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We first reviewed Chez Jules when the paint hadn't even dried on the walls. It wasn't bad then though its unfashionable location, spartan décor and low prices pitched it at a young hard-up crowd. Chester@Large was lukewarm. Since that time we have had many first hand reports from you, and the review you are reading now was prompted by the biggest write-in campaign we have ever seen.
The unfashionable location hasn't changed - we are talking about the low-rent north end of Northgate Street. The spartan décor is pretty much unchanged, too - bare wooden floors, bare painted walls, little tables with candlewax-drenched wine bottles. Prices have risen but are still somewhere south of what most of us would consider reasonable.
A new upstairs section has been added and, for once, it may actually be preferable to sit up there than to be given a table on the ground floor. The room has been attractively done, it has its own bar and you don't get the terrible draft from the front door that they get downstairs. It is far from being the social Siberia that is Franc's upstairs or I Tre Piane's.
But the most remarkable thing about Chez Jules is its menu. The simple photocopied sheets change daily and list half a dozen starters and as many main courses. For jaded old roués like the Chester@Large staffers this is a wonderful relief - we are unlikely to get bored here. The wine list is almost as concise: about a dozen of each, red and white.
Our starters - a chicken liver and black pudding salad and a roquefort and pear salad - were good, though the black pudding had started to disintegrate badly. A main course of salmon in a lobster sauce was delicious with a sauce that was marvellously robust while the chicken supreme was somewhat bland. All main dishes come with the same vegetable accompaniment in a separate dish: our Lyonnaise potatoes were delicious and the other bits were cooked in the way that people who like vegetables like vegetables. The bill (2 starters, 2 main courses, bottle of house white) came in at £40 including tip. Staff are informal, very informal if our waitress was anything to go by.
There is no doubt that Chez Jules - like a good cheese - has matured well. It is convivial, reasonably priced and you stand a very good chance of eating well. Clientele is mostly couples or small groups enjoying a low-key night off but it's pretty noisy even so
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