The French Kitchen has a real rustic, country like feel to it with its pine chairs and tables. The dining area is separated by the counter and till area. There is a small food store section near the entrance. The long bar area makes up one end of the interior and there is an open kitchen at the back section of the restaurant.

The kitchen has a lot of character too! There are wicker baskets displaying lemons, tomatoes, bread and garlic. A cake stand at the kitchen counter displayed the scones and fruit tarts.

For a light lunch, the starter of oyster and field mushrooms on toasted sourdough bread was just right. The mushrooms were cooked with cream, white wine and tarragon. The mushrooms and the sauce complimented each other. The sourdough bread slices were fresh.

To drink, I was craving a cup of tea, but then decided to end the meal with the tea. Just before I ordered my tea, my friend pointed out the cream tea option on the dessert menu. The combination of a pot of tea, scone, jam and clotted cream was difficult to resist! So both my friend and I decided to indulge and go for the cream tea.

The Earl Grey tea was lovely and just what I needed. The scone was fairly big and fresh and it was served warm. The little dishes contained the clotted cream and blackberry jam. There was plenty of jam and cream for the scone.

The staff were so lovely at The French Kitchen! While I was waiting for my friend, several members of staff came to me to ask if I was ok and if I’d like a drink while I waited. But they weren’t pushy in any sort of a way. The atmosphere was very relaxed and the place had a good vibe to it. The lighting was quite soft, even in the daytime.

In our time at this restaurant, several dishes passed by our table! All of the food looked really nice and well presented.

The French Kitchen, 95-97 High Holborn, London, WC1V 6LF

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Maison Blanc is a nice French patisserie. It has a small takeaway counter as you enter. If you pass this and head to the back of the store, that is where the cafe area is. There is limited seating here but they also have tables outside. The cafe area is very light and airy.

The service was lovely and the atmosphere was very relaxed. Maison Blanc has great artwork along its walls and also a good display of biscuits and sweets. The bags of French treats and artisan chocolate would be good for gifts. In the display fridge, there are many pastries, tarts and also small speciality cakes.

We had mochas to drink and they were very rich and creamy; just as we like them. Maison Blanc do have soy milk. They also serve soups, salads and sandwiches. This cafe is a perfect place to come for breakfast, lunch or a coffee break.

Maison Blanc, 76 Hampstead High Street, London, NW3 1QX

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What I like about Cafe Rouge is that you can come here just for drinks or for a proper meal. The atmosphere is very relaxed and the staff don’t rush you in any manner. The red and white furniture complements the dark wooden surroundings. It does feel like a bistro that you would get in France!

The tea is always served by the pot and the coffee is also of a good quality. The butter biscuits are a nice accompaniment if you just want something small to go with the hot drinks.

Cafe Rouge do a soup of the day and the one that was on offer when we went was red pepper and aubergine soup. It was a  flavoursome soup with big chunks of aubergine. The soup came with half a baguette which was very fresh. A filling starter that could easily satisfy as a main meal.

Another good starter is the warm ciabatta style breadsticks which comes with three dips: hummus, tomato and aioli. You also get a  small amount of salad. The amount of dips is fairly small, but it suffices.

To finish the meal, a good choice is the assortment of desserts. These are smaller portions of the creme brulee, red fruit crumble and chocolate ganache. None of them disappointed and it was nice to get a taster of them all!

Cafe Rouge, 6-7 South Grove, Highgate, London, N6 6BP

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