When the sun shines in Bloomsbury it is a glorious area of London to wander round, popping into boutiques like The School of Life and having coffee at the hip cafe, Store Street Espresso. Bon Vivant, a renamed and reimagined restaurant in Bloomsbury is likely to be a popular spot for lunch as the weather gets warmer.

This French bistro is relaxed and informal, especially at lunchtime when I visited. Velvet chairs and black marble tables give the restaurant a stylish look. The menu consists of French classic dishes like steak frites and moules a la creme. For a lighter lunch guests can choose to have daily changing tartines or quiche.

A pleasant outside terrace area evokes a feeling of Parisian al fresco dining. Escalope de Poulet was a comforting dish, tender chicken breast in a crispy breaded coating served with wild mushrooms and a white wine sauce. Simple but tasty cooking. The Bavette steak was surprisingly chewy, even for this cut of meat, sitting on a bed of rich truffle creamed spinach and topped with delicious confit garlic shallots.

The sides were plentiful, wonderfully buttery and fresh green beans and addictive skinny fries were better than the rather bland ratatouille.

The desserts were more creative that I expected. Deconstructed “Snickers” Cheese Cake had some nice components: I loved the caramel ice-cream with candied peanuts, but found the peanut butter cheese cake too rich and cloying with the rest of the dessert. Fondant au chocolat was cooked to the perfect consistency, with a satisfyingly gooey centre, served with a toffee sauce and hazelnut ice-cream. I was pleased to find this pudding wasn’t too sweet, and the chocolate balanced nicely with the nutty ice-cream.

Bon Vivant is a lovely restaurant with an accessible menu and a lovely terrace. If you find yourself in Bloomsbury it makes a nice lunch destination.

More information and book a table at Bon Vivant here.