L’Hexagone Bistro Français

'It’s like being in France, only in Norwich,’ notes one reader; another says that ‘it feels more like dining in a friend’s home than a city-centre restaurant’. Either way, there’s a huge amount of love for this tiny bistro in the Norwich Lanes. Frenchman Thomas Aubrit and his wife Gemma have been welcoming diners through the doors of L’Hexagone since 2020. He cooks the food he remembers eating as a child with heartfelt honesty, while she runs the place with instinctive charm – and with a small supporting cast, they prove the old trope that the best things often come in the smallest packages. So tuck yourself into a downstairs seat in the intimate, dark-painted space or head upstairs where there’s more room but you miss out on Lanes people-watching. This is a place aimed squarely at feeding (very loyal) customers. The menu is short, and lunch could be as simple and pocket-friendly as a generous croque monsieur or a bowl of soupe à l’oignon. Alternatively, linger over a more substantial meal – perhaps salade lyonnaise or a tartine of butternut squash and Roquefort, followed by a bavette steak or casseroled chicken leg with tarragon sauce, mushrooms and frites. Gloriously simple stuff, indeed. Come evening, the repertoire might stretch a little to include, say, herby, garlicky prawn skewers or fillet of sea bream with roasted potatoes ‘grenailles’ and classic beurre blanc. The crème brûlée has its very own fan club ('the best this side of the Channel’) – no surprise, given the snap of the caramelised topping and the velvetiness of the set cream, but also check out the vanilla panna cotta with its beautifully sharp, fruity purée. The all-French wine list is as compact and well-priced as the menu, and each bottle has a 'unique personal reference’ – there are even some vintages produced in the owner‘s hometown.