BY KELLY BESWICK
There are some restaurants that become woven into the fabric of your life and, for me, Galvin Bistrot & Bar is one of them. Since opening 16 years, it has been a firm favourite – the sort of place that always manages to feel both special and reassuringly familiar. Over the years, I’ve celebrated birthdays here, gathered with family around long tables and spent countless lazy weekend lunches lingering over good food and wine. Relaxed and informal yet consistently polished, it’s somewhere I return to time and time again.
So when arranging a Friday afternoon lunch with a good friend in mid-May, it felt like the obvious choice.
We had hoped to sit outside on the restaurant’s recently opened Château Sainte-Marguerite Summer Terrace, a buzzy little spot inspired by the easy-going glamour of the South of France and usually something of a sun trap with a distinctly Provençal mood – Château Sainte-Marguerite rosés served by the glass, carafe or bottle, alongside a Rosé Spritz – happy days. The menu focuses on relaxed sharing plates, from Gordal olives and chorizo croquettes to Brie on toast with truffle honey and cured meats, sitting alongside the restaurant’s broader Mediterranean menu led by Head Chef Fabio Portaluri and Chef Director Arturo Granato.
Sadly, on the day of our visit, the British weather had other ideas. So instead, we took a little of the terrace sunshine indoors. Warmly greeted by the lovely manager Gwen, we were shown to a cosy corner table and immediately encouraged to begin proceedings with a glass of the house Champagne while we perused the menu – always an excellent suggestion in my book.
As we settled in, we couldn’t help but notice the couple dining beside us. The staff greeted them with such genuine warmth and familiarity that it was clear they were long-standing regulars. Arturo emerged from the kitchen for a catch-up, while Gwen already knew exactly how they liked their coffee. We soon discovered that the gentleman was actually cousin to owners Chris and Jeff Galvin and that he and his wife had been coming for years.
In many ways, it perfectly summed up the atmosphere here. Galvin Bistrot & Bar has a genuine family feel that can’t be manufactured. It’s a happy ship, clearly run with care and affection, and the fact that many of the staff have remained for years says everything about the place.
To start, we ordered half a dozen ‘La Cardoret Speciale’ oysters from a family-run oyster farm in Brittany. Wonderfully plump, creamy and deeply flavourful, they tasted gloriously fresh and disappeared rather too quickly. Alongside them came confit lamb croquettes with yoghurt aioli – beautifully crisp and crunchy on the outside while the filling inside was rich, soft and unmistakably lamby in the very best way.
We also couldn’t resist the tonnato special. The veal was melt-in-the-mouth tender and topped with a silky tuna sauce, salty capers and shards of impossibly thin crispbread that added just the right amount of crunch. It was one of those deceptively simple dishes where every element works in complete harmony.
For mains, my friend chose the sea bass from the Fish Market blackboard perched temptingly on the bar. It arrived swimming in an indulgent butter and caper sauce and was cooked absolutely perfectly – delicate, flaky and full of flavour.
Meanwhile, I opted for the wild boar ragout, a deeply rich and unctuous dish entwined with freshly made maltagliati. For the uninitiated, maltagliati translates as “badly cut” pasta – rustic, irregular ribbons traditionally made from leftover pasta dough – and it proved the ideal vehicle for the intensely savoury ragout. Finished with pangrattato, those golden toasted breadcrumbs beloved in Italian cooking, it was hearty, comforting and exactly the sort of dish I crave on a grey London afternoon.
On the side, crushed potatoes with salsa verde quickly became dangerously addictive, while spring greens dressed with chilli and sesame oil brought a welcome punchy freshness that lifted everything beautifully.
Even if we weren’t enjoying the terrace itself, we decided to bring a little of that Provençal spirit indoors. To drink, we chose the Château Sainte-Marguerite rosé, an elegant and dangerously quaffable example of the style. Crisp, pale and wonderfully easy to drink, it paired effortlessly with almost everything we ordered. In fact, we enjoyed it so much we very cheekily ordered a second bottle.
For dessert, a tarte tatin felt like the only fitting finale and, sensibly, we decided to share. Darkly caramelised, deeply buttery and perfectly executed, it came accompanied by a generous quenelle of Normandy crème fraîche that cut through the sweetness beautifully.
Some restaurants chase trends, reinvent themselves endlessly or try too hard to impress. Galvin Bistrot & Bar simply understands what makes people want to return: warm hospitality, consistently excellent cooking and an atmosphere that makes you feel instantly at ease. Whatever the occasion, it always delivers – which is exactly why I’ve kept returning over the years and why I hope to continue doing so for many more to come.
galvinrestaurants.com
Galvin Bistrot & Bar, 2H Spital Square, London E1 6DY
@galvinbistrot
Tag us @BeastMag_London