared to have changed this time and instead of groups of girls and guys enjoying a tipple after work, we noticed older «gents» at the bar paying particular attention to the female bar staff and any woman who walked in. It made us feel less than comfortable and although the cheeseboard was passable, it’ll be the last time I venture into the basement bar of this establishment. A real disappointment. «Must try harder on all levels», is the best advice I can give to the owners of Café des Amis to save any reputation they have left…