What: A Chelsea restaurant that tips its hat to the traditional bouchons of Lyon. Billed as a neighbourhood French bistro, Josephine is in the space that was home to Colette and seats 76.
Who: Josephine is the latest restaurant from increasingly prolific chef restaurateur Claude Bosi joining his two Michelin-starred Bibendum just up the road, the newly two-starred Brooklands at The Peninsula and Mayfair’s more casual but still pretty spendy Socca. It is the Lyon-born chef’s first joint venture with his wife Lucy and is described as his most personal project to date, taking it name from his late grandma. The general manager is Will Smith (no, not that one) a well-known face in London hospitality having previously been the co-owner of influential and highly rated West End restaurants Arbutus and Wild Honey.
The food: The menu is largely based on the dishes Bosi’s grandmother used to cook him. The menu is divided into classic bistro dishes, such as French onion soup, oeuf en gelée, terrine de campagne; rabbit in mustard sauce and veal sweetbread in morel sauce and those that are more specifically Lyonnaise and draw on Bosi's family recipes and are less commonly found on French menus in the UK. Dishes here include fromage de tête (brawn); quenelle de brochet, sauce Nantua (pike mousse with crayfish sauce); andouillette, sauce moutarde (tripe sausage, Dijon mustard sauce); oeuf meurette, garniture grand-mère (poached eggs, red wine sauce, mushroom and bacon); and pied de porc pané, sauce aux herbes (pigs trotter croquette). No fewer than five potato-based sides are available: pommes duchesse; purée de pommes de terre; gratin dauphinois; pomme vapeur; and frites. Desserts include rum baba that is doused with a choice or rums table side and served with vanilla chantilly; rice pudding with caramelised apple; and nougat glacée.
To drink: All the wines at Josephine are sourced from the Rhone Valley, including Josephine’s own label wine, which is available in red, white and rosé. In keeping with the classical French feel, this will be available as bouchon-style metre wine, where the bottle is left on the table for guests to help themselves. At the end of the meal, the wine is measured with a ruler so guests can pay for what they have drunk. Bosi will also select a monthly speciality wine, which will be available by the ‘pot Lyonnaise’ - the bouchon's alternative to a carafe.
The vibe: With a ‘classic and timeless’ look Josephine is inspired by some of Lyon’s most vaunted establishments. Design details include antique mirrors, warm candelabra lighting and small bistro tables. There is a semi-private dining area seating 20 to the rear of the restaurant with its walls bedecked with classic French film posters as well as four bar-top window seats that are reserved for people popping in for a snack and a few glasses of wine. Every table has is own long wick candle with the room getting increasingly cosy as the light outside dwindles.
And another thing: Josephine is refreshingly inexpensive, especially when compared to the rest of Bosi’s portfolio (although, to be fair, the recently launched Brooklands does offer a £58 express lunch menu). Indeed, the restaurant's menu de canut gives the likes of Côte a run for its money, offering two courses for £24.50 or three courses for £29.50 and there’s also a plat du jour option priced at £15.50.
315 Fulham Road, London SW10 9QH