"There’s nothing subtle about the wooing process at Josephine Bouchon, a French spot in Chelsea. It's all heavy, red velvet curtains, dangling, low-level lanterns, and breathy candle flames. It’s the little touches that make all the difference—scarlet Js imprinted on each plate and curtains hand-embroidered with ‘Josephine’. Champagne arrives with a bowl of moreish pork and duck scratchings, garlic splatters from excellent buttery frog legs to create a Jackson Pollock number on white tablecloths, and well-dressed diners seem on the edge of proposing or being proposed to." - rianne shlebak, jake missing, sinead cranna