Cafe Rouge, London Bridge, SE1

Unable to find an outdoor table at the nearby Horniman at Hay's, I must have let my guard drop for a minute or two as the next thing I know, I'm perusing a rather pricey and uninspiring bottled beer list on the terrace of the Cafe Rouge. This formulaic French themed cafe-bar has a pretty nice location under the roof of the Hay's Gallery, although to be fair it was at times akin to being in a large greenhouse thanks to the sweltering heat of the midday sun. The two tiered interior straddles the line between continental cafe and bland English food-led pub chain, with decor seemingly lifted straight from the local Toby Carvery or similar. A few random French words and phrases had been painted on the walls to provide timely reminders of the bar’s theme, but beyond this (and perhaps parts of the menu), the theme doesn't really get off the ground. Beers on offer included the likes of Stella, Kronenburg, Leffe and Hoegaarden - mostly bottled but I spotted a few people drinking pints, so maybe the Stella or Kronenburg is on draught. We had a bite to eat and I have to say the food we tried (a sharing platter of assiette du porc, merguez sausages, rillettes and some blue cheese) was very nice and the waitress who served us was friendly and quick to help when the order came out wrong. This was my first visit to a Cafe Rouge establishment and whilst I'm sure this was quite a fresh concept when it first appeared, I found the whole thing a bit tired and dated. The food was certainly up to scratch, if not the cheapest, but as a pub/drinking experience it doesn't really deliver much and I will be sure to remain far more vigilant when looking for somewhere to stop off in the future.