With José, Pizarro and now Casse-Croûte, nifty eateries are blooming along Bermondsey Street like edible flowers. But while José and Pizarro both offer canny takes on Spanish food, Casse-Croûte is a shot of France – a warm, villagey France. There’s space for just 20 covers on the site of a former sandwich shop, with the room done out in dark wood and embossed wallpaper suggesting a patina of age.
Casse-Croûte feels genuinely familial, but best of all, the menu of boldly chosen, smartly executed French classics really delivers. Delicate shavings of calf’s head were given zip with a tangy sauce ravigote, while creamy mackerel rillettes were pepped up with a scoop of mustard ice cream. A main course of pollock on a bed of artichokes was heady with parsley and dill, while the guinea fowl two ways – slices of roast breast and a mound of slow-cooked dark meat – was an earthy hit of good-quality game. Desserts were a little more workmanlike: a punchy peach melba and an intense chocolate gâteau with powerfully minty ice cream, but admirable. With the sensible pricing, and a cheese and charcuterie selection in the works, nous reviendrons.