‘My new favourite place’: Queens Bistro and Wine Bar, Queen Avenue, reviewed

I’m starting to bore myself at this point - bistro this, bistro that, “just give me 3-3-3”.

But there’s been an imbalance in the restaurant world that’s needed addressing for a while; either too much flash, pzazz and insistence on the fancy stuff, usually sushi and cocktails, or a slightly proletariat approach to pizza and pasta, but not a lot in the middle. 

Where were the eateries and casual, wooden-floored rooms, the sense of time slowing down over three courses, rather than tearing through a Neapolitan pizza like you’re late for a train? 

Queens Bistro and Wine Bar has been around since 2019, and therefore weathered the storm not only of Covid but the strange aftershocks in diners’ appetites that have reverberated as a result, and I would say the worst is over. We’re now emerging from the bunker, blinking in the sunlight, remembering that oysters and the like are actually quite nice, and that it doesn’t make you a Tory if you enjoy food on a plate.

Well I’m glad it’s still standing, because if I were you this would be the place I’d rave about, enjoying the warm glow of recommending something as if you were rattling the pans yourself. Some don’t really deserve the glory they’ve got from that other highly infectious, airborne entity - word of mouth - and others, like Queens, really do. 

Snuck away down a handsome alleyway more suited to sometime in the 19th century, it’s just off Castle Street. You wouldn’t think it, what with the vaguely Diagon Alley bay windows and narrow nature, but it’s all the snugger for it. 

Inside it’s just my sort of place; understated class with a slight shabbiness around the edges, basically what you think of when someone says bistro. Easygoing staff who wear their knowledge lightly, a far cry from those that seem like they’re doing you a favour; an inventive, interesting and crystalline menu with little wiggle room. Soft lighting, music that’s relaxed but not soporific, and nice seats outside.  

All that’s left to check on is the food.

I love a menu that can fit on one side of A4. You’re forced to make decisions, confronted with what you truly like when it comes to food, what you always avoid and what you perhaps have too much of. 

I was in for the lunch and early evening set menu, an exercise in glorious simplicity. While there’s a couple of what chefs enjoyably now like to call snacks (focaccia, olives, charcuterie) I dove straight into the menu proper. 

Laid out in a 3-4-3 that would have Johan Cruyff snapping his fingers like a slam poetry crowd, I’d say this menu (changing often, very total football) covers everything you’d want in a lunch. And with two courses for £20 or three for £25, it’s about what you’d want to pay for it as well.

For starters, along with the soup du jour and a salmon mousse with beetroot carpaccio and hazelnut, there was a clear outstanding contender for me; ham hock terrine with pea and radish. 

It’d been a little while since I’d had a terrine or any of its near relatives, and had in mind the usual balance I try to strike of not falling too much on the side of fish or fowl, looking to try both across starters and mains. And here was the perfect opportunity. 

The terrine was that coarse variation on the theme, less the parfait-leaning type, and was a nice change for it. To put it simply, the ham tasted of a fat and happy pig, with that almost woody, earthy undertow to it, which was complimented very well by the bright and peppery crunch of radishes and the florally peas. A simple trio each bringing something to the balance of a classic starter.

The options for main course were an exercise in setting the parameters of a good fixed price menu; cauliflower cheese steak for the veggies (it can also be made vegan), pork ragu for the self-indulgent, bavette steak with frites and additional chimichurri (£4) for those wanting the full bistro experience, and finally a dish that written down was just too enticing and exactly to my tastes; grilled mackerel with fennel and orange salad. 

I love mackerel in all its forms, but perhaps because it makes such a fantastic pâté or can be peppered through salads and lighter dishes for a bit of ballast it’s sometimes not given the stage it deserves. Dover sole has somewhat hogged the limelight. 

This fillet was well seasoned and grilled, and not a great deal more. It doesn’t really need too much embellishment and a good cook knows how to harness that simplicity, as was the case here. It was a fantastically put together dish and I tore through it with happy abandon. The fennel was softened sufficiently but still lent a slight aniseed crunch, the oranges were bright and juicy and the smattering of mint leaves added a welcome and unusual top note to the whole thing. Underneath, the parsley sauce was mopped up more than diligently. 

It was getting towards about 3pm, and at that point dessert can seem a little decadent if you’re still planning to eat dinner later (which of course I was). But sod it, I thought, I’m sure I’ll find room. 

While the selection of house sorbets could certainly have been interesting, it was only ever going to be the chocolate and orange delice with cherry sorbet and hazelnut. It arrived looking dainty and understated, but its delicate appearance hid it’s true nature; a beautifully whisked and creamy delice (‘pleasure’) it may be, but it dragged me around the plate like a neanderthal and I had no choice but to finish it. Fantastic.

I’ll be plain and say that Queens Bistro and Wine Bar is now my new favourite place in the city. Sometimes it really is that straightforward, when something is so clear-minded and executed with class and quality, that it doesn’t really need overthinking all that much. 

I will be back and I suspect sooner rather than later. The menu is changing very soon so I’ve a perfect excuse to darken its door again. Sod it, I might go next week. And the week after that, breakfast lunch and dinner. 

Queens Bistro and Wine Bar, Queen Ave, L2 4TX