I thought Comptoir Gascon was going to be one of those tiny hole-in-the-wall places so I was pleasantly surprised by its spacious interior. I was less pleasantly surprised by the somewhat snooty waitress. I really don't like it when you go to a restaurant and feel you are being judged for what you are/are not ordering, and/or pressured into ordering extra courses, side dishes etc. This was happening explicitly, although she toned it down after a while, perhaps she noticed everyone thought it was kind of funny. Or maybe she just gave up, out of 10 people, 9 ordered the duck burger or duck burger deluxe. I struck out with the rabbit and was pleased with my choice - it was well cooked with a flavourful sauce although the accompanying potatoes maybe were a bit overdone. I tried a bit of the duck burger too and it seemed good. The deluxe version has extra liver on top. This restaurant is big on offal. My overall impression was good, refreshingly interesting menu, serious about their meat and relatively reasonably priced. Just need to have that server take herself a mite less seriously and they are golden. Nearly forgot to mention desserts - fondant was ok, creme brulee looked really good. Overall those didn't seem much to write home about. I would have been more interested in the starters - they had great specials as well as some nice choices on the menu. I'd definitely return to try more. read more

I would give 3.5 stars but am rounding up. Food was overall good. We had slow cooked egg with chorizo for starter, then duck magret for main. Everything was tasty, though I felt it lacked a differentiating factor. Nothing to call as "this place's defining specialty." Service was very good. Staff members were friendly and prompt, although things got quite busy toward the end. Ambience was minimalist yet stylish. High ceiling but a touch of that warehouse feel. Perhaps, I will return to give some of its other dishes a try. read more

Comptoir Gascon - French Near Me - London, XGL

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Thanks to http://www.burgerac.com/p/burgerapp.html I came across Comptoir Gascon. It's really a beautiful little restaurant with a good atmosphere. I went there to taste their duck burger and I wasn't disappointed. It is difficult to compare this burger to other burgers, because, well, it's just different, it's duck. I really liked it. I recently read that their french fries should be one of the best in London. They are delicious, yes, the portion is big, yes, but I like the crunchier kind of fries much more. For my taste, the fries were too soft and slightly too greasy. But probably still better than what you get at most other places. What surprised me, if you go there for burger and chips, it's quite a cheap eat for what you get, compared to other restaurants! read more

Comptoir Gascon - French Near Me - London, XGL

This was the kind of meal that makes you think of going back through every review you have done and knocking a star off each of them so this one stands out enough. The amazing thing about it was that it came from nowhere; I expected a simple average French bistro. The reason for this is that Comptoir Gascon's big brother, Club Gascon, despite its Michelin stars is thoroughly disappointing. I therefore couldn't see how its competitively priced little brother could be any good. I was wrong. It was an excellent meal from start to finish. It was the French equivalent of tapas with some memorable wines. Highlights included (in order of brilliance) a cheesecake for pudding that was a defining moment in my experience of cheesecakes, 'piggy treats' (or a great plate of charcuterie), a sauteed baby squid of such finesse and elegance even been left for a bit too long under a hot plate couldn't ruin it and cheese heaven. I have found a new food home. read more

I have been working in clerkenwell for almost 18 moths now and I have often wanted to sample the food at this attractive little restaurant tucked in next to the seemingly-eternal building site for Farringdon station. The £14.50 2-course lunch menu was too much to resist and it was very impressive. we had salmon tartare to start which was roughly chopped and spiked with suitably piquant caper berries and flecks of shallot with a wonderfully balanced dressing. The presentation was top notch too. Main was moules marinieres with frites, simple and elegantly done, the liquor was perfect and the frites triple cooked with a dusting of sea salt and (I think) paprika. Service was prompt and friendly. I will certainly be back to sample more of the menu - piggy treats and foie gras burger are top of the list with a glass of something suitably robust, so perhaps I will wait until after the beach holiday to indulge... no reason why anyone else should delay any longer though, get involved! read more

Superb! I'm not really a French food fan. Well actually, I'll eat (mostly) anything, but it's more that French food is not on my top 5 list of go-to foods / restaurants. In fact it's probably not on my top 10 list! However that said I very much enjoyed Comptoir Gascon's offerings. We went for the lunch special which is very reasonable at £14.50 for two courses. I thought "as I'm here, lets go a little crazy!" I started with the pig's trotter cake and tartare sauce. Of course it wasn't like eating a knuckle sandwich, nor was it like eating toe nails (as one would imagine). I'm not actually sure which part of it had the pigs feet in it because it was more like a cross between a hash brown and a potato rosti. Come to think of it, perhaps it was more like a potato cake. Not withstanding, it was surprisingly very tasty and I'm always impressed when dishes are seasoned well. I know that might sound a little odd, but I believe getting seasoning right is key - salt and pepper on a dining table (generally) should be redundant, but I appreciate people have different tastes too. So my first try of pig feet cake was a score, and to follow in the "dirty food" theme I had going on, I opted for the mussels marinières and French fries to follow. Also very good and another score. If I were in the area, I would definitely go back, and I would also give it a thumbs up if anybody wanted to take me there for lunch. Anyone? Anyone? Fine, I'll just cry wee wee wee, all the way home. read more

I quite like the ambiance of this place, very cozy and warm. The service was impeccable too. I am a big fan of french food and was super excited about this restaurant. I was enticed by their concise yet delicious sounding menu and the fact that it wasn't too expensive either. I was looking forward to having their foie gras which I think is very reasonably priced. For starters I had 'Foie gras du Comptoir en terrine' and the rabbit for main course. I must admit the Foie gras didn't go down quite well with me, I was struggling to eat it. The rabbit on other hand was the best rabbit I have had in a restaurant. I was quite disappointed by the Foie gras and to make matters I got really sick after getting home. I am not sure if it was the food or something else but it did mar the overall experience. read more

Unbeknownst to me, I had been to this restaurant before I came here to dine. Once upon a time, we were wandering around this area, and saw that they sold foie gras to go, so we picked some up to take home to have for part of a nice meal later that night. Flash forward some amount of time, and my wonderful friend and co-worker was planning her leaving do to go back to France. As a French person (and based on recommendations from two separate people) she chose a lovely French meal at Comptor Gascon. They were quite willing to deal with our ridiculously large group of 18 (which unfortunately shrank to 13 day of, but they were still awesome about it) even though it's not the largest of places. Of course we had to pre-order, but we're used to that. The restaurant itself is quite cozy. It's reminiscent of those rustic French restaurants that I grew to love during my visit to Saint-Emilion. The waitstaff were very friendly and willing to deal with our indecisiveness about drinks. The wine menu has an interesting selection with varying price ranges from inexpensive to quite expensive. There were a variety of starters around the table. I had the Piggy Treats. I'm often drawn toward names that sound interesting but are completely ambiguous about what you're getting. I at least knew it was likely to be pork. And it was. It was similar to a charchuterie plate with different sliced meats, a bit of head cheese, and some pate. Very delicious! The other half had the duck hearts which were also tasty. The duck rillettes looked terrific as well. For my main I had the cassoulet. I always wanted to try it, but never had the opportunity. Oh my it was tasty (and rich). Rich buttery beans with sausage and duck meat. I was incredibly happy. I also had some of the duck fat chips which were great as well. The other half had the duck burger deluxe. There's nothing like a rich burger with a slab of foie gras on top to really make a good meal. Desserts were good as well. The other half had cheese (as he does), and I had the fondant with raspberry sorbet. The fondant was rich and oozing with chocolate. The sorbet added a nice sharpness that contrasted well with the chocolate. We both had the red dessert wine. We liked it so well, we bought a bottle to take home. Speaking of which, the restaurant also sells lots of bottles of wine to take home, as well as other delicious goods (as mentioned with the foie gras at the beginning). The food was also quite reasonably priced for the quality of food you get! I'm definitely a fan of this place, and would go back here for any event whether it is a big group event or a small intimate evening. read more

A bit disappointed, but I'd give them a second chance. The restaurant itself is lovely- has a rustic, cozy interior and warm lighting. They sell some interesting French products, too. I met with a group of 6 others and it was quiet enough to hear each other speak- always a plus! The food....we started with piggy treats and duck neck. Both delicious. But we really came for the deluxe duck burger, topped with foie gras. And that was just not that great. The bun was dry and truthfully all wrong for the burger. A brioche bun would have been more suitable. Also, we all thought it was just missing something- maybe cheese or a sauce? The duck burger wasn't super "ducky", either, and looked like a normal beef burger (I guess I was expecting shredded duck or something). The fries were okay. The salads were ok. Our order was a bit messed up, but the waiters gracefully fixed their mistakes and didn't charge for the food they wrongly brought out. Give it a try if it's convenient, but don't get the burger. read more

I met up with someone for coffee here this morning. Me likey. Coffee was good-n-strong and served efficiently. Yay. I also wolfed down a delish almond croissant. I like the feel and thought the space was ideal for a casual meeting. I think this place gets jumping from lunch on but in the late morning it was super mellow. We had the place to ourselves. Only bummer: no WiFi. C'mon! read more

I've now been to this little bistro twice. It has not disappointed. I believe it was once a deli for the far grander Club Gascon. Now converted into an extremely intimate little dining room serving deeply unpretentious French food, it's a place to take someone if you're looking for a tiny slice of the Pigalle vibe in industrial Farringdon. The famed "piggy treats" was, as it was with my first visit, the place to start. Let's get this out the way, because it's a huge pity. It's not as varied, as rustic or as interesting as it used to be. The selection is a little smaller and put together with a little more fuss than on my first try a couple of years ago. This could very well be because the previous incarnation was a seriously robust starter, which (with bread) could very well take the edge off your yearning for a main. But, somehow, curating and prettifying this beautifully-named dish has left it less satisfying. I certainly take issue with a comment elsewhere on this page, where some person deems it inferior to a supermarket serving of cold cuts. This is, patently, ignorant bilge, yet the fact remains that it's both more refined and less sensual in its construction. The accompanying bread was dangerously close to flawless. My main was sea bream with a smattering of bisque and chunks of celeriac. The fish was cooked beautifully and the bisque was marvellously rich, although the celeriac could have stood being cooked for longer. The maitre'd explained this away as "crunchy", when a simple apology would have sufficed. A low-budget Syrah was both delicious and great value. Sadly, desserts were beyond us, although a cheeky enquiry led to us being presented with a gratis loaf of the coveted bread. Top marks for rescuing the celeriac disappointment. This is not fine dining, not does it have pretensions thereof. To resent an Eton Mess variant for not being "cuisine" despite the stark, staring fact that one ordered the bloody thing in the first place strikes me as a little bloodyminded, but perhaps I'm guilty of judging restaurants based on how they present themselves, not whether they fit into a neat little box in my noggin. This is excellent second / third date territory: quiet but bustling, dark and welcoming, with school furniture trappings and a decently varied wine list with nothing looming over the £50 mark. Dinner for 2 was £70, infusing a well-fed smile with hints of recession-beating frugality. read more

Having recently moved (workwise) from Soho to Clerkenwell, I had been looking for somewhere to replace my former haunt, Dehesa. Well, I might just have found it at Comptoir Gascon - from the exposed brickwork, to the excellent wines and tapas-style nibbles, this is a relaxed-yet-sophisticated place to meet up after work. For £40, including a generous tip, we had a bottle of excellent wine and two portions of piggy treats (plates of various sliced meats). My only gripes are that they do not take food orders before 7pm and they do not serve any bread with the piggy treats. Other than that, everything is pretty much spot on. read more

Maybe I should have had the beef onglet but after having the same cut at Modern Pantry last week (and taking almost the entire, inedible, tough as boots monstrosity home to my dog) I didn't want to risk it again. Good points about Comptoir Gascon: 1) the room and atmosphere are pleasant, in a slightly cheesy way, though the tables are a little too close together; 2) the staff were smiley and efficient, though you get the feeling the maitre d' smiles through gritted teeth. Nevertheless, smile he did! Bad points: sorry, but the food is very ho-hum. At least, our choices last night were ho-hum. We started with the "Piggy Treats", expecting some top-class charcuterie. After all, the place IS right next to Smithfield. Sadly, the treats weren't very,um, treaty. They weren't even up to your typical Waitrose or Tesco Finest plastic-packed charcuterie selection. Utterly average. I then had one of the day's specials: boned chicken leg stuffed with peppers. It was okay. My friend had pork belly which was tasty enough but... wrong. Fatty food really does take skill to pull off. Get it slightly wrong and you can feel it sticking to your gob, your throat and your arteries. Of course, fatty food always sticks to your arteries, but you don't want feel it happening, do you? The side of mixed green veg was very good. As reported elsewhere, the mains were very salty (and I LOVE salt, I really do. The food police would have a joint coronary at my salt intake). But this food was too salty, even for me. We shared a pud which was a variation on Eton Mess (with plums instead of strawbs and a bit of liqueur). It was okay, but then again, meringue, cream and fruit can hardly be called cuisine, can it? The dish was invented by schoolboys without access to a kitchen, for god's sake! With the meal we shared the cheapest wine on the list (a Shiraz) which was a very pleasant surprise. I moved to the area two months ago and I'd love to find a dependable place to eat. Sadly, my search continues. In fact I get the feeling that the whole Farringdon/Clerkenwell area is cruising along on far too much easy money, spent on expense accounts by people who don't really care what they're eating, or know much about decent nosh. At least Comptoir Gascon was better than the so-called meal I had at Modern Pantry last week, which just beggared belief in its terribbleness. read more

Comptoir Gascon was featured as having an excellent burger that's a bit off the beaten track. As a rustic French restaurant, CG is indeed excellent with a superb cassoulet and delicious garlicky snails - just what you want when you fancy a culinary trip across the Channel without actually getting on the Eurostar. However, as a burger joint I think CG has a long way to go to unseat the current ruling grillmasters. It's a different burger, to be fair, with CG's being made from duck as opposed to the traditional beef, but still falls short on common elements. And it's not cheap either. The burger isn't bad, but it's not that good either. The patty was made of minced duck and it's reasonably sized and nicely seared. However, I've always found the joy of duck being in the thin layer of fat and crispy skin you'd usually get in a roast duck - something obviously missing here. The bun looked like it may have had a bit of the brioche in it, but after being toasted to within an inch of its life the bun was too dry to really work. A salad of mixed greens constituted the topping with a spoonful of red onion chutney added a touch of acidity. On its own, I'd be keen on the salad and chutney but it wasn't enough on its own. The burger really needed some cheese or a sauce or really anything to tie it all together. If you go for the Deluxe, you also get a thick slab of foie gras which definitely up the ante. Up to you if you think it's worth the extra £5 though - they do make a mean foie gras here. Overall, I found the burger decent but nothing to write home about (yes, the irony hasn't escaped me). I also tried the signature "burger" which is in essence a truffle and foie gras slider (the foie gras is the patty) which was rich and decadent and a pretty good way to spoil yourself. That's worth a punt even if it throws the training diet all out of whack. That being said, the cassoulet was spectacular and something I'd eagerly go back to have again. Indeed, the rest of the menu is spot on with our chicory, blue cheese, and walnut salad being demolished rapidly and the snails giving rise to a mad scramble. The "piggy treats" starter is a selection of all things pork and definitely worth getting although you'll also want to order some bread which unfortunately does not come free. The wine list is extensive (as one would expect) but surprisingly has options for less that £20. And even more surprising, those options are quite tasty with our chosen bubbles and bottle of red clocking in at around £18 each. read more

An A-okay option for a decently priced gourmet lunch (there are often 2 or 3 course meals for 15 or 20 quid). This would not be my first stop for french food in London, but if you join the mailing list there are always promotions or deals being run by the Comptoir family that makes this an even more affordable option. I've made the mistake of coming here without drinking - in the future i'll be sure to make that part of the lunch date as they have an extensive wine menu. The space is small but comfortable and if you're in the mood for gluten, definitely get a bread basket as all the fresh baked breads are truly delightful. read more

Everyone has their favourite places to go for a relaxed meal, and this is mine. Comptoir Gascon has everything going for it, from the laid back atmosphere and great service to the delicious food. I like to think I'm quite an adventurous person, but when I come here I always get the same thing: Duck Rilette followed by Beef Onglet with double cooked Goose Fat Chips. Yes, that's right, potatoes cooked in goose fat not once, but twice. Wow. The Rilette is available to buy from the small deli counter tucked in the corner of the restaurant so you can take some home with you once you've tasted it and discovered how incredibly rich and unctuous it is- bonus points to me for including the word unctuous in a review, that word-a-day calendar was really worth the money- and the Onglet is cooked in a fantastic red wine and shallot sauce. Yum. The wine here is all top notch, and I always leave full-bellied and more relaxed then after a full body massage. Go here. read more

Comptoir Gascon - French Near Me - London, XGL

Saturday morning brunch was invented for Comptoir Gascon. And Comptoir Gascon created the best scrambled eggs imaginable to go with the event. These were truly inspired scrambled eggs. How many eggs? Six. Yes, count 'em: six. The server informed us that these were prize winning eggs and that they were small compared to the monster eggs from Tescos. The scramble is served in a traditional onion soup bowl, which is a nice touch and makes it seem like an endless amount. The eggs are creamy, fluffy, naturally eggy and incredibly delicious. The chives on top add the perfect counterbalancing tang. My dining companion and I had them three days ago and we're still talking about them. read more

Fantastic, authentic French food, great wine list (with some good value in there) and wonderful attentive service. Overall, phenomenal experience without a phenomenal price tag. read more

I've come here twice now, felt very welcome and comfortable both times. My friend and I really enjoyed the food; I've tried the cassoulet and the beef onglet, both brilliant. Service is friendly and knowledgeable. I will definitely be back for a third visit read more

Really great restaurant, amazing food. Please try the duck burger it was incredible!! Service could be a little bit more attentive but overall it was great! read more