Le Chardon

Went there for the snack menu as a sort of late Sunday brunch.
What a disaster. Waited 20 minutes for our orders to be taken. And 40 minutes more for a croque monsieur and a crêpe to be served. And we had to push them to get it. Worst service ever.
And the food was simply disgusting. Unbelievably disgusting for a French place. They should be shameful to cook such crap food with nothing but gross bechamel sauce and layers of cheese, and horrible processed ham — in both the croque and the crêpe. I could not even finish my plate. Simply don’t go there for the snack menu. food is terrible and the staff is lousy. A shit place.

Looking to try something new, we walked in here, tempted by the sign outside promising breakfast from 9.30am on a weekend. The place looks fantastic — it used to be a butchers, so has tiled walls and a very cool tiled alcove at the end with the till and the wine stored in it.
We walked in and waited in the doorway like good customers. Nothing. So we walked in a little further and coughed. Nothing. I walked over to the kitchen and cleared my throat. Nothing. So I yelled «hello!» at the nearest guy. Still nothing! He was not 3 feet away from me and didn’t respond!
Eventually after entering the kitchen, stripping and doing a tap dance (ok, that was exaggerating just a leetle bit) I finally got the attention of a chap and asked if they were open. «Yes.» was the response. «Great, could we have a table please?» I asked. «Sure» was the reply. So, I went off, found some menus and sat down at a table in the front with my brother. A French woman came out about 15 minutes later and seemed a little surprised that we were there. She was rather frosty. Very very cold and in fact ‘icy’ wouldn’t be a bad way to describe the welcome she gave us.
When I asked for a cappuccino with skimmed milk, she just stared at me and said «Non». «Semi Skimmed?» I asked hopefully. «Non.» came the reply. «Thees ees a French restaurant. We use la crème, not la skimmed milk». Ok, just a black coffee then!
We ordered breakfasts — full English, my brother’s without eggs, but perhaps a extra sausage or rasher of bacon instead? «Non.» Ok then!
My brother then dashed across to the co-​op over the road and bought me a pint of skimmed milk. (He’s the best brother in the world!) While he was gone, Madame Snowball came back in and asked how he would like his eggs. «Er, not at all actually». The light of realisation dawned. «Ah, Per’aps eee would like an extra sausage or bacon?» I smiled. «That would be lovely, thank you!».
When it arrived, the breakfast was absolutely superb. They remembered that I asked for cold beans (I know, I’m a weirdo), they substituted a sausage for the eggs and the whole thing was lovely. The only thing that would make it better would have been two rounds of toast instead of one, to mop up the vast quantity of beans they give you.
They even refilled my coffee completely free of charge and knocked off 25p from my brother’s breakfast, as apparently one sausage is 25p cheaper than two eggs!
I left them the rest of the skimmed milk, in case another customer was also wanting something a little lighter, but I saw frosty the snow-​madame hold it up and look at it with wonder. Ah, those English, with the cold baked beans and the fat-​free milk. Pah!

This is a lovely french restaurant.
I’ve never been for dinner but had many lazy afternoons here.
It is placed in an old green grocers with original tiles and has a nice area for eating out when it’s warmer.
They also take the Taste Card for discounts but make sure you ring ahead first or they may not honour it.

I took my daughter here for lunch she has a new baby and a big pram the staff were very helful luckly it wasn’t busy or i don’t think we would got in. Its a bit tight, tables are very close to eachother, otherwise great food, nice staff though the young female waitress needs to smile. Food takes a little while to be served, but when it arrives its wonderful. Lack of atmosphere i thought… the interior is nice takes you back in time, i’ll be back!

As a new girl to E Dulwich and a lover of French food I thought I would give this a go !
I wasn’t disappointed as the Seafood Platter was pretty impressive (if a little bit of a strain on the wallet)
They do pack you in a little bit but I guess that only adds to the French ambience. Definately a little gem I will go back to and could well become a regular haunt.

Had a nice dinner here, the food was excellent, it isn’t cheap but the food was good — found the service a little bit slow but the friendly host made the wait ok with attentiveness.
Not a bad place for food at all, lacks a little on atmosphere though I thought.

Ce restaurant, situé dans le quartier d’East Dulwich à Londres, est la touché française du quartier. Le décor parisien (plaques des rues de Paris au mur), la carte proposant exclusivement des plats français (dont un fameux pavé de boeuf au fois gras), et le personnel français (le chef et le propriétaire y compris) en font un endroit très dépaysant pour nos compatriotes ayant le mal du pays ou pour les anglais amoureux de la France. On s’y croirait presque!!!
Ses tarifs s’alignent sur ceux des autres restaurants de Lordship Lane (comptez environ 40 pounds par tête).