Test Driving Cassette, where the Levan team have created a 21st-century French bistro in Covent Garden

Inside Cassette. Note the speakers hanging down and we particularly like the hexagonal tables in the corner. 

What can you tell us about Cassette?

It comes from the team behind Levan, a European bistro in Peckham that's been a local favourite for eight years. This is their first time opening in a much more central location and with Cassette, they've taken specific inspiration from modern Parisian bistros to give a slightly more modern take on French food. 

Where is it?

They've taken over the ground floor of a Covent Garden townhouse that used to be a Grind Cafe, in the lower part of Covent Garden on Maiden Lane. It's a few doors down from Rules and right opposite the local church. 

This is Cassette. Come next spring, those outside tables are going to be very popular. 

Inside, you'll find a beautiful, understated restaurant, with a unique wooden/fabric installation surrounding the room (which happens to work quite nicely as sound dampening in the tall room). And if you look at the image at the top of the page, you'll also see the sound system. Those little hanging globes are actually speakers which work really well in the environment, allowing the music to cut through the hubbub of the crowd without being overwhelming. That's always a tricky thing to balance and they've done it well here. 

So where should we sit?

We'd say that the best tables are definitely by the front window, but they are for groups of four, so bear that in mind. 

And what can we expect from the menu?

It's a relatively simple snacks-and-three-courses affair, so it's not a place where you have dishes turning up all at once (which makes a pleasant change). As mentioned, they've been inspired by the new wave of Parisian bistros, like the great Bistrot Des Tournelles. So while there's a distinctly Gallic feel to the menu, there are a few more big swings than you'd expect at a more traditional bistro. 

The snacks are definite musts and are mostly all-in-one-bite affairs. So get a couple of these each with cocktails while you're properly checking out the rest of the menu. The following are highly recommended:

Raw beef croustade & comté (£4 each) - do not think of trying to eat this in more than one bite. It will go everywhere (speaks from experience). 

Pickled mussels, panisse & aïoli (£3 each)

After that, it's onto the main event. We've heard very good things about the pigeon choux farci and the grilled red mullet and we've also heard that they'll be serving up Koffmann-style trotters, but they weren't on when we visited. So here's what we went for:

White crab, sungold tomato & crème fraîche (£19) - gorgeously ripe tomatoes and very generous on the crab. 

Fromage de tête, tarragon & wholegrain mustard (£16) - The mustard was particularly lovely on this. 

Hen of the woods & armagnac vol-au-vent & sauce Parisienne (£27) - if the below pie is a bit too full-on for you, see this as something of a veggie version of it. Wonderful sauce too. 

There is also a specials and on our visit, there was a cote de boeuf with bordelaise sauce for two, and it's also where you'll find one of the dishes that has got them a bit of attention in the run-up to the opening, their pie:

The Coq Au Jaune pie (£68).

That pie, made with Black Leg chicken (which can be challenging to source in the UK right now), might put some off for so baldly indicating what's inside. But ultimately you're just plucking out that foot (or the staff can do it for you) and getting on with eating a very, very good pie. It's not quite up to our pie-of-the-year at the Golden Tooth, but if you're on one of those tables of four, we'd strongly recommend getting one of those for the table in addition to the mains. 

And after that, there's still room for dessert?

We always have room for dessert. You can go for the cheese route if you want, but either of these are great options:

Black fig clafoutis & vanilla ice cream (£19, for two)

Mousse au chocolat, olive oil & salt (£8) - There has been a lot of chocolate mousse on London menus of late, but this is one of the best and really generous with that olive oil. 

And what about drinks?

It's a fully French list, as you'd expect, and like Levan, they focus on wines only available in small allocations, so it'll be a regularly changing list. And while you can find some more special vintages in the £100s, the list itself starts off around £39 a bottle, with glasses/carafes starting at £7.90/£29.

There's also a small cocktail list, which is the best place to start and while we'd recommend both of the below, there's also a focus on Calvados, particularly in the Jet Fuel with Get 27 peppermint licuer, calvados and coffee liqueur, worth a try if you need a jolt to get you going. 

Cassette Negroni – gin, cognac, vermouth, gentian, orange bitters (£13), The Maiden Martini – gin, white vermouth, lemon (£14). These are also both available in mini versions. 

Overall thoughts

French dining has come back into fashion in London over the past couple of years, but Cassette manages to feel fresh by taking its own spin on Parisian bistros. You'll see classic French cooking in here, but with a little extra thought, finesse and originality behind things. Combine that with a lovely-looking room that really comes to life when it's packed later in the evening and a strong wine list and it's a Covent Garden newcomer that's well worth checking out.