Club Gascon is a French restaurant located in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. , the restaurant holds one star in the

Michelin Guide The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few restaurants ...

. The French restaurant was opened by Pascal Aussignac and Vincent Labeyrie in October 1998, and serves

French cuisine French cuisine is the cooking traditions and practices of France. In the 14th century, Guillaume Tirel, a Court (royal), court chef known as "Taillevent", wrote ''Le Viandier'', one of the earliest recipe collections of medieval France. In ...

. In addition to its Michelin star, it has also won two Catey Awards.

Description

Opened by chef Pascal Aussignac and business partner Vincent Labeyrie in September 1998, the restaurant is located near St Bartholomew-the-Great in

Smithfield, London Smithfield, properly known as West Smithfield, is a district located in Central London, part of Farringdon Without, the most westerly Wards of the City of London, ward of the City of London, England. Smithfield is home to a number of City in ...

. The premises itself was formerly a Lyon's Tea House, then a bank, and then had been empty for six years. The freehold is owned by Centrepoint, a charity for young homeless people. The dining area is one long narrow room, with large tables down one side and smaller tables elsewhere. Aussignac had previously failed to find financing to open a restaurant in Paris, but by 2008 was employing sixty workers across three restaurants in London. The restaurant is considered a forerunner of fine dining in its local area, which had since become popular with other restaurants appearing nearby.

Reviews and awards

"I have very high standards," wrote restaurant critic AA Gill "but Club Gascon was a fabulous surprise." Caroline Stacy reviewed the restaurant shortly after it opened for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', described some of the dishes as "exceptional", but felt that the cassoulet was disappointing. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' recommended the restaurant in 2000. Jan Moir of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' reviewed the restaurant in February 2002, describing it as producing the "deep, velvety succulence of the flavours of south-west France". Richard Vines, writing for

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician a ...

in 2006 explained that while the dining was slow-paced, it was worth it and said if it wasn't for him being a food reporter, he'd be a regular there. The restaurant won Best Newcomer at The Catey Awards in 1999, followed in 2002 by a

Michelin star The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few restaurants in certain geographic ...

. In 2007, the restaurant was ranked 35th best in the UK by the Good Food Guide, on the first occasion the guide ranked restaurants in that manner (previously it had given marks out of ten for each establishment). In 2007, it won a second Catey Award, this time for Restaurateur of the Year – Independent. In 2013, it won the "Test of Time" award (for the most consistently excellent restaurant) at the Tatler Restaurant Awards. The same year, in June, Pascal Aussignac was awarded also won the Restaurant Chef of the Year by the Craft Guild of Chefs Awards. In 2017, after 19 years of operation, the restaurant was fully refurbished, and the kitchen has been extended. The reopening of Club Gascon has been a real success since then.

References

External links

* {{Restaurants in London 1998 establishments in England French restaurants in London Grade II listed buildings in the City of London Michelin-starred restaurants in London Restaurants established in 1998 Smithfield, London