Club Gascon is a French restaurant located in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, 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 stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of ...

. 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 from France. It has been influenced over the centuries by the many surrounding cultures of Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, in addition to the food traditions of the re ...

. 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 The Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great, sometimes abbreviated to Great St Bart's, is a medieval church in the Church of England's Diocese of London located in Smithfield within the City of London. The building was founded as an Augusti ...

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

. The premises itself was formerly a Lyon's Tea House, then a bank, and then had been empty for six years. The

freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple * Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England * Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice ...

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 publish ...

'', described some of the dishes as "exceptional", but felt that the

cassoulet Cassoulet (, also , ; ; from Occitan and cognates with Spanish: ''cazoleta'' and Catalan: ''cassolet'') is a rich, slow-cooked stew containing meat (typically pork sausages, goose, duck and sometimes mutton), pork skin () and white beans () ...

was disappointing. ''

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

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'' 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

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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 establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

. 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 The Craft Guild of Chefs is the main professional association for chefs in the UK. Established in 1885 under its former name of the Cookery and Food Association, it is sited near Kew Gardens station in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thame ...

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 Guide starred restaurants in London Restaurants established in 1998 Smithfield, London