I saw Greg Marchand, chef/owner of Frenchie on BBC TV’s Saturday Kitchen last month, in Christmas mode and making a rather wonderful stuffing for chicken. I looked up his restaurant on my iPad and made a note that I must visit sometime. Then serendipity stepped in soon after and in an exchange of emails with my friend from school days, Sharon, we decided to meet up for dinner in London one evening and she asked if there was anywhere I wanted to review on my blog … and so a table was booked at Frenchie.

Greg Marchand was brought up in an orphanage in Nantes, France, after both his parents died when he was young. His cooking journey began helping the nuns cook for the children. More formal training began when he was 16 and he eventually ended up working in the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Knightsbridge, later moved to their Hong Kong branch and from there, on to top restaurants in Spain, New York … and became Head Chef at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen. It was, apparently, Jamie who gave him the nickname ‘Frenchie’. Greg opened his first restaurant in Paris in 2009 and the London branch opened in 2016.

Sharon and I met early to take advantage of the set menu which is available Monday to Saturday, 12.00pm to 2.30pm and 5.30pm to 6.00pm. Two courses are £29 and 3 courses £34.

I’m always early but wandering around London’s Covent Garden is a favourite thing to do and Frenchie is in Henrietta Street, just off one side of the Piazza. Of course one expects cold weather in January here, but it turned out to be the coldest night of the year with temperatures of -5C … perhaps that’s why it was quiet everywhere but it’s still a pleasure to see the Piazza … though the warmth of Frenchie when a little while later I entered the restaurant was more than welcome!

The front is attractive, reflecting Frenchie’s Parisian bistro vibe; inside the colours softly muted to create a relaxing atmosphere.

I’d seen only good reviews when I first looked Frenchie up, but looking again yesterday morning, I found some negative ones so was uncertain quite how this meal would turn out and apologised in advance to Sharon if it didn’t turn out to be great. Happily, the apology wasn’t needed.

There was a choice of three things for each course and we chose the same dishes, beginning with a starter of Beetroot Salad, Smoked Ricotta, Pomegranate & Horseradish. You could order home-made brioche for a £12 supplement which seems rather a lot, but we didn’t really want bread anyway.

The starter looked attractive in its bowl as it was presented to us. Some good flavours that matched each other well. There was a nice smokiness to the soft cheese and a complimentary crispness with the shaved raw beetroot.

For our main, we chose Confit Cod à la Grenobloise, Broccoli & Lemon Gel.

This too was an attractive presentation. The cod was delicious and made me think I must learn to confit cod! The lemon gel dressing over it with capers adding a nice acidic touch. The broccoli seemed almost raw but did have some bite to it, though was perhaps a little too al dente. But overall this was a very nice dish which we both enjoyed.

We decided to share a dessert: Lemon Curd Tart, Yogurt Mousse, Rosemary Sherbet. I ordered a black Americano to have with mine and Sharon had fresh mint tea, which was served in a nice glass teapot.

The tart had good flavour. The pastry seemed quite hard and difficult to cut with a dessertspoon – we needed a dessert fork too – but once tasting it, it was just very short and biscuit-like. Our hot drinks came with a madeleine, which was a nice touch.

The service was friendly and efficient; occasionally seemed to be hurrying us, though as the restaurant was only about half full, it’s hard to know whether this was just them being attentive. We just asked them to come back in 5 minutes.

I enjoyed the meal and the food was good, though the portions quite small. Of course, the same dishes á la carte would have been more than twice that amount – about £65 – and presumably larger. We both had a glass of wine and with the hot drinks, the final bill came with service to £110.48. I’d happily go to Frenchie again, but it’s not somewhere I’ll be rushing back to.

Update: Sadly, Frenchie is now permanently closed.