Three decades of Le Café du Marché

In London’s historic Smithfield, Le Café du Marché first opened in 1986, founded by Charlie Graham-Wood, over three decades and still, a family-run restaurant that serves authentic French cuisine. As owner and manager Sophie Graham-Wood says: At heart Le Café du Marché is a family business offering a convivial and personal service and delicious French food. We will work closely with clients from planning the menu to creating a memorable event. Many of our customers return again and again - testament to Le Café being a little bit unusual and rather special.

Entering the brick arches in Charterhouse Square, you the restaurant still uses handwritten menu in white chalk on a blackboard. The ground floor restaurant has recently been renovated in 2017 to open up the previously separate café. The space retains the bare brick walls and beams of this former warehouse and coachhouse for neighbouring Charterhouse, with a feel of a traditional French brasserie. In here, à la carte menu changes regularly depending on seasonal ingredients, as well as the more popular dishes such as la cote de boeuf with sauce béarnaise; braised beef bourguignon and celeriac puree; mousse au chocolat and selection of fine French cheese and wine, not to mention live jazz in the evenings as well.

This Christmas, head chef Tony Pineda has combined classic ingredients with his own twist of modern French cuisine, from tartine of smoked salmon, guacamole and pink grapefruit to Venison meatballs, parsnip puree and port sauce. Main courses include confit of duck, Brussel tops, cranberry compote and butter poached blue lobster tagliatelle.

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