Does anyone remember Pierre Victoire? In the early 1990s, the French bistro chain was a fixture in the cheap-eats section of every listings mag in Britain. When I worked on Leicester Square in my first job, I’d often slip out to PV on a Friday lunchtime for a slap-up of rillettes and coq au vin (below). With a glass of wine, it cost a drop over £6.50.

The food was never going to win prizes — it was the sort of simple bourgeois grub that’s served in Les Routiers lunchstops from Paris to Perpignan. But in the years before gastro-pubs became Britain’s casual-dining staple, it helped to fill the gap between dismal fast food and hushed haute gastronomy.

I mention all this because Pierre Levicky, the chain’s founder, recently opened a new restaurant in Edinburgh, the city where, in 1988, he launched his bid for the nation’s stomachs. The PV franchise eventually rolled out to nearly 150 branches, making Levicky gastro-millions in the process. Then the whole thing went belly-up, and he disappeared to the Continent to lick his wounds.

The new place, Chez Pierre, is a lighter, less Gallo-centric take on what he did before. As the 48-year-old chef puts it: “Less cream, less heavy, smaller dishes — I think age does that to you.” Astonishingly, he’s still doing a £6 salad-and-main-course menu at lunchtime. Pierre Victoire’s place in Britain’s food culture may have been usurped, but I think it was more of a moment than people realise. In these credit-crunch times, Levicky’s inexpensive brand of cuisine still seems a good idea.

Chez Pierre, 18 Eyre Place, Edinburgh; 0131 556 0006

Smokin'

The Scots seem to smoke everything these days — salmon, venison, haggis, Superkings — but these langoustines from one of Rick Stein’s food heroes are a first for me. Sustainably caught in the waters between Skye and the Scottish mainland, they're smoked over oak from old whisky casks. The flesh inside stays brilliantly juicy, with just enough smoke penetrating the shells to give a flavour that’s rich and intense without being bullying. Delicious with a dipping bowl of home-made mayo. Smoked langoustines, £27.95 for 1kg, from Isle of Skye Smokehouse; 0800 781 3687, skye-seafood.co.uk

Good cod

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