I went with some friends to this French restaurant in London, located on Greek Street in Soho. It was an occasionally perplexing and even tense experience, although the martini I drank before my meal was nice.

The staff were friendly and pleasant but there was a strange, intense and even chaotic element to the service. It was difficult to book a table, despite the fact that the place was empty when we turned up at our allotted time.

When I ordered two martinis for the table there was a terrifying episode when the first waiter couldn’t tell if I was saying two martinis or two ‘martinez’ (a variation on the classic martini recipe). The situation escalated until another waiter was called to assist in the translation but he was equally unable to understand my order. There followed vigorous pointing at the menu and eventually they seemed to understand, although during the time they were making the drink I was on the edge of my seat, terrified that they had made a mistake and that I would have to do the British thing of not mentioning it to them once they had served me. The trials of life!

Fortunately one of the waiters soon returned to ask me how I would like the martini (sweet or dry? Olive or twist?). The drink arrived 10 minutes later and while I don’t think the gin or glass had been kept in the freezer it was still very cold. They had made the effort to serve a good quality martini.

It didn’t come with any nibbles but we ordered snails which I have to say were utterly delectable and definitely the highlight of the meal.

The decor of the restaurant was nice, my pate starter was tasty although the main of trout was a little underwhelming. Nonetheless, I will stick to reviewing the martini which I thought was a good effort. It wasn’t just a drink option the management had put on the menu out of pretension. It was made attentively and with care, despite the stressful ordering process.

In short, I would recommend you drop in for a martini and escargot, but probably eat your main course elsewhere.