Cafe Rouge, Worcester

9:15am Friday 7th March 2008

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Petit dejeuner at Café Rouge seems to be a bit of a local outing, judging by the packed venue that my guests and I experienced.

Popular with all ages, families seem particularly keen to bring a bit of French je ne sais quoi to their Sunday mornings.

This is probably helped by the bright surroundings, a children's menu and the fact you can order breakfast until midday, so you don't need to rush the troops out of the house to get there.

One of my guests was a little disappointed by the small amount of vegetarian options, namely that there was no vegetarian fry-up on offer.

She opted for the scrambled eggs on toast, which were light, creamy and fluffy, with a delicious, lightly sweet French bread.

We also shared a basket of mini pain aux chocolat, croissants, pain aux raisin and bread, which we were pleased to note were warm when they arrived.

The pastries were good - as they should be and as you'd expect from a French restaurant.

The hot chocolates we had to accompany them were delightful - with thick and frothy milk and chocolate powder on top.

I tried a lime presse - basically a kind of squash which you can make as sweet or sour as you like - and felt very continental. My guests tried the smooth orange juice, which was very fresh.

The portions were definitely one of the good points of this restaurant - sufficient but not excessive.

My sensibly-sized English breakfast included a particularly tasty sausage, beautifully-flavoured bacon, and mushrooms that looked horribly shrivelled but tasted good.

We also tried a tomato and brie-filled croissant, which was a little disappointing. Although the cheese was delicious, the croissant was a bit small and was cold.

The whole meal was of generally good quality but a little over-priced, and, while the food arrived quickly, the waiting staff seemed to be enacting the worst French stereotype - rather aloof.

As for the jolly French music playing in the restaurant, I found it rather cheerful, but one of my guests couldn't stand it.

However, with the array of menu options for meat-lovers - which even featured a few fish dishes - this made for a pleasant morning out and a nice once-in-a-while treat.

HOW IT RATEDCafé Rouge, 5 Friar Street, Worcester.

Telephone: 01905 613055 Food *** Value for money *** Ambience *** Service *