Cafe Rouge

I have managed to avoid Café Rouge for years but we were at Gatwick it seemed like a better option than the crowded Weatherspoons next door. It’s a bit pricey (it’s the airport after all!) but we had a good meal with good service.
I had the Paysanne Salade: grilled chicken with bacon, avocado, lettuce etc. Tasty and fresh. My partner has the Veggie gratin with frites which he enjoyed.
Red wine was pricey and below standard. Given the gimmicky French slant to the chain, the wine should much much better but hey ho. It wasn’t a massive surprise.
Overall, one of the better chain spots at Gatwick!

Café Rouge a main stay of Gatwick airport and one which functions well. Having been here in a few occasions if I’m travelling by myself I try and get them to seat me near the monitor so I can check my flight details.
The food is what you expect from the Café Rouge brand portion sizes are good.
The issue is always going to be how quickly you get your order taken (and how correctly as no one writes anything down!!!) and then the end part of paying your bill so you can get away quickly. I now ask for the bill when I receive my order as it saves time and means you don’t have to chase them to pay.
If you are with kids I would always recommend getting a seat by the window so the kids can look at the planes landing, although on a day like today can’t see a lot through the rain.

I thought this was a great little place. The food is good quality and relatively reasonable for an airport. The service was really quick and the bill comes straight away, which is great as people tend to be under time pressure in the airport.
If you are in a rush but looking for a good feed before your flight, I would definitely recommend this place! :D

Good if you are not on a hurry at the airport. A brasserie-​type environment (think French pub) with a fairly good menu selection. Prices are on the high end for North Americans or the main land, but on par for the surrounding restaurents at the airport. I will continue to east/​drink here when going through Gatwick.

The best service I have ever had in Europe. Our French waiter was impeccable. Patient, friendly but not overly, remembered our large order and gave us our bill early (in case we had to run for our flight) but didn’t rush us. Spot on.

Nicely decorated, relaxed bistro vibe is a great start to a European vacation trip. We had 30 – 40 mins to eat before our flight boarding started and Café Rouge claims to be able to get your food on the table in 15 mins… or something like that. See the signs. Our order took a few mins to be taken after we were seated. We got the perfectly fine tap water instead of the bottled offering. The 5oz steak was juicy and cooked perfectly, although the salad was a bit light and we should’ve ordered another side or the chips. I got the salmon fishcakes and chips. That was ok, although a bit dry without the tartare sauce. May be I should’ve listened to our waitresses recommendations. ;)
21 UKP plus a tip wasn’t bad and comparable to a US lunch, although cheaper and better than your typical airport grub!
In the US Thomas Keller has a similar concept called Bouchon, but I’m not a fan since I grew up around Café Rouge and other Frenchy-​style chains. These are a great addition to the British High Street. There’s no need to make bistro food all fancy!