Here at Vibe we love to try out different restaurants in the area. This week reporter Andy Bloss and his family took a trip to Brasserie Vacherin, Croydon’s newest French restaurant.

The restaurant is run by award winning chef Malcolm John and is located in Croydon’s restaurant quarter, South End.

As we walked in it was obvious to see it was a busy night. The place was packed. Despite this we were instantly attended to and offered seats around the bar area.

We thought of starting the night as we meant to go on so we ordered a glass of Prosecco each. After some chit chat we were taken to our table and had our first look at the menu.

For starters I plumped for the spinach and goat’s cheese crepe and for main course I went for the Pork and Duck Cassoulet which I was delighted to see on the menu.

I couldn’t manage a pudding, although as it was my mum’s birthday she was given a complimentary Raspberry sorbet and a rendition of Happy Birthday from the staff. A classy touch.

I ended up finishing the evening with a cup of coffee and a glass of Armagnac, I could have been somewhere in South West France in all honesty.

The meal was fairly priced and you get what you pay for. Quality. There was a great choice of wines and by all accounts the wine list is set to increase which is even better.

The front of house staff were fantastic. I didn’t have to ask once for my glass to be refilled which showed how attentive they were.

As a big fan of French cuisine it is great to see a little bit of France come to Croydon and I will no doubt be visiting again.

Brasserie Vacherin, 48-50 South End, CR0 1DP, visit brasserievacherincroydon.co.uk or call 020 8774 4060.

Ratings:

Food: ***** Top class, full of flavour and ingredients are locally sourced.

Drink: **** A great choice of wines which are going to expand.

Service: ***** Kind, friendly, attentive. Chef Malcolm John even came out to have a chat with us later on.

Atmosphere: **** Bubbly atmosphere. The hot weather meant the doors and windows opened up onto the street which gave it a real continental feel.