We chose this restaurant as we were off to the theatre and thought that we could get a reasonable priced meal beforehand.
We have visited Cafe Rouges’ over the years and been pleased with the standard of food. Sadly not the case anymore - the starters of Crab and Avocado was bland - although the sourdough bread was good if not a little too charred.
We both chose the Smoked Cod with bean cassoulet- the fish was ok but the green beans and broccoli were very tough and the beans had not been trimmed too well and still had stalks on. The bean cassoulet tasted very processed and was mushy and over cooked.
The meal was over priced and underwhelming .

We have been coming to Cafe Rouge in the Lanes for many years on and off - but not for a while. The staff are very welcoming and charming and the food is well, ...ok, but it used to be so much better, albeit a restaurant chain. On this last and final visit - I am surprised at how grubby this restaurant feels - I popped down to use the ladies after dinner and the steps leading down to them are absolutely filthy, with a horrid sticky hand rail and also the loos hadn't been checked by the look of them for hours, (obviously,) as one had no paper in and bits of paper all over the floor, dirty sinks and the worst thing of all... one of the waitresses came out of one of the loos and didn't wash her hands!!! If I had visited the ladies before the meal - I would've up and left with my partner. Oh dear... :( However, the branch in the Marina, is so much better in every way!

My son treated me to cafe rouge this afternoon, as a late Mother's Day present, the mushroom starter was delicious, as was the moules they were so succulent, and the crumble was delicious, our waiter Mantas was extremely helpful, and my son thoroughly enjoyed his meal too.

We went to Cafe Rouge for lunch, they were very busy as it was Mothering Sunday, and we were lucky to get a table. The waiting staff seemed very over worked, there was only one waiter covering the upstairs area where we were seated and it was obvious that he couldn’t cope with the number of tables he had been assigned to.
He forgot several parts of our order and we had to wait a long time for each course to be served.
I ordered a substantial lentil and beetroot salad priced at £11.50, but when it arrived, the key ingredients of the dish as described on the menu were missing (no lentils, no kale) - resulting in a disappointing plate of salad leaves, chopped avocado and beetroot - certainly not worth the price. I had ordered potato dauphinoise as a side dish but the waiter forgot to bring it - it arrived eventually after I asked for it, but only after a wait. I was told by the waiter when I complained about the salad that they had run out of lentils and kale, and that’s why they were missing from my plate. The waiter should have told me this when I ordered, so that I could choose another dish, but instead the kitchen just sent out a poor substitute with key ingredients missing - did they hope I wouldn’t notice?
On a positive note, they didn’t charge us for the salad.

What a great place for a meal. Staff were brilliant and we could not have asked for more. Food was brilliant along with the service.Nice place for a meal and enjoy the evening. We were not rushed to get out even though they were busy. Wish all restaurants had staff like that as they helped make a great evening.