French restaurants in London can be hit or miss but we had a surprisingly lovely bistro dinner at Bistro Sable in Canonbury this week. The restaurant has a patio covered with large leafy trees, but we had dinner inside on a chilly evening with a room dotted with flickering candles, French posters, and French music. Sebastian, the manager (who is from Bordeaux), walked us through the short bistro menu.
It runs through the traditional dishes like escargot, beef tartare, duck confit, and fillet au poivre. All simple dishes, which tend to be more difficult to do well than something more complex. We talked with Sebastian about the ethos behind the restaurant, and it matched our experience of simple dishes done well. They showcase French regional cooking in season. For example, our visit was near the end of summer, but the cooler season will offer dishes like boeuf bourguignon and raclette.
The cocktail list is small and focused, written on a chalkboard near the door. The wine list is French focused, with a stunningly large list of by the glass and carafe. Our waiter, Claudio, from Genoa, looked after us, down to the extra slices of baguette our son requested to sop up the garlicky butter sauce from the escargot, one of his favorite dishes of the night.
We started with the Dorset snails, a British spin on the classic escargots, and the steak tartare with pommes paille, which arrived properly spicy without having to ask, exactly to our preference! The duck confit with beans and salsa verde was fall-apart tender with crispy skin, and the beans were good enough that we would happily eat them alone. The filet of beef came rare, as requested, topped with a rich pepper sauce, along with a side of very crispy fries.
For dessert, we had a hard time choosing between the profiteroles, millefeuille, and pear tarte tatin (according to Sebastian) for two or three people, or up to six, and potentially enough to bring home for breakfast the next day. Our son devoured the profiteroles, but we’ll be back for a tarte tatin. We love to make it at home but also enjoy it when it’s done properly by someone else.
There are very few restaurants in London that we would return to regularly. This is one of them.
Bistro Sable, 63–69 Canonbury Rd, Islington London, N1 2DG
Note: Bistro Sable provided support for the reporting of this story.