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This autumn’s spate of much-anticipated openings has been a food lover’s dream. Legendary patissier Pierre Hermé opened his first London shop at the start of september, steakhouse Hawksmoor is to expand its (excellent) operation to Covent Garden and The Savoy Grill is to finally reopen its doors mid-November – around the same time Hakkasan Mayfair is due to launch.

When in such illustrious company its quite incredible that the opening of a modest French bistro in Covent Garden should cause such a fuss. Nevertheless, above all else, October 11^th was the date circled, underlined and coloured in on the calendars of half the London food ‘twitterati’ and bloggers. Needless to say this particular brasserie is something bit special.

From Anthony Demetre and Will Smith, the collaboration that brought us the venerable Wild Honey and revered Arbutus, comes Les Deux Salons – billed as an informal, unpretentious, good-value extension of the Demetre/Smith dining philosophy.

We came for a late dinner on the second night of opening week with high hopes and great expectations. The tiled marble floor, banquette booths and large atrium make the place feel like an age-old gallic brasserie, but of course the brand new white painted french doors and sparkling silverware suggest otherwise. The menu is alarmingly extensive. I counted ten different entrees, three salads, four soups, two terrines and a sensational 14 different mains. Add to that les plats du jour, the side dishes, deserts and any specials and you have both an incredible selection and a recipe for disaster.

We ordered almost straight away, forgoing the luxury of starters given the late hour and our hunger. Two of us had the Elwy Valley lamb gigot steak and the other, fresh orecchiette pasta with artichokes, pecorino and pine nuts. Cocktails and wine came and went but our food took an absolute age to arrive. A good hour later our food came unceremoniously plonked on the table, the lamb and pasta were served not on a plate but in separate gimmicky cold pans for you to divvy up for yourself. Lukewarm and covered in its own insipid jus – the lamb was not a pretty sight. The pasta faired only marginally better. The gratin dauphinois side was just about enough for one person but silly for two. We had made a point of asking how big the sides when ordering and acting on the waiter’s advice now had lashings of cabbage and cold beans but were fighting over the creamy, soft, rich and hot potatoes. Being the only thing was hot we sent the food back to the kitchen and asked it to be heated up.

The staff were obliging and clattered the food away, returning fifteen minutes later with the lamb and pasta hotter. After noticing that we no longer had cutlery (and after I asked for a spoon for the self-service cabbage) I assume the waiter went to smelt some new implements from raw ore given how long it took him to return. He came back with a sarcastic number of spoons but without any knives or forks. Frustrated and hungry, I resorted to the miniature blunt starter cutlery to eat a very large and now cold lamb steak – feeling quite foolish in the process.

For pudding we had cold chocolate and hazelnut fondant and a glazed tarte au citron. A great believer in the lemon tart my spirits were lifted after a taste of that delicate, buttery pastry and full-bodied gusto of the lemons. The liberal dosing of creme Chantilly helped as well.

Manager Robert was extremely gracious, apologetic and amiable. He explained that some of the staff were inexperienced and new but made no excuses for the fact our food was cold and for the service we received. Leaving as hungry as when we arrived, I didn’t expect to be charged for the food but as a gesture of goodwill our bar tab was covered as well.

I’m not sure whether our experience at Les Deux Salons was just an artefact of opening week or whether it is indicative of the disadvantages of an extensive menu. Even with the soft-opening (limited menu) it did feel like the place was open before it was ready. The website doesn’t have the telephone number displayed and directory enquiries  put you through to the Arbutus switchboard.. As a long time Arbutus fan I will be back to Les Deux Salons to try the dishes I missed out on. The bouche a la reine, ox tripe and andouillette de troyes are all offal favourites from Arbutus that have carried over to this new brasserie. While the à la carte menu doesn’t offer particularly good value for money, the theatre supper (three courses/£15.50) has the potential to become a favourite – provided, of course, that this was a one off.

Place: 1/5 – great location. authentic decor. abysmal service.

Food: -/5 – judgement is formally reserved

Value: 2/5 – the a la carte menu seems overpriced for bistro dining. Theatre supper is much more inviting

Provisional score: 1.5/5* – to be amended after next visit

42-44 William IV St, WC2N 4DD – 020 7420 2050 – lesdeuxsalons.co.uk