• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • FAQ
  • Meet the Team
  • About The London Economic
  • Advertise
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
NEWSLETTER
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Food and Drink

Restaurant Review: Comptoir Gascon

Fine dining is fine, but wholesome country cooking is the heart and soul of French cuisine. Humble, hearty dishes generally served in French homes; prepared for hungry family members rather than Instagram gratification. Although haute cuisine has become so synonymous with France, every successful French chef will have one of these recipes in their armoury, […]

Jon Hatchman by Jon Hatchman
June 19, 2018
in Food and Drink, Restaurants
Comptoir Gascon

Fine dining is fine, but wholesome country cooking is the heart and soul of French cuisine. Humble, hearty dishes generally served in French homes; prepared for hungry family members rather than Instagram gratification. Although haute cuisine has become so synonymous with France, every successful French chef will have one of these recipes in their armoury, often passed down through generations. Duck confit, piperade, ratatouille, bouillabaisse, cassoulet.

A provincial region in the south-west of the country, Gascony is, arguably, the spiritual home of this strand of cooking: a pillar of Gallic cuisine and, perhaps, the most delicious corner of France. Unlike the cuisine of say Provence, the food of Gascony is generally rugged and defiantly rich. With such prominent focus on local produce, duck has been the cornerstone of Gascon cooking for centuries, with the population of ducks outweighing humans in the Gers. Furthermore, duck fat trumps oil in the cooking of just about everything. Gascons also consume foie gras on the regular, unabashedly. Perhaps paradoxically, local residents typically suffer from fewer heart attacks than almost any other regional population in France.

 While Michelin-starred Club Gascon has successfully championed boundary-pushing haute cuisine for 20 years, with chef Pascal Aussignac at the helm, Comptoir Gascon (Club Gascon’s sister restaurant, on the other side of Smithfield Market) serves a menu deeply rooted in modest French classics: aliment-réconfort. Initially a delicatessen selling French ingredients, the pocket-sized restaurant has been furnished with a handful of dark wood tables and purple velvet dining chairs. Modest bare brick walls complement the kitchen’s strand of country cooking, as do the chalkboards embellished with scribbled plats du jour.

Here, all sustainable vegetables and naturally sourced meats are supplied by small French farms, and all poultry is certified by “Le Comite Renaissance” – guaranteeing the highest standards of ethics and quality. As for the wine, Comptoir Gascon’s head sommelier has compiled a list which showcases the south west of France, with particular focus on lesser-known Gascony producers. In keeping with the cooking, service is relatedly comfortable. Homely, even.

Alongside the main menu, the restaurant also offers a selection of “sexy” burgers with fries, available to take away during lunch service at just £10. Comptoir Gascon’s “signature” burger, on the other hand, features a slab of foie gras – democratically priced at £9.75. Although foie gras has protected status in France, as part of the country’s “gastronomical heritage”, Environment Minister George Eustice recently told MPs that the delicacy may be banned in Britain, post-Brexit, which is sad news for the Gascon Connection restaurant group.

From the ‘humble beginnings’ section of the a la carte menu, a dish entitled ‘piggy treats’ (£8.50) is exactly that. A symphony of cured meats includes Bayonne ham and thinly-sliced saucisson, plus slivers of crispy pig’s ear, soft black pudding and garlicky sausage glorious enough to overlook the slate it’s all served on. Duck confit (£16) is also expectedly featured on the menu. Here, a portly duck leg is slowly cooked in duck fat – fortuitously untroubled by the saccharine vulgarity of orange or cherry sauce. Instead, the duck’s intense flavour is highlighted, simply served alongside skin-on Jersey Royal potatoes (most likely fried in duck fat), a pinch of samphire and bitter chicory leaves.

Comptoir Gascon Cassoulet Toulousain
Comptoir Gascon’s Cassoulet Toulousain

Comptoir Gascon’s true pièce de résistance, however, is Pascal Aussignac’s cassoulet Toulousain (£16.50). Served in a rustic terracotta pot, the dish features another slow-cooked duck leg which lolls across a mattress of sweet tarbais beans flecked with a wealth of tomatoes, garlic and more hunks of Toulousain sausage. Forget Paris and its often supercilious three Michelin-starred gastro temples: this is Gallic cooking at its absolute best.

RelatedPosts

How To Make: Homemade Peri-Peri Chicken & Salsa Tortillas

How To Make: Gravel Fridge Tart

These are the best canned cocktails money can buy

How To Make: Curry and Rice

Lunch concludes with unusually light profiteroles (£6), filled with tart rhubarb cream and served with rhizomes of poached rhubarb – a seasonally appropriate alternative to chocolate; better suited to the clement British weather. Although patently less fancy than Club Gascon, Comptoir Gascon showcases a similar genus of confident cooking, executed with equal of attention to detail.

Comptoir Gascon can be found at 63 Charterhouse Street, London, EC1M 6HJ. 

RELATED

Restaurant Review: Club Gascon

Unique dining experience London In The Sky returns this July

Restaurant Review – Petit Pois Bistro

Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending fromTLE

  • All
  • trending

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

Stress, fear and homelessness: The threat looming over families confronted with eviction

File photo dated 07/11/03 of a prison cell.

The Other Prison Pandemic

Latest from TLE

Boris Johnson reckons we will return to office life and working from home won’t last

Credit;PA

‘Donald J Trump ain’t going anywhere’ – Trump remains the dominant force at US conservative conference

thunder ball results

Thunder Ball Results, Saturday 27th February 2021

National Lottery Lotto Results – Saturday 27th February 2021

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: jack@thelondoneconomic.com

Commercial enquiries, please contact: advertise@thelondoneconomic.com

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech & Auto
  • About The London Economic
  • Meet the Team
  • Privacy policy

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.