Club Gascon is a French restaurant located in
London, England. , the restaurant holds one star in the
Michelin Guide. The French restaurant was opened by Pascal Aussignac and Vincent Labeyrie in October 1998, and serves
French cuisine. 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 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 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'', described some of the dishes as "exceptional", but felt that the
cassoulet was disappointing. ''
The New York Times'' recommended the restaurant in 2000.
Jan Moir of ''
The Daily Telegraph'' 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 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
The Cateys are a UK award ceremony for the hospitality industry, first held in 1984. They have been described as the hospitality industry's equivalent of the Oscars.
Recipients are nominated, selected and awarded by the industry through ''The Cate ...
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 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
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{{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