Brasserie Gerard, Lymington (From Daily Echo)

Brasserie Gerard, Lymington

4:29pm Monday 26th April 2010 in Restaurant Reviews By Jenny Makin, Assistant News Editor

WHEN it comes to French dining, delicious fresh food in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere is what immediately springs to mind.

And it’s pleasing to know that Lymington’s latest addition to its High Street serves it all up on a plate.

Transformed from the former Café Uno, Brasserie Gerard has swung open its doors in the waterfront town and is already proving a big hit with its customers.

This is a place that offers it all – from a petit dejeuner on the way to work, a place for coffee and cake or a glass of wine with friends during the day or an evening a la carte meal.

Not least what’s helped to make it a favourite among the locals is the warm welcome you get when you walk through the door.

But take time out to sample the extensive menu and you’ll find endless more reasons why.

We paid a visit having worked up healthy appetites and disappointed we were not.

The choices of starters were so extensive that we narrowed our choices down to two – tiger prawns in a garlic butter that were simply out of this world, and the chef’s special of scallops on a bed of bacon lardons and spinach. For the more discerning palate, there are traditional escargots also on the menu.

For main course, I was served up a nine ounce Onglet – one of the tastiest cuts of steak I’ve ever sampled, while my friend tried out the delicious confit of duck with honey-glazed carrots and sauteed potatoes.

Feeling suitably full, our empty plates were a sure sign of how good the food was – but with eyes bigger than our stomachs we were not to leave without sampling the mouth-watering dessert menu.

While the crème brulee was a stunning example of a French classic, the star of the show was undoubtedly the chocolate fondant that was so perfectly cooked and tantalisingly good we were left fighting for the last bite.

The team at Brasserie Gerard say their aim was to bring “a little of the joy of France to Lymington” – and that they’ve done.

Brasserie Gerard, High Street, Lymington, 01590 688 689