Cafe Rouge

My husband and I ate here one night while staying in the Bayswater area. I ordered the twice cooked cheese soufflee with a gooey brie center. It was delicious, and so much so that I wished it were a bit larger. The soufflee came with a side of mixed greens, sunflower seeds, and the like. The greens could have used a bit of oil or seasoning, so I stole some from my husband’s side of dressing. The restaurant was quiet, which we appreciated, and only downsides were waiting for some time for our bill, and then needing to flag down another server for a pen.

Really not a good café rouge. Mediocre food, poor service, not that clean. Better local options — even in this mall.

You want a quick meal before a movie? This does the job, though there are plenty better places in the area.
This place is like a French version of the American restaurant, Chili’s. There’s nothing new or groundbreaking on the menu, everything is pretty much bog standard stereotypical French brasserie fare. The wine’s nothing special, but again, it does the job.

I passed by this place after eating at Le Café Anglais and told myself that I should come back since the prices are about half of that at Le Café Anglais. Maybe I just prefer French food but I enjoyed the food at this restaurant than at Le Café Anglais. Ok, maybe it is because I prefer French food. haha.
Anyway, I got the individual-​sized, fried Camembert and it was absolutely delicious. From my starter, I knew that the rest of the meal was going to be delicious. My main course came and I ordered the Confit de Canard and again it was delicious. Probably better than some of the Duck Confits I’ve had in France when I lived there for a year.
Like true French style, I had the plate of cheeses at the end of my meal while finishing off my wonderful glass of Bordeaux. Like the preceding courses, this was just as delicious.
To top things all off, the service was great! And, in the Winter cold, the setting inside of the mall (Whiteley’s) made it a comfortable experience.
I will definitely come back! Especially to this particular location. So far, this is my favorite «chain» restaurant in the UK.

Stopped by for a Christmas Eve lunch here and were quite pleased. It is on the second floor of the Whiteley Mall, so it is away from the noise and commotion of the shoppers.
Service was friendly and competent. We ordered a bottle of Gamay which was good. We both enjoyed the two-​course set menu which was only £8, not bad at all! Generous portions well prepared.
For a chain restaurant, Café Rouge was very good.

Usually I look down on this chain for mediocre food and service, however in this branch a waiter was so nice to my young son that like any parent when this happens, they could do no wrong.
My small son was in awe of their Christmas lights and the waiter noticed this and was so nice to him. The man showed him all the different settings for how the lights flash and interacted with him and even gave him a couple of the small wafers that they put on the ice creams.
This man is so special and an example to the rest of us of what real love and service is about to a level that conquers all.

This is just another branch of a chain restaurant, that usually are the only ones you can find in shopping centres. Whiteleys is not a very busy shopping centre and when my boyfriend and I went here for late lunch on Saturday it was almost empty. He had a baguette poulet and I had a croque monsieur. Both were nice, but nothing to die for and not particularly cheap either. The service was very quick and nice (but as I said the place was almost empty).
Even being a chain it has a nice atmosphere in some of their London branches (for example the one in Lancer Sq. in Kensington, you could tell is just a local restaurant from the outside, I reckon), but it’s not the case with Whiteleys, but it just for being there.
I guess that considering the prices of most French restaurant this is not a bad choice if you’re craving for this kind of food, don’t want to break the bank and are not ultra-​demanding, although I haven’t tried speciality dishes.