Crouch End French bistro Les 2 Garcons moves to bigger premises

Chef Robert Reid and Maitre 'd Jean-Christophe Slowik, who met while working in Marco Pierre White's three Michelin star The Oak Room, have been on quite a journey since opening their venture in autumn 2021.

A crowdfunder to turn a former cocktail bar in Crouch Hill into a 20-seat restaurant hit its target in four days. Friends and family chipped in to salvage and varnish tables, but a month after opening, a robbery swiped their wine stock. Despite the setback, they were in Reid's words "very, very busy" serving Gallic classics snails, French onion soup, boeuf bourguignon, and tarte aux pommes in two nightly sittings.

Les 2 Garcons now seats 40 plus a 16-seat private dining space and outdoor terrace. (Image: Thomas Alexander)

Both men are local and lockdown made them reappraise their priorities, with Reid, who was head chef at big operations like Balthazar, wanting to open a neighbourhood restaurant close to where his two kids go to school. Meanwhile Slowik, who had run L'Absinthe in Primrose Hill was helping the Primrose Hill Community Association to make nutritious meals for the vulnerable.

Reid told the Ham&High at the time, it was logical for them to work together: "Our focus is on community, getting together and sharing. We wanted the feeling of a tiny 1930s Parisian bistro with smoke, hustle and bustle and lots of energy – like rats fighting in a sack! – where people talk to each other and nobody looks at their mobile phones."

The private dining area at the Middle Lane restaurant seats 16 (Image: Thomas Alexander)

When influential restaurant critic Jay Rayner visited last May, he heaped the food with praise as a "complete and delightful expression" of Bistro classics. Marina O'Loughlin of The Sunday Times called it "a victory for the Classic French Bistro".

With a planning application lodged in April 2021 to turn part of Crouch Hill, including their restaurant, into flats, and a bulging reservation book, the pair shifted to Middle Lane where they have more space; 40 covers, a small outside terrace, and semi-private dining for 16.

Les 2 Garcon Rum Baba (Image: Thomas Alexander)

Like the original, it's steeped in French bonhomie and joie de vivre, with the A La Carte menu starting at £9 for starters, £19.50 for mains and £8 for dessert. Seasonal dishes include, scallops with Champagne and orange butter, kidneys with mustard, Pyrenean lamb, and their famous Rum Baba chalked on the daily board.

With Serge Gainsbourg on the playlist and an eclectic 95 per cent French wine list, diners can expect grass-fed, dry-aged beef from Scotland, bread from Sofia's Sourdough next door, and of course, French cheese.

Kidneys with mustard at Les 2 Garcons. (Image: Alo Communications)

It's kind of place where they themselves would like to hang out.As Reid told the Ham&High, they started off small with no suppliers in a space that was "like sitting in the front room of someone's house."

"But we've got more professional and it's grown twice as fast as we expected."

Jean-Christophe and Robert are friends and business partners. (Image: Thomas Alexander)

Les 2 Garcons is at 14, Middle Lane, Crouch End.