The Little Red Pepper is the name of the second incarnation of a restaurant at the same place. Before the extensive and lovely refurbishment it was called "The Red Pepper", but we were pleased on our first visit back to see that it's the same team with mostly the same menu. We have been many times over the last decade, either after drinks at Real Drinks a few doors down, or after showing my nephews around London. We had never had a Friday Night Dinner here, and with its new name in place, it seemed a good opportunity to do so.

From the menu, we picked the courgette fries as our starter. They've been a favourite for a while. And they did not disappoint.

For her main, my wife had the Linguine al Gamberi. Juicy prawns with cherry tomatoes, garlic, and a hint of chilli. I had the Ravioli, with Ricotta and fresh spinach — finished with a butter and sage sauce, and topped with some Parmesan. They were well filled, and the sauce nicely brought it together.

We didn't fancy dessert, but instead enjoyed a digestif. Again an enjoyable meal, and we'll very likely be back.

Courgette Fries

1 / 3

Ravioli

2 / 3

Linguine al Gamberi

3 / 3

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We visited on a wet Thursday evening, and even though we ran from the metro station around the square, we were still fairly damp by the time we arrived. Inside, we were warmly welcome and seated in the window.

We started our meal with a glass of cremant, because why not. After selecting our starters and mains, we asked the waiter for wine recommendations. We each had different starters and mains, which called for something that suited each dish.

While we were waiting for our starters, we were presented with a stack of home-made pretzels, and a cucumber gazpacho. I'm usually not a fan of the original tomato version, but this variation with cucumber and tzatziki was outstanding. The fresh cucumber with the yoghurt worked well, and little cubes of perfectly even cucumber added a bit of crunch. One of the best dishes we enjoyed this year.

For our starters, my wife had the fried squid and mussel salad, served with some sweet grilled vine tomatoes. I enjoyed the pan-fried girolle mushrooms and snails, finished with a vin jaune sauce. The sauce was rich and bound the dish together. Some crunchy croutons added some texture.

For her main, my wife ordered the steak, and this is where Paris Bonheur let us down a little. Although it was a good cut, it was sadly a little tough. The fries were really good, and came freshly cooked and in a generous portion — if only they had arrived with the steak as intended, rather than being served to an adjacent table. This error was very quickly noticed and rectified. I chose the smoked duckling with red fruits and beetroot as my main dish. The duck was well cooked, although in my opinion the skin should have been crispy. The red fruits added acidity, and the beetroot some welcome earthiness.

We did not have a dessert, as we were too full! Overall we'd thoroughly recommend this spot.

Homemade Pretzels

1 / 5

Cucumber and Tzaziki Gaspacho

2 / 5

Squid and Mussel Salad

3 / 5

Mushrooms and Snails

4 / 5

Duckling with Red Fruits and Beetroot

5 / 5

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It's a pub, not far from the Design Museum in Kensington, just off the main road which forms High Street Kensington. The Holland is on a busy-ish road, but inside it is a calm and relaxing spot. There are some tables outside too. When we visited, it wasn't especially busy, with a couple of groups inside and standing outside having some drinks in the warm weather. The staff were very friendly and attentive, and before we knew it, we had our menus to pick our dishes.

For her starter, my wife had the potted crab on toast. The portion size was excellent, the crab tasty, and also nicely presented. I enjoyed the steak tartare, which was mixed with tomato and a little horseradish. It was served heaped with Parmesan cheese, and a potato cake (thin layers of potato, fried).

For my main, I had the "Fish of the Day" with a Vierge sauce and some spinach. Today's fish was Pollock. It had a lovely crispy skin, and the sauce was punchy with tomato, basil, and a large squeeze of lemon — maybe a little too much though, which made it a touch too sour to my liking. My wife chose the sweetcorn risotto. It was slightly sweet from the corn, with a touch of spice and well cooked rice. The usual sprinkling of cheese added a bit of balance.

With our meal, we enjoyed a crisp Grüner Veltliner, by the bottle.

We did book this through "The Fork", which gave us £20 off as we had enough "yums", which was nice! The Fork is one of the booking platforms we use to find restaurants.

Steak Tartare

1 / 4

Potted Crab on Toast

2 / 4

Pollock

3 / 4

Sweetcorn Risotto

4 / 4

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