At last, going out for lunch, in a French place really worth the wait

Pique-Nique is impeccably Gallic – it’s a thrill to finally be able to eat here

Pique-Nique, Tanner Street Park, London SE1 3LD (020 7403 9549). Small plates £6.50-£10.50, large sharing dishes £42-£68, desserts £6.50-£7.50, wines from £18

A bright summer’s day, 36 hours after the easing of lockdown, and I am seated at a wide, socially distanced marble-topped counter. Two plates of food are pushed towards me. One holds tomatoes in brilliant reds, yellows and purples dressed with snowy white feta, shiny black olives and fat caper berries on their stalks, like musical notes in search of a stave. The other is a slice of pâté en croûte, the chubby pink of the pork studded with the brilliant green of pistachio and all of it framed by the Ford Granada walnut trim of glazed pastry work.