We visited Bournemouth’s Café Rouge on Seamoor Road in Westbourne.
Drinks aren’t included in the set menu but there is a good selection of soft and alcoholic drinks to choose from. The wine list is unsurprisingly weighted towards French tipples and we went for two glasses of red, the Malbec, Côte Lavande and Cabernet Sauvignon, Baron D’arignac. Both were served at the correct temperature, and delicious, but maybe not brilliant matches when you see our dining choices below. Luckily, water for the table was provided at no extra cost (always a plus point).
For starters we picked two new dishes, the Artichoke & Tomato Tapenade Tart and Breaded Whitebait. The tart has wonderfully light pastry and is served hot with a watercress, frisée lettuce, shallot and chive garnish. The whitebait were some of the largest we’ve seen, lightly battered and come with lemon & coriander mayonnaise. Café Rouge rightly source their fish from MSC certified sustainable fisheries.
For mains we also tried two new dishes, Roast Chicken Suprême and a Quiche Lorraine. The chicken is served with petits pois à la Française, bacon lardons, braised baby gem lettuce and new potatoes and went down very well. The cheese & ham quiche is a familiar classic, served with frites and a watercress & shallot salad. The frites are worth a mention. They may share appearance with fries from a certain American fast-food chain, but our portion was something else, so crispy, hot, firm, potatoey! Be sure to order a main with the frites.
We visited Café Rouge on a Monday evening and the place was almost totally full with a great atmosphere and mix of clientele. The staff were working hard and our server, with the fabulous name “Lush”, was friendly and attentive.
After a short break we chose desserts and went for the Eton Mess and Pecan Tarte. I am never sure how messy an Eton Mess is actually supposed to be, but whatever it looked like this one was delightful. Strawberry coulis was added to the strawberry slices, meringue and plenty of Chantilly cream. The Pecan Tarte was served with vanilla ice cream and is always a winner.
The set menu is not available with any offers or discounts.
We’ve never seen this Café Rouge quiet of an evening so we definitely recommend booking your table in advance on 01202 757472. Please mention Visit Bournemouth when booking.
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We were guests of Café Rouge for this meal.
