Otto’s French Restaurant is an intimate Clerkenwell dining room founded by Otto Tepassé and Elin Hansen in 2011. The restaurant draws on the grand traditions of Escoffier and classic Parisian hospitality, combining carefully sourced ingredients with personal service and a deliberately unhurried pace.
The menu moves through refined French starters and substantial main courses cooked individually to order. Soufflé, snails, smoked salmon, fish quenelle and duck rillettes may lead into Dover sole, duck, pigeon, Bresse chicken, lamb or beef, with sauces and accompaniments prepared through established classical techniques.
Rare silver presses create the restaurant’s most distinctive dining experiences. Pressed duck and pressed lobster are completed beside the table, where the concentrated juices help form a rich sauce, while Dover sole is deboned, pigeon is carved and selected desserts are flambéed in front of guests.
French wine, carefully chosen bottles from elsewhere and traditional desserts complete the meal. A separate Belle Époque Room can host private dining with bespoke menus and signature pressed dishes, giving celebrations and business gatherings the same detailed service as the main restaurant.
Address: 182 Gray’s Inn Road, Clerkenwell, London WC1X 8EW, United Kingdom
Otto's Holborn Menu
Entrées
Iman Bayildi
Spiced Roast Aubergine, Olive Oil, Mint and Coriander, Red Pepper and Crème Fraiche d’Isigny
Soufflé aux Fromages de Chèvre et Fourme d’Ambert
Double Baked Goats’ Cheese Soufflé and Cheese Sauce
Timbale de Crabe et Avocat aux Pommes Fruits
Handpicked White Crab Meat and Avocado
Cuisses de Grenouilles Frites, Risotto à la Provençale
Tempura of Frogs Legs, Provençale Risotto
Croustillant d’Escargots et Crevettes
Vol au Vent of Six large Burgundian Snails Marinated in Chablis and Parsley. Sauteed Shelled King Prawns
Ballotine de Foie Gras, Marmelade des Raisins
Foie Gras Paté, House Preserved Grape Jam, Toasted Brioche
St Jacques et Crevette en croute, Bisque de Homard
King Scallops and shelled King Prawn, Lobster Bisque
Suprême de Pigeon d’Anjou, Champignons Sauvages, Sauce à la Truffe
Sauteed Breast of Squab Anjou Pigeon, Sauteed Wild Mushrooms, Truffle Sauce
Saumon d’Ecosse Fumé, Coupé à la Minute, Garniture Traditionnelle
Scottish Smoked Salmon, Traditional Garnish
Plats
Vol au Vent aux Oeufs de Caille et Champignons, Jeunes Légumes
Vol au Vents, Soft-Boiled Quail Eggs, Mixed Mushrooms, Hollandaise and Baby Vegetables
Tourte de Bifteck, Essence de Poulet de Bresse
Meat Pie of Simmental Beef Fillet, Sirloin and Rib Eye Steak and Rack of Lamb, Sauteed Wild Mushrooms, Bresse Chicken Essence
Caille de Bresse en Robe Rotie, Farce au Foie Gras
Boned and roasted Quail dressed in puff pastry, Foie Gras stuffing, Red Wine and Mushroom Sauce
Filet de Cabillaud à la Persillade
Roast Fillet of Cod, Butternut Squash, confit fennel, Parsley Sauce
Sole de Douvres Meunière
Dover Sole Meunière, Seasonal Vegetables
Sandwich de Homard d’Ecosse, Bisque de Homard
Scottish Lobster Sandwich, Baked Lobster Bisque
Mignons et Gallette de Veau de Lait de Normandie aux Morilles
Normandy Milk Fed Veal medallions and pattie, Morel Mushroom sauce
Pied de Cochon à la Tante Claire
Fully Boned Pig’s Trotter Stuffed with Veal Sweetbread, Morel Mushroom Sauce
300g de Filet de Bœuf Rossini, Fondant de Cèleri-Rave, Sauce Périgord
Prime Cut Fillet Rossini, Two Seared Escalopes of Duck Foie Gras, Truffle Sauce
Tartare de Bœuf d’Ecosse, Pomme Fondante
Traditional Tartare of Hand Cut Scottish Beef Fillet – Prepared at the Table
OTTO’S ULTIMATE STEAK TARTARE, SEARED ESCALOPES OF FOIE GRAS, 30G OSCIETRA CAVIAR
Pommes Soufflées and Perigord Sauce
CARRE D’AGNEAU ROTI FOR TWO
Roast Boned Best End of Welsh Lamb, Herb Crust, Dauphinoise Potato, Green Beans, Jus
POULET DE BRESSE ROTI
Whole Roast Bresse Chicken
Apéritif
Cocktail Maison – Bellini
Classic Champagne cocktail
Glass of Champagne / Kir Royale
Kir Vin Blanc
Meteor Bière
Negroni Classic
Riesling Auslese 2020, J.J. Prüm (sweet)
Negroni Sbagliato
PIGEON D’ANJOU AU SANG A LA PRESSE
Pigeon d’Anjou au Sang à la Presse
HOMARD A LA PRESSE
Homard à la Presse
La Grande Bouffe
La Grande Bouffe
POULET DE BRESSE ‘DEMI DEUIL’ EN VESSIE
POULET DE BRESSE ‘DEMI DEUIL’ EN VESSIE
SWEET WINES BY THE GLASS
Riesling Auslese ‘Bernkasteler Lay’ 2020
Joh. Jos. Prüm, Mosel, Germany £19.00 £130.00 (75cl)
Carmes de Rieussec 2020
Sauternes, Bordeaux, France £17.50 £99.00 (75cl)
PORT
Graham’s 2019 LBV
£9.50 £62.00 (75cl)
Graham’s 20 Years Old Tawny Port
£16.50 £115.00 (75cl)
MADEIRA GLASS (100ML)
Blandy’s Sercial 10 Years Old (Dry)
£12.00 £59.00 (50cl)
Blandy’s Malmsey 15 Years Old (Sweet)
£16.00 £76.00 (50cl)
Fromage
Selection of Mature Cheeses 3 Pieces
Roquefort Carles – Ewe’s Milk, Aveyron 18 Months Aged Comté – Cow’s Milk, Jura Mothais-Sur-Feuille – Goat’s Cheese, Poitou-Charentes
Pâtisseries
Soufflé au Grand Marnier
Grand Marnier Souffle, Raspberry Coulis
Tarte Tatin
Tarte Tatin, Vanilla Ice Cream
Baba au Rhum, Crème Chantilly
Rum Baba, Chantilly Cream
Petit Pot au Chocolat Riche
Rich Chocolate Pot, Coconut Ice Cream
Pot au Citron
Lemon Posset, Almond Biscuit
Otto’s Warhol Banana
Banana baked ‘en papillote’ with Rum, Thick Custard and Banana Split Ice Cream
La Boule de Glaces et Sorbets
Ice Cream – Banana Split, Vanilla Sorbet – Raspberry, Lemon, Coconut
SWEET WINES
Carmes De Rieussec 2020
Sauternes, Bordeaux, France £17.50 £99.00 (75CL)
Coteaux du Layon 1er Cru ’Chaume’ 2014
Domaine Michel Blouin, Loire, France £40.00 (37.5cl)
Muscat de Beaumes de Venise 2022
Domaine de Durban, Rhône £44.00 (37.5cl)
Lieutenant de Sigalas Rabaud 2009
Château Sigalas Rabaud, Sauternes, France £67.00 (37.5cl)
Gewurztraminer Vendage Tardive 2015
Hugel, Alsace, France £85.00 (37.5cl)
Château Suduiraut 2006
1er Grand Cru Classé, Sauternes £127.00 (37.5cl)
Riesling Auslese ‘Bernkasteler Lay’ 2020
Joh. Jos. Prüm, Mosel, Germany £19.00 £130.00 (75cl)
Château Suduiraut 2009
1er Grand Cru Classé, Sauternes £242.00 (75cl)
Château Climens 2001
1er Grand Cru Classé, Sauternes £600.00 (75cl)
Château Doisy Vedrines 1961
2eme Cru Classe Sauternes £655.00 (37.5cl)
Vouvray Moelleux Reserve 2011
Domaine du Clos Naudin, Philippe Foreau £1100.00 (75CL)
Château d’Yquem 2001
1 er Cru Classe, Sauternes £930.00 (37.5cl)
Château d’Yquem 2005
1 er Cru Classe, Sauternes £1500.00 (75cl)