TOOTING ROAST SERIES: Bordelaise

Of course you already know about Bordelaise. This French restaurant is a Tooting classic, especially loved for their meaty specials; the steak and chips, the burgers, the moules frites… But there’s more to Bordelaise than just traditional French food because on Sundays they do roasts as well and if we know anything about Bordelaise, it was going to be worth trying out.

Ambience: It’s always a great vibe in Bordelaise. Thanks to their fantastic weekday deals there’s rarely a moment when the restaurant feels empty and Sunday was no exception. Bustling with friends, families, dates it’s the kind of place you’ll feel drawn to as you walk by.

The Food: Of course, Bordelaise has put a French twist on their roast. The sides that come with the main protein are a balanced mix of the classics and the less-classic; don’t panic, there are still potatoes. But these come as dauphinoise instead of roasted and, actually, it was quite a nice welcome break. We also got some honey roasted parsnips and carrots so weren’t missing that caramelised crunch from the plate and the extra hit of garlicky, creamy dauphinoise was really lovely. There was some nicely salty cabbage and a whopping Yorkshire pudding which came perched on a pot of gravy which we really appreciated; we could add the gravy as and when. There’s nothing worse than a plate getting soggy before it even reaches the table.

For the protein we got one beef (tender and juicy) and one duck (a crispy-skin leg that was perfectly cooked). Having never tried a duck roast before we were very pleasantly surprised by how well it worked, but we should never have doubted- of course Bordelaise nailed the meat, that is their bread and butter.

Standouts: And speaking of bread and butter. One of our standouts from the whole meal was exactly that. The butter was blended with parsley and lashings of garlic. We absolutely loved this. The pimped up butter was a lovely surprise and you best believe our plates were mopped clean with sourdough. It’s also worth noting that everything is made in house at Bordelaise. From the mayo to the gravy to the butter. You can tell, the homemade touch makes a big difference to the final products.

Price: Beef: £22, Duck: £20. Bread and Butter £3.50

As roasts go, this feels very reasonably priced. Unsurprisingly for Bordelaise, both the quantity and quality of the food we were served was impressive. You’ll certainly not leave hungry.

We’ll also say that any of the puddings you get from Bordelaise are going to be 10/10. We tried the apple tatin (the most popular for clear reason) and the gooey, indulgent chocolate and walnut moelleux. Do yourself a favour and make sure you leave room for the full experience.

THE ROAST SERIES: We are on a journey to discover some of the very best Sunday roasts in Tooting. Each will have remarks 4 categories: Ambience, The Food, Price and Standouts to make it clear what it is we loved about each one. We will aim to order similarly in every place we try to give you the clearest indication of how it compares to the rest of the neighbourhood.  Stay tuned to find your favourite.