By Nodd Gooding

So, your parents are coming to visit, and have offered to take you out for a nice London meal – all you have to do is choose where. It is pretty hard to go wrong with most restaurants around the Covent Garden area – crammed as it is with every cuisine from tapas to sushi. However, if you want a more personal touch without the ‘chain’ label, it is hard to go wrong with Bedford and Strand.

At around £30 for a three-course meal, excluding wine, it is probable that you would have to have been a pretty good son or daughter for your parents to take you here, but once you get a table, it is well worth it. As you walk downstairs to the restaurant you will here the bustling atmosphere, and as you enter will feel as though you have walked into a mixture of a scene from ‘‘Allo ‘Allo’ and a trendy wine bar for executives after work.

The décor is that of a traditional French brasserie – none of the white tablecloths that most of the 'posh' joints in town go for; and it is this kind of authenticity that gives it its edge over its main competition. The detail in the wine list is a compliment to this. Although on my visit we paid £5 more than the price of the house wine, it was well worth it: two bottles later, and we were all having a very merry time. If you feel daunted by the noise of lots of people talking on first entry, you will not after you are ‘settled in’ a little more.

As for the food, it is nothing short of stunning. Their cassoulet – a traditional French dish made with meat and haricot beans – was flavoursome and succulent. At £14.50 you would hope so, but it is hard to overstate how worthwhile it is. The same can be said of the £18.50 rib-eye steak. And dessert-wise, the ‘hot chocolate fondant’ and ‘Madagascan vanilla cheesecake’, even if they sound a bit pretentious, are perfect ways to round off a delicious meal.

If you really have been a good boy or girl, and can persuade your parents to let you have a go on the cheese menu as well, then you are sure to be able to spend another worthwhile £20-30. The Roquefort Papillion for £6 springs to mind. Alternatively, it was noticed that much of the clientele were simply there for the after dinner cheese and wine, which sounds like a brilliant idea if you are looking to spend a little less.

When you have paid your bill and given a hefty tip – because you will want to – you will probably stand up and struggle to put your coat on, as you haven’t quite realised how much of that delicious wine you actually have had. Your stomach will be full, but not bloated and you will have to concentrate as you struggle to negotiate the rather steep steps going upwards to street level. Nevertheless, you will have had a great night out, and your parents will, hopefully, have done so as well. Bedford and Strand is the perfect combination of posh, for impressing your parents; and cool, so you feel at home as well.

Key Facts
Where: 1a Bedford Street, On the Corner with The Strand
Nearest Tube Stop: Charing Cross
Capacity: 50
Telephone: 020 7836 3033
Price Per Head: £30 (exc. Wine) - £70 (inc. Wine and Cheese).
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 12-3pm & Mon-Sat 5:30 – 11.30pm.