Monday, September 17, 2007

Inc Brasserie: O2-O-K

I missed the spider's previous incarnations as a gigantic night club and then as an interactive science space. Its latest metamorphosis reminds me of a newer, shinier, trendier, more upmarket version of those out of town centres where acres and acres of car parking spaces were bordered by a cinema, a pizza place, a bowling alley and may be some improbably large electrical goods shops. This version features most examples of chain eateries and drinkeries of the slightly-nicer-than-you-might-expect-from-a-chain variety. They have a captive audience in the form of people visiting the multi-screen cinema and the two concert stages, one of them of Wembley-esque proportions. Consequently, this is the only place where I have seen a long queue snaking out of the Pizza Express door at 6pm on a Sunday night.


We resisted the temptation to join in and instead opted for a queue-less dinner at the near-by Inc Brasserie. The menu - printed as a paper place mat - was surprisingly pared back. All the savoury food was listed in column under "nos plats", though this also included the only 3 options for starters - bread and olives (£3), pate (£5) or a meat plate (£11). Main course selection (most just shy of the £10 mark) was bog standard - fishcakes, Caesar salad... The only authentically French thing about the place was the waiter, who paced disconcertingly up and down the narrow passageway next to our table. Still, my steak sandwich (£9) featured some nicely pink meat and well caramelised onions, as well as cheese --alas an ingredient that's all too often omitted from this dish. The burger (£10) came topped with an authentic French cornichon, though it then let down the side by having less pleasant slices of gherkin inside. The accompanying salad leaves were nicely dressed and the chips were ok. The house red (£12), however, was pretty undrinkable. And with no cheese course on offer (you call yourself a French brasserie??!), we felt little temptation to linger over people-watching at our salad-green metal patio table. Still, the prices weren't bad and neither was the food, making this potentially one of the better options in the O2.


Inc Brasserie, The O2, Peninsula Square, SE10 0DX; Tube: North Grenwich

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Brasserie Inc o2 London -- audrey mccracken ---- This is bad from a bad place where the bad people live. This is a glutinously awful pig-swamp bad, out all on its own in the badlands. This is, to put it simply, just so you don’t forget, terribly bad food. And it’s terribly bad food from the bad past. It’s like having your mum come out with photographs of your 1980s girlfriend, and you have a look and you think, “Oh, my God, how could I ever have put that in my mouth?”