The best restaurants serving French food in South East

I recently visited Darmon Deli with my partner and some friends, and it was a delightful experience from start to finish. We started with the arancini, which were perfectly crispy on the outside and wonderfully flavorful inside. For mains, we enjoyed the croque monsieur, quiche, and chèvre au miel, each served with a fresh, vibrant side salad. We ended our meal with some mouthwatering desserts. The service was outstanding; it felt warm and personal, which I think has a lot to do with the owner, who seemed to be running this little restaurant and made sure we felt welcome. His friendly presence added so much to the overall experience. The ambiance is lovely: cute and cozy, making it the perfect spot to enjoy a relaxing meal. The menu has a great variety of original choices, each dish clearly prepared with care. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a charming spot with delicious food and exceptional service in Amersham!

My wife and I have been fans of Stephen Edward’s food for many years. We have eaten his food previously at Cromwells in Small Dole, Whites in Steyning and the Camelia at South Lodge. I was therefore happy to book a table at Etch to celebrate our Wedding Anniversary. I did this via The Fork app and it was clearly stated that we wanted the ‘Michelin tasting menu’ in the restaurant. We paid the deposit and received confirmation. However, late morning on the day of the reservation, I was contacted by a restaurant employee to ‘confirm our booking in the cocktail bar’. I explained that we had booked the restaurant, but was told that they didn’t have that information and had no availability. The lady said that she would be contacting all diners to confirm their tables and would call me back if anybody cancelled, however I received a deposit refund as soon as I put the phone down and a message from ‘The Fork’ saying the restaurant couldn’t accommodate us! I’m sure the food is as great as ever, but it is the dismissive attitude of the staff over their mistake that leaves a bad taste in the mouth

Absolutely brilliant! Thank you Lornette and Ben for a fantastic evening, can't wait to see you again.

I rarely bother to write a review...but... We took a last-minute table at the excellent Journeys Restaurant. Everything was fantastic! The front-of-house team were welcoming, charming and on point, helping with recommendations for dishes and wines. Excellent selection of interesting wines and beers. The food was delightful and perfectly portioned, not too much, not too little. Highlights were the scallops and the raclette potatoes. Nicely priced meal and I will definitely be back again soon.

What a lovely place this is, with very friendly staff and some tasty but not too expensive wines, and they do some very tasty food as well. Happy to recommend and can't wait until we are back in Worthing so we can go here again.

A great family run business and a fantastic place to eat. I love the deli counter and fresh produce. Highly recommended 💜

Had their full breakfast which is the usual one of each (2 bacon) with a drink and toast. The portion sizes were acceptable but not generous, and it was padded out with too many diced potato pieces, as well as being slightly overcooked/overheated. However their Breakfast was certainly okay, and the accompanying choice of Tea was really good, and made over two full cups. On the downside the cost of £9 was expensive for what was served, especially in comparison to many similar venues. It was clean inside and the service prompt and efficient. Unfortunately it was also too chilly in there and needed to be much warmer to be comfortable.  

We had a wonderful lunch today full traditional Sunday roast, highly recommend. Piping hot, all homemade, fabulous find.

I’ve only been for coffee and croissant but I’ve been more than once and whether you like records or not it is one of those places where everyone will join in a conversation. The focus is music as they sell Vinyl but the chef is French and the cost for food and drink very reasonable. The cafe/restaurant is in a parade of shops in a residential area so you can park outside although it is on a bus route. Some Saturday evenings and Sunday lunch times it becomes a pop up restaurant where you can BYO. Not for the romantic meal for two as this is a small venue with tables quite close together but I’ve been told by a friend who went there for dinner that everyone talks to everyone else and it has a good vibe. I image booking is required in the evenings but for breakfast; lunch or just a coffee and a browse just pop in and see.

We just had the most amazing dinner here - it was so good, I can't wait to go back and try the rest of the menu! We shared the crab won tong to start, then my friend had the chicken supreme for main, which was succulent and was served with a lovely potato fondant. I had the lamb rump, served medium rare, on a bed of babaganoush, and with a side of an enormous platter of tagine, unctuous with stewed lamb, which I shared with my friend. We didn't really have room for dessert, but with food this good, we didn't want to miss out, and my friend's crumble + ice-cream and my lemon meringue tart didn't disappoint. All washed down with a carafe of the house red, a full-bodied Merlot. Wow! Just wow!! Get there quick before everyone else finds it!

Superbe diner dans un restaurant rénové avec gout. Nous n'avions pas bien compris l'étoile Michelin de l'ancien Blackbird mais sommes très étonné de l'absence d'un 1ère étoile si nous regardons de près le menu "hommage" dégusté hier soir. Tout est parfait, des ingrédients de base de haute qualité et une cuisine élaborée parfaite. Des assemblages de saveurs très justes comme l'ananas Victoria avec le jambon de Bayonne assaisonné d'une vinaigrette dosée à la perfection. Que dire du canard laqué maison et du dessert à la rhubarbe confite . En un seul mot tout est parfait. Surtout ne changez rien. L'erreur des inspecteurs Michelin sera vite réparée.

I visited the Lemon Grove over the Jubilee weekend. I found the menu choices fantastic, the food extremely tasty and great value for money (including drinks options)! Great for all the family, for lunch or dinners, or a solo traveller looking for a relaxed meal or a quick coffee. Lovely atmosphere and a great find! Highly recommend a visit.

Being a local I did not stay at the hotel but I thought I'd try the food as eating out in Newport is limited to say the least (unless you like pizza/pasta, there are at least 4 of these). I fancied traditional pub food which today is a scarce as all the pubs seem to be in the Gordon Ramsey mode, posh food, very little of it and expensive. The Wheatsheaf’s menu included real pub classics including Steak and Ale pie, Pork Belly, Steak and Chips, Lamb Shank to name a few. For starter’s I opted for the chilli prawns, a generous portion, cooked perfect and presented shell off which saves all that peeling and messy fingers! Starters are all priced at £5.00. I followed this with a perfectly cooked 8oz sirloin steak (med-rare) with lovely crispy chips and a blue cheese sauce accompanied by a nice crisp fresh salad, (which was not just a bowl of leaves like in most places). Although the chips were frozen they were crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, perfect, I almost mistook them for the latest fad (3 times cooked chips). The chef must have a trick up his sleeve. The steak was cooked perfect. A field mushroom would have been a nice touch. Here's the good bit, all main dishes are only £10, if you fancy steak you do pay a £4.00 supplement which is fair. Even though I was stuffed I could not resist the homemade Rhubarb Crumble with cream. I managed to eat ¾ of it. Again, all the desserts were priced at £5.00. All I can say is although this pub has had a bad reputation for food in the past this is certainly not the case now, it’s really worth giving it a try.

Lovely spot for a brunch, coffee or lunch. Great food and such attentive service 😊. Will definitely be back! Thank you ☺️

I ordered a cake to be designed as a kidney for work. Very impressed! Highly skilled and professional bakers. Thank you!