Rating: ★★★☆☆

Address: 40 Wellington St, Convent Garden, London WC2E 7BD

Telephone: +44 (0)20 7240 2992

I am constantly looking out for restaurants near shopping areas (e.g. Mitsukoshi and Clos Maggiore), and Boulevard Brasserie is one of restaurants I found, being just off the Piazza in Covent Garden.

This Parisian brasseries serves authentic French food, and often has great discounts on Toptable. For cheap and reliable European food, you could also try Kettner’s in Soho.

(1) Our appetiser from the set menu was a Foie Gras & Chicken Liver Parfait, caramelised onions and country toast. The parfait was delicious and the caramelised onions were slightly sweet and beautifully cooked, and matched the parfait very well.

(2) Since I absolutely adore eating ducks, I ordered the Confit de Canard, leg of duck confit with lentils, lardons, mushrooms & baby onions as my main course. The duck confit lifted my spirits on a rainy day, as its skin was gorgeously crispy and it was juicy and packed with delicious duck flavours. The lentils, however, were a bit hard as they had not been cooked long enough (see the Braised pork belly with Puy green lentils at L’atelier de Joel Robuchon for skillfully cooked lentils).

(3) S ordered the Beef bourguignon & Mash, braised beef stew in red wine with baby onikons, lardons & mushrooms. While it was rich, hearty and filling, the meat was too tough and it was overall a bit too salty. You would have happily eaten it, but not feel delighted afterwards.

(4) I ordered one of my favourite desserts, Crème brûlée, from the set menu. Even though the custard was rich and creamy and had an outstanding vanilla taste, the surface was unforgivably burnt!

Conclusion: The food, as expected for its price, could have been more refined, but the dishes were generally good, and the service was warm and friendly. It is therefore understandable that Boulevard Brasserie still continues to draw crowds of tourists and theatre-goers!