I recently booked a night away in York with my partner and without our children. One of the things I was looking forward to the most was our evening meal. People told me that the options for eating out were excellent. According to others who have visited this city, there are many outstanding restaurants in York. As this was my first visit to York, I wanted to take my time to decide where to eat. Therefore, we took a stroll through the city center and read the menus as we went along. We also looked into the restaurants trying to find somewhere with a good atmosphere. We finally returned almost to the beginning of our trek to eat at one of the first restaurants we had seen- Cafe Rouge. Here is our review of Cafe Rouge in York (updated in October 2020 in relation to the coronavirus situation).
Review of Cafe Rouge- The Venue
A French bistro called Cafe Rouge at The Adams House, 52 Lower Petergate, Low Petergate, York YO1 7HZ
Cafe Rouge is a chain restaurant with more than 70 locations around the UK.
Ambiance
One of the reasons we choose this restaurant was because there were plenty of others eating there. We had walked past many restaurants that were large and almost empty. This was not the ambience we were looking for to enjoy a romantic meal. Cafe Rouge was welcoming and warm, which was just what we needed on a cold January night. There was a mix of couples and families ranging in age. Therefore, we felt this would be a comfortable place to eat.
Review of the Starters at Cafe Rouge
I chose the breaded camembert which came with a cranberry and redcurrant sauce. The melted cheese was delicious and my only complaint was that there wasn’t enough of the tangy sauce.
My partner chose an unusual starter that was something he had not tried before. Eggs meurette is a poached egg with red wine, bacon, and mushroom sauce and accompanied by chargrilled sourdough bread. He said it made a nice change from the usual starters he orders.
Main Courses Review
Rather unpredictably, we both ordered the 8oz sirloin steak, his cooked rare and mine cooked medium. These came with frites, and we paid extra for a peppercorn sauce each and a house salad. The steaks were cooked to perfection and were exceptionally tender. The sauce, although not much of it, had the right amount of kick and was not too creamy, which is often the case with many peppercorn sauces. My one very minor complaint was that the house salad was tiny and basically consisted of a quartered tomato with a few green leaves drizzled with sauce.
Cafe Rouge Desserts Review
I didn’t really have room for a dessert but as this was a special treat, I made the decision to have one. We had looked at the set menu when we had arrived and the desserts looked delicious. However, we had decided to order off the main menu. When we asked for a dessert menu, it consisted of completely different desserts from the set menu. My partner called the waiter and asked if we could choose a dessert from the set menu and he reassured us that this was fine. We both opted for the chocolate torte served with a vanilla creme fraiche. It was absolutely divine!
Cafe Rouge Review of Service
Our waiter was called Raffa (apologies if the spelling of his name is incorrect!) and he was welcoming and courteous as soon as we arrived. He even put two tables together as we had ordered side dishes so we would have more room for our food. The waiter was attentive when we needed him, but made himself scarce when we were enjoying our meals and conversation.
He was especially accommodating with regard to our request about the dessert menu. At the end of the meal, we were asking him about the area and for recommendations of places to enjoy a drink where there was a good atmosphere. He was very chatty and helpful.
Review of Cafe Rouge in York- Cost
The prices at Cafe Rouge were a little more than I am usually willing to pay, but this was a special treat. If you look at the online menu there are no prices on it and there is a reason for this, I suspect. The cost of a very average bottle of cabernet sauvignon was £22 before we even started on the food. However, looking at other venues in York, it is quite a pricey place to eat out no matter which venue you choose. The total cost of the meal came to just short of £92 for the two of us. Was it worth the cost? Just about!
Review of Cafe Rouge in York- Overall Rating
Overall, I would give Cafe Rouge in York a four out of five-star rating. I thoroughly enjoyed my meal and there was a great atmosphere. There were just a few minor points that let it down, such as the cost, the tiny side salad and the lack of sauce. Other than that, I would highly recommend this restaurant.
Update for 17/10/2020– There were rumours of closures of Cafe Rouge restaurants, along with Bella Italia restaurants, when their parent company ran into financial difficulties. For now, the Cafe Rouge in York remains open. However, COVID-19 restrictions have impacted the regular operations of many restaurants. Therefore, it is best to check their opening times before heading to Cafe Rouge in York to enjoy a meal.
If you are visiting York, you may find it useful to read our reviews of the best hotels in York, the best Chinese takeaways in York and the best Indian takeaways in York. You might also like our review of Marmaduke Townhouse Hotel, which is where we stayed during our visit.