Favourite happening of 2013: Bastille Day at Brasserie Zédel

This category covers any event that happened during the year and doesn’t fit into the other categories. I did consider the strangely beautiful performance work Above Me the Wide Blue Sky at the Young Vic. There were also some enjoyable days out, such as the London Film and Comic Con in July and the ENB open day. However, there is no doubt that Brasserie Zédel’s celebration of Bastille Day wins out. The brasserie is one of my favourite restaurants in London, an art deco shrine which serves classic French food at decent prices, and the prix fixe is a decent pre-theatre meal for under £10. On Bastille day they offered a free menu formule to regulars (or anyone on their mailing list) wearing a beret and a Breton sailor’s top. The atmosphere was fantastic and fun-filled. It was also lovely to wander up Regent Street afterwards, shut to traffic for the day, even if it did mean spending what I saved on food on silk ties instead.

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Bastille Day, Brasserie Zédel

I didn’t blog this before as I don’t usually review restaurants but this was an event. “Join us this Sunday, 14th July, to celebrate Bastille Day… we are offering a three course lunch or dinner for FREE to each and everyone who turns up dressed in a Blue and White Hooped Breton Shirt and a Beret. Moustaches are optional!” As the owner of a genuine Breton shirt (bought in France), how could I resist? For the price of a beret bought at our local market, I enjoyed the menu formule in the company of scores of similarly attired people. That was at 1:30, not the busiest time of day, so I’d guess that there were hundreds of us during the day. One table contained a whole family, all dressed to match, even their daughters’ dolls! Whether it’s Bastille Day or not, Brasserie Zédel is an extraordinary example of beautifully renovated Art Deco and remarkably good value. This wasn’t my first visit and won’t be my last.