Bijou

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• What are these?

• Average price 2 courses:
   £12 (lunch)
   £12 (evening meal)
• House wine: £10 per bottle
• BYOB: £2.50 corkage

• Hitlisted
• High point: The world's best chocolate brownies
• Low point: Vegetables count as a side dish
• Food served: Mon-Fri 7.30am-8.15pm; Sat 10am-8.15pm; Sun 10am-4.15pm
• Open since: 01/12/2006
• Also offers: Childrens portions, Childrens high chairs, Wheelchair access

The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 is now in the shops.

This review is from the 2007 edition.

A relative newcomer on a street better known for its B&Bs than its haute cuisine, Bijou cuts quite a dash. The interior is cheerfully informal, and feels more like the front room of a relatively well-to-do friend than a restaurant. Fairy lights are sprinkled around the wine-red and white walls, and the high ceiling means there's plenty of light streaming through the tall windows. The title is not ironic: it's a tiny place, but there are treasures here as well - a fact mirrored by the small, but perfectly formed, menu. Dishes are offered in a choice of sizes, from 'bijou' through to medium and then main, which means you can either approach things in a traditional starters-to-mains fashion, or get a bit mezze. While the choice isn't huge, the options available are nicely varied, from garlicky chicken and tarragon boudin to thick Crombie's sausages and mash in a velvety rich, red onion gravy. Everything is obviously freshly-made with choice ingredients and an eye for the kind of big, unashamedly homely flavours that would make Nigel Slater go weak at the knees.