It's Brothers' Day

I'm not embarrassed by my obsession - when it comes to restaurant groupies, I'm up there with the best of 'em.

You might reasonably think a life spent trawling round food outlets, nosing food books or blinking at food websites is a bit sad but, hey, it's a life. And I'm not alone - there are quite a few of us out there: well-fed if a bit pale, blinking in unaccustomed daylight, you'll spot us feverishly pawing glossy food pages or furtively sniffing our shopping.

Occasionally, there's word of a new restaurant that gets us worked up into an absolute froth. And Galvin is one of them: like kids before Christmas, we have barely been able to contain our excitement.

It's the owners, you see. After a combined 50 years-plus gigging in some of the most name-droppable kitchens in town, brothers Jeff and Chris Galvin have finally joined forces.

Chris's CV is a stunner: former executive chef of the dazzling Wolseley, he's also won a Michelin star at Orrery (Conran's only truly foodie destination) and spent time at everywhere from Antony Worrall Thompson's seminal Ménage à Trois (no, honestly, Wozza used to be a contender) to The Ritz.

But Jeff is no wallflower - Marco Pierre White's Oak Room, Chez Nico and the Michelin-starred Picasso Room at L'Escargot. So Galvin is the archetypal must-see, hot-ticket, bestseatin-the-house gig of the season.

The brothers have called it a "bistro de luxe" and that's what we get: a homage to the venerable Parisian bistro - acres of wood panelling punctuated by some understated black-and-white prints, white napery and glittering tableware.

You can almost see into the kitchen. Staff are liveried, aproned and charming. Sporadically, a Galvin frère issues from the kitchen to glad-hand the appreciative, wealthy-looking punters in person.

The menu is also a hymn to French tradition. It pulses with Francophilia: terrines, daubes, veloutés, savarins. Only occasionally do you discern a frisson of modernity: coco beans with grilled cod or a risotto of courgettes and saffron.

But when done well - and here, it absolutely is - this cooking can be a sumptuous comfort blanket of seductive luxury. What's not to like?