Bellevue Rendez-vous

www.bellevuerendezvous.com  Inspiration that's what it needed..sitting at my computer thinking about something interesting/witty/ funny (fat chance) to say was never going to happen.  Coq au Vin in a small French bistro in the same location as, what i thought of at the time 18 years ago, a smart Italian restaurant on Trinity Road in Tooting - which I can assure you 18 years was NOT smart. was interesting.  Rewind a little.  We, that's Lisa and I, looked for somewhere local and found somewhere, which a friend when asked, 'had they been there', replied, 'Is it a swingers club?', Bellevue Rendez-vous - you can see why...Anyway it had good local reviews - unpretentious, great value, very pregnant patron (added authenticity) and didn't disappoint.  Having been, and still trying to be, on a diet of sorts, the idea of Coq au Vin did it for me -  dish that I think I can do well.  However this arrived on a plate smaller than the one my starter arrived on and i was set to be critical but to cut a long story short (its late and i need sleep) it was sensational.  The chicken was blackened by the wine that it must have bathed in and when i asked why the plate was small the chef apparently wanted to make sure the chicken, mash and greens were adequately covered - boy were they and had i been at home i would have sucked the bones, liked the plate and kissed the chef...Suffice it to say we were happy.  By the way the charcuterie was small but perfectly formed and (Yes I know white wine with coq au vin is a sin, we had a lovely bottle of Macon Fuisse 2007). In summary, trust local review sites and take a punt..we did and we are very happy we did.