Randomness Guide to London - Differences between Version 24 and Version 13 of Brasserie Vacherin, CR0 1DP

Version 24 Version 13
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Brasserie Vacherin was a French restaurant in [[Locale Croydon|Croydon]]. It closed down in early 2019, initially claiming that this was "for a few weeks for refurbishment", but no refurbishment work actually took place and by August 2019 all signage had been removed <small>[https://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/48461236252/ photo]</small>.
 Fish and meat restaurant in [[Locale Croydon|Croydon]]. It's run by Malcom John, who also has [[Le Vacherin, W4 5LF|Le Vacherin]] in Chiswick and Brasserie Vacherin in Sutton (and used to run [[Le Cassoulet, CR2 6PA|Le Cassoulet]] in South Croydon, now sadly closed).
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The information below is retained for historical purposes.
 <b>Note:</b> As of June 2013, [http://www.croydonadvertiser.co.uk/Fish-Grill-renamed-Brasserie-Vacherin/story-19317514-detail/story.html the Croydon Advertiser reports] that Fish &amp; Grill is due to be rebranded as Brasserie Vacherin, in line with the one in Sutton.
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<div class="old_info">
Restaurant in [[Locale Croydon|Croydon]]. It's run by Malcom John, who also has [[Le Vacherin, W4 5LF|Le Vacherin]] in Chiswick and Brasserie Vacherin in Sutton. It was previously known as Fish &amp; Grill (see <a href="http://london.randomness.org.uk/wiki.cgi?id=Brasserie_Vacherin%2C_CR0_1DP&version=12">earlier version of this page</a> for an assessment), but [http://web.archive.org/web/20170918163102/http://www.croydonadvertiser.co.uk/fish-grill-renamed-brasserie-vacherin/story-19317514-detail/story.html rebranded] to Brasserie Vacherin in June 2013.
 Like Brasserie Vacherin, this one is more relaxed than his Chiswick restaurant; for example, the menu is a single unbound sheet of paper. The food has a French influence, and basically consists of fish dishes and grilled meats. They also serve breakfast and brunch from 10am on weekends (as of June 2012).
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<b>Note:</b> According to the Brasserie Vacherin website as of April 2019, the restaurant is "closed for a few weeks for refurbishment", while local group Croydon Eats Out [https://twitter.com/CroydonEO/status/1120253435541061635 reports that] people with reservations were not informed of the closure. It's unclear when or whether it will reopen.
 [[Kake]], [[bob]], and several others visited on a Tuesday evening in October 2012 as a pre-booked group. [[Kake]]'s starter of tuna tartare (&pound;6.50) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/8278327851/ photo]</small> was overly mushy, but another diner's potted mackerel was pretty good, served at just the right temperature and incorporating just the right amount of butter. [[Kake]]'s main was one of the day's specials: pollock with fennel fronds <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/8278324427/ photo]</small>. The fish itself was great, with a lovely crispy skin, but the sauce had too much acidity (even for [[Kake]], who has been known to drink vinegar neat) and the fennel fronds were rather too plentiful given they appeared to be either almost or completely raw. A side dish of sea vegetables (seaweed) had good flavour but was rather chewy and could perhaps have benefited from longer cooking. Service was good &#8212; welcoming without being overly familiar, and solicitous without being hovery &#8212; though they were a little slow to replenish water glasses towards the end of the meal. Music was playing throughout our visit, perhaps a little louder than ideal for conversation.
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It's housed in a double unit, entered via the bar area on the left. To the right and at the back are dining spaces, with wood-panelled walls, exposed brickwork, and arty seafood prints interspersed with vintage advertising posters <small>[https://www.flickr.com/photos/rjw1/37140310514/ photo]</small>.
 [[bob]], [[elvum]], [[Martin]], [[Northern Steve]], and Bethan paid an earlier visit on a Thursday evening in April 2009. While the restaurant was moderately busy, they easily found a table for us. [[bob]] had the yellowfin tuna tartare (&pound;8.25) to start. It was made of good quality tuna, but I felt it lacked flavour. There was wasabi on the side but not nearly enough for my taste (that may just be me, though). For my main I had the cassoulet with octopus and ham hock (&pound;12). This was really good; the octopus was succulent and tender, and the ham hock was pretty good too. A side order of sprouting broccoli (&pound;3.50) was fine. Apple crumble (&pound;6) to follow was adequate. The wines we had were fine. They offer several by the glass or carafe. We were brought two large jugs of tap water without any fuss.
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[[Kake]] and [[bob]] visited for breakfast on a Sunday morning in October 2017. We'd booked, but this proved unnecessary as we were the sole customers when we arrived at 10:30am and only two others turned up while we were there. Jazz was playing, not too loud.
 Accessibility: A tiny step and then a ramp to get in. There is an accessible toilet, but like the other toilets it's located up one step and then down another.
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There was some confusion over which menus they were actually serving, but we eventually managed to order from the breakfast <small>[https://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/38039579626/ photo]</small> and brunch <small>[https://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/38039580396/ photo]</small> menus.

[[Kake]] went for the spinach and crab eggs benedict (&pound;8.50) <small>[https://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/26315955859/ photo]</small>. This was a bit oddly-executed; the muffin hadn't been toasted, so it got very soggy from the spinach, and the hollandaise was thick, semi-broken, and browned on top. There were also just a few too many pieces of shell in the crab. However, the spinach was cooked accurately, and the eggs were just right, with runny yolks but properly-set whites.

[[bob]] had the two-course brunch (&pound;13), starting with deep-fried squid and roast garlic aioli <small>[https://www.flickr.com/photos/rjw1/37818505132/ photo]</small>. The squid was just a touch greasy, but the batter was well-seasoned and crispy, and the aioli well-flavoured. A main of fried eggs with chorizo, avocado, bacon, and frites <small>[https://www.flickr.com/photos/rjw1/37593027930/ photo]</small> was fine aside from the avocado being fridge-cold while everything else was warm.

The bottomless virgin mary included with [[bob]]'s brunch deal was good, with enough tabasco even for bob. [[Kake]]'s tea was terrible, though, made with a teabag so cheap that it left tea dust in the bottom of the cup; it was also brewed strong rather than weak as requested.

Service was very slow and not particularly well-timed; there were long waits for everything, and [[Kake]]'s main was eaten long before [[bob]]'s even arrived. We had to ask twice for tap water, and when it did turn up it tasted so strongly chlorinated it was almost undrinkable. A 12.5% service charge was automatically added to the bill.

[[Kake]]'s verdict: I was really disappointed! I'm hoping this was just an off day, since others have reported much better experiences.

Accessibility: A tiny step and then a ramp to get in. There is an accessible toilet, but like the other toilets it's located up one step and then down another. On our October 2017 visit the path to the toilets was made very narrow by a propped-open door in the way.
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* [http://cookwitch.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/brasserie-vacherin-croydon.html Cookwitch Creations review]
* [https://tamarindandthyme.wordpress.com/2017/06/10/brunch-at-brasserie-vacherin-in-croydon/ Tamarind And Thyme review]
 * [http://www.andyhayler.com/show_restaurant.asp?id=569 Andy Hayler's review]
* [http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/reviews/14946.html Time Out review]
* [http://www.foodepedia.co.uk/restaurant-reviews/2009/jan/malcolm_johns_fish_and_grill.htm Foodepedia review]
* [http://www.london-eating.co.uk/35547.htm London Eating comments]
* [http://genuiness.wordpress.com/2009/04/05/fish-grill-review/ gen.u.ine.ness review]
* [http://www.tehbus.com/2009/11/sunday-lunch-at-fish-and-grill-south.html Tehbus' review]
* [http://jo-capersinthekitchen.blogspot.com/2009/11/fish-grill-croydon.html Capers In The Kitchen review]
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<div class="last_verified">Last visited by [[Kake]] and [[bob]], October 2017.</div>
</div>
address='48-50 South End, CR0 1DP'
category='Featured Article,Now Closed'
 <div class="last_verified">Last visited by [[Kake]], [[bob]], et al., October 2012.</div>
address='48-50 South End'
category='Breakfast,Featured Article,French Food,Restaurants'
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formatted_website_text=''
 formatted_website_text='fishandgrill.co.uk'
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latitude='51.365210'
locale='CR0,Croydon'
longitude='-0.097670'
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node_image='https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7294/10103984884_8325c8a07d_m.jpg'
node_image_copyright='Kake'
node_image_licence='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/'
node_image_url='https://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/10103984884/'
 node_image='https://farm7.static.flickr.com/6090/6108580913_bf42efba8e_m_d.jpg'
node_image_copyright='Ewan-M'
node_image_licence='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/'
node_image_url='https://www.flickr.com/photos/55935853@N00/6108580913/'
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phone=''
postcode=''
summary='Now closed, was a French restaurant in Croydon.'
website='' website='http://www.fishandgrill.co.uk/'		 os_x='532417'
os_y='164678'
phone='020 8774 4060'
postcode='CR0 1DP'
website='' summary='Fish and meat restaurant in Croydon.'
website='http://www.fishandgrill.co.uk/'

Fish and meat restaurant in Croydon. It's run by Malcom John, who also has Le Vacherin in Chiswick and Brasserie Vacherin in Sutton (and used to run Le Cassoulet in South Croydon, now sadly closed).

Note: As of June 2013, the Croydon Advertiser reports that Fish & Grill is due to be rebranded as Brasserie Vacherin, in line with the one in Sutton.

Like Brasserie Vacherin, this one is more relaxed than his Chiswick restaurant; for example, the menu is a single unbound sheet of paper. The food has a French influence, and basically consists of fish dishes and grilled meats. They also serve breakfast and brunch from 10am on weekends (as of June 2012).

Kake, bob, and several others visited on a Tuesday evening in October 2012 as a pre-booked group. Kake's starter of tuna tartare (£6.50) photo was overly mushy, but another diner's potted mackerel was pretty good, served at just the right temperature and incorporating just the right amount of butter. Kake's main was one of the day's specials: pollock with fennel fronds photo. The fish itself was great, with a lovely crispy skin, but the sauce had too much acidity (even for Kake, who has been known to drink vinegar neat) and the fennel fronds were rather too plentiful given they appeared to be either almost or completely raw. A side dish of sea vegetables (seaweed) had good flavour but was rather chewy and could perhaps have benefited from longer cooking. Service was good — welcoming without being overly familiar, and solicitous without being hovery — though they were a little slow to replenish water glasses towards the end of the meal. Music was playing throughout our visit, perhaps a little louder than ideal for conversation.

bob, elvum, Martin, Northern Steve, and Bethan paid an earlier visit on a Thursday evening in April 2009. While the restaurant was moderately busy, they easily found a table for us. bob had the yellowfin tuna tartare (£8.25) to start. It was made of good quality tuna, but I felt it lacked flavour. There was wasabi on the side but not nearly enough for my taste (that may just be me, though). For my main I had the cassoulet with octopus and ham hock (£12). This was really good; the octopus was succulent and tender, and the ham hock was pretty good too. A side order of sprouting broccoli (£3.50) was fine. Apple crumble (£6) to follow was adequate. The wines we had were fine. They offer several by the glass or carafe. We were brought two large jugs of tap water without any fuss.

Accessibility: A tiny step and then a ramp to get in. There is an accessible toilet, but like the other toilets it's located up one step and then down another.

See also:

Last visited by Kake, bob, et al., October 2012.

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