Henri

Jackson Boxer is a man whose bow has many strings. The creative force behind Brunswick House in Vauxhall and Notting Hill spot, Dove (formerly Orasay), his latest venture is a bistro on the ground floor of the Henrietta Experimental hotel in the heart of Covent Garden. A Parisian hommage may not be an entirely unique selling point just now, but Boxer understands this food better than most. In a narrow dining room with marble-topped tables, wood panelling and comfortable booth seating, the ambience is relaxed, informal – décontracté , if you will – with chatty staff and mesmerising cocktails named after legendary French chefs. Off-piste riffs on the familiar see the traditional Bordeaux cannelé advanced up the menu from coffee hour, filled with seaweed and sour cream and capped with trout roe for a sharp appetiser. Defiant simplicity is one of the keynotes of French bistro dining, as witness a salad of shredded carrot spun with tapenade and sesame seeds. We can't help but admire the brio in pairing a serving of risotto cooked in veal stock with skewered snails drenched in garlic and parsley butter, or the earthy fundamentalism of a brace of runny fried eggs in buttery sauce dense with morels and black oyster mushrooms. Look to the board to see what's being put on the charcoal grill, perhaps Brixham cod (served with crab bisque and lime leaf), or let the whole table set about a roast of herb-fed chicken with turnips and morels. Big cake action awaits the intrepid at the end of proceedings, with Royal Opera torte in a PX libation as well as chocolate sabayon cake with yoghurt sorbet. The wine list spurns French blinkers for a wide-ranging international array, with glasses from £7 and half-bottle carafes from £20.