Telephone: 01926 452807
Address: 39 Chandos Street, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
Website: oscarsfrenchbistro.co.uk
Hidden among an array of charity shops, retail outlets and kebab shops frequented mainly by drunk students who find themselves in Leamington Spa at 2am, is a lovely little French restaurant. You might walk straight past it if you don't know it's there, but when you do you'll wonder how you ever missed it.
Step inside Oscar's Bistro and you're transported to an elegant Parisian cafe, with the odd piece of artwork hanging on the wall and white tablecloths covering tables (mainly for two). It's a popular haunt for couples on a romantic night out, but try to grab a table in the back room if you're arranging dinner with a large group of friends.
You'll be shown to your table by Pascal, the restaurant manager from Aix en Provence who, as well as lending his name to the menu's bistro salad, is also the resident wine expert. Oscar's is not snobby about wine: alongside French Muscadet and Bordeaux they also have New World wines and a Portugese Casa do Lojo. To save us the difficulty of choosing, we asked Pascal, who recommended the Cotes du Ventoux, a bottle of Beaujolais at a respectable price of £15.95.
Throughout the evening, the perfectly recreated ambience of a sophisticated French bistro drew in a steady influx of diners, most having pre-booked, desperate to get their fix of French food. The menu was a selection of standard French fare such as pate, sea bass, bouillabaisse and steak au frites. As with most French restaurants Oscar's doesn't really recognise vegetarianism as a mainstream lifestyle choice; a half-hearted gesture was made in the form of Blue Cheese and Vegetable Gratin. I went for the full whammy of their three-course meal at £20 but there is the option of two courses at £18.
My starter of chilli and garlic prawns was delicately flavoured and melted in my mouth. I was not disappointed with my main course of duck confit either. It was cooked to perfection and used simple clean flavours in the wonderful tradition of French cooking. As Serge Gainsbourg took over the serenading from Edith Piaff, I decided there was no competition against the crème brulée for dessert and was particularly pleased to find the caramel layer break with a satisfying crack as I attacked it with my spoon.
But despite the beautifully cooked food I was slightly disappointed because I felt Oscar's was playing it rather safe. The food definitely wasn't the culinary equivalent of a tourist wearing a beret, but I thought their website's claim that "if you wouldn't find it in France it won't be on our menu" wasn't a wholly accurate representation of what they had to offer.
A Parisian restaurant I love is Le Chalet des Iles in the Bois de Boulogne. It too has a great atmosphere but serves traditional French cuisine. Le Chalet des Iles's classic dish of Tartare de Boef is something Oscar's could easily provide, but does not.
With an evidently talented chef, Oscar's should definitely be able to pull off more adventurous French gastronomy.
I asked Oscar's chef why he doesn't extend the restaurant's repertoire and he told me "the English palette is just not ready for it. If they saw a fish head or snails they just wouldn't eat it." Oscar's also started an Auberge night, with the intention that all diners would eat together on one big table. But this attempt to emulate a French village tradition didn't go down well with British restaurant-goers wanting their privacy.
Whatever Oscar's Bistro's limitations are, it has an unabashedly French spirit. For £36 you'll get good food and good wine - it's a bonus if you've got good company to share it all with.
