Just like maman used to make

Raymond Blanc's brasseries offer a satisfying family-friendly experience

The eight Brasseries Blanc across England are not hands-on projects for Raymond Blanc, above, but encapsulate his vision

Raymond Blanc's brasseries offer a satisfying family-friendly experience

MAYBE it's the favourable exchange rate or the thrill of a fabulous discovery.

Whatever the contributing factors to the alchemy of this lunch at Brasserie Blanc, I can't help feeling Cheshire cat smug.

Or make that Oxfordshire, and let's not dwell on the smiling feline created by Lewis Carroll, although the Alice in Wonderland creator did study and lecture in mathematics at Oxford's famous Christ Church college.

Michelin-hatted Raymond Blanc is the magician at work here. I am in Walton Street in the old heart of Oxford at Brasserie Blanc, the French chef's affordable and city-chic offshoot of his nearby country house hotel and restaurant, Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons. "If the manoir is a delicate waltz then [the brasserie] is a cancan," says Blanc. He explains the brasserie is not about haute cuisine but rather the kind of fun and homely place where diners can expect food "as close as possible" to the meals Blanc's maman prepared for his family at home in Besancon, eastern France.

It's a recipe that has worked a treat as there are Brasseries Blanc in Bristol, Cheltenham, Leeds, Milton Keynes, Portsmouth and Winchester. A 140-cover London branch opened last month in Threadneedle Street at the former Stock Exchange redevelopment. Obviously Blanc can't be in eight places at once so it has to be accepted that the Brasseries Blanc are his vision, rather than hands-on projects.

My Oxford visit is in autumn and the menu, presented on a large sepia card, nods to seasonal produce and cool-weather heartiness. Maman Blanc's specialties appear on the list, including a tangy miscellany of salads: cucumber and dill, beetroot, soused vegetables, celeriac with mustard dressing, carrot vinaigrette and Waldorf salad. It's an astringent palate awakening for a selection of second courses that includes the likes of Loch Fyne mussels in white wine and cream, roast barbary duck with blackberry sauce and dauphinoise potatoes or corn-fed chicken breast with mushrooms and risotto. It takes a chef with the assuredness of star rating and celebrity to put an unfashionable beef stroganoff with pilaf rice on a 21st-century menu but here it is, lining up with Blanc's take on bangers and mash (make that spring onion mash, grain mustard butter sauce and fat and herby sausages), his classic snails in garlic herb butter, a Mediterranean fish soup and a Savoyarde cheese souffle with emmental and gruyere, kirsch and a lashing of white wine.

There are smaller portions at half price for children aged 8-12, designated on the menu as Jeune Blanc, and side dishes, including a small sampling of Maman Blanc's assorted salads. For babies there's free organic carrot puree "with nothing added", and for children up to eight years a small Petit Blanc menu that includes cod, smoked haddock and lemon fishcakes or macaroni cheese.

It's all so easy and sensible, eminently family friendly, with no fuss made if you prefer new potatoes or mash in place of of chips, or a couple of starters instead of a main.

There are plain timber floors, original unframed artwork, photos of Blanc and head chef Ravi Pothula and his brigade on the walls, and lots of natural light from windows in a series of rooms on three sides of this former corner shop. Aside from the seasonal carte, there are daily specials and the plain tables are close together, creating a good buzz.

Brasserie Blanc is not exactly the long and lean sleeve of a classic Parisian bistro but it's altogether charming.

And you have to love a restaurant where the suggested tipple of the day is routinely of the partyish order of a raspberry bellini and (mostly French) small-producer wines by the glass are the equivalent of about $10.

I am not exactly high-kicking the cancan when I leave but it has been an inspired presentation, produced with customary French finesse.

Checklist
Brasserie Blanc, 71-72 Walton St, Oxford. Phone: [phone]; www.brasserieblanc.com.

Open seven days for lunch and dinner; coffee and drinks available through the day. Average prices: starters, £stg6.80 ($11.30); mains, £15; desserts, £5.60.

Table d'hote menus at seasonal prices, from £11.90 for a two-course lunch and £15.40 for dinner; each includes a glass of wine, and three-course specials are also available.