Cafe Rouge, Cabot Circus, Bristol, 03.02.09

Cafe Rouge. Quite a lot of red I suppose, or maybe it's delivering some subtle political statement? Either way, this well known chain of bistros is certainly trying to reel in the customers at the moment. Three lunch courses for under a tenner- sounds like the potential for a tangible drop in quality, but it might surprise you.

Cafe Rouge has a comfortable mid-market position and provides no frills French grub in an environment awash with themed posters, ornate mirrors, more lamps than the first floor of John Lewis and plentiful dark brown wooden chairs and tables. I'd visited the central Edinburgh branch a few times before, mainly for coffees in the summer when you can sit in one of the aforementioned brown chairs on the pavement and watch everyone else amble by.

Cabot Circus shopping centre hasn't quite got the Georgian splendour of Edinburgh (although it might hold similar esteem in years to come). It was Bristol's proudest event of the last few years but has now found itself in the middle of a recession and has generated a wake of rather depressing driftwood retail in the old Broadmead area. Cabot Circus isn't trying to make any culinary statements either, but then it's only a shopping centre. It will be very interesting to see how Raymond Blanc's brasserie in the smarter outdoor section gets on in the next 12 months.

Back to Rouge. The starter was pretty straight-forward- baguette, camembert, a bit of ham. Put it all together and you've got a sort of French cheese on toast. Fish and chips turns in to goujons of cabillaud (cod) with frites. The goujons were generous but were struggling to escape the deep fryer's slipperiness. Desert consisted of apple crepes with ice cream swimming in a caramel sauce- ideal fodder for a wintery grey day in Paris or Bristol alike.

Cafe Rouge isn't an elegant dining experience, but for under a tenner it would be harsh to fault what they achieved. There's probably an element of dexterity in choosing the right branch to visit- I'd rather take my tenner to Park Street Bristol or all the way to Edinburgh rather than stare out at another bag-laden day in Cabot.