Galvin Cafe a Vin, London, UK

I published my last post on the 5th of July. "She's getting lazy again" you may think. Et non...it's the opposite: shes is working again! After a few months of idleness Madame Sardine is back to work. Afterall, I can not always be invited for free by Michelin-starred chefs to taste their food. Actually I have never been invited. My list of 14 followers does not seem to impress much.

Galvin Cafe a Vin is the brasserie-style restaurant of the brothers Galvin and I used to go and have a glass (or five) of wine with my colleagues after work as it is conveniently situated in Spitalfield market. Once, we decided with L. to have dinner there.

As I was on a meaty trend, I had a steak tartare and a confit duck leg with cassoulet beans. Very light. But it was winter then, and therefore fat was needed to fight the terrible British weather.

The steak tartare was ok and came with croutons. I don't understand the concept of "crouton" when:

1/ the crouton is a whole slice of bread

2/ it is not served with a soup or a salad

Maybe the commis had forgotten to get the bread out of the toaster on time.

Steak tartare

L.'s salad of duck breast was a healthier choice, and had a nice freshness thanks to the pomegranate.

Salad of smoked duck breast with pomegranate and dandelion

My duck leg with cassoulet beans was a catastrophy. While I was expecting a moist, fat and tender duck confit, I had a dried and crispy leg. Beans were even worse, instead of soft beans soaking in duck fat, I had half cooked beans without any taste. As the cassoulet "# 1 Fan", I was devastated.

Duck confit with cassoulet beans

L.'s beef was much better, and the meat was melting in the mouth (unlike my beans snif).

Daube of beef with soft polenta, cavolo nero and horseradish gremolata

We have not been to Galvin Cafe a Vin since, because of the disappointing food and an extremly unpleasant waiter who refused to bring us more hot water for our fresh mint tea. Was the kettle on strike? Maybe we should have gone to Galvin La Chapelle, the Michelin-starred restaurant of the same brothers next door.

Cost: £5-£10 for starters, £10-£20 for mains