They say that, just as France can't do pubs, Britain can't do brasseries. Can this pair of old hands prove otherwise?

An honest waiter is hard to find. Ask if the fish is fresh, and most waiters will say "Yes", even on a Monday. Ask "What is special?", and they will reply with an inevitable and annoying, "Everything is special."

François Bertrand, the restaurant manager of Le Bouchon Breton, is different. Tell him you are dithering between the steak frites and the moules frites, and he will tell you the steak frites is good, but no better or worse than any other steak frites around town. The moules, on the other hand, he says, are done better at only one or two other places.

I'll take the moules, then, as there is a good chance he knows what he is talking about. For eight years, Bertrand was sommelier at Le Gavroche, until he and head chef Nicolas Laridan were lured away to set up this new Spitalfields Market sibling to Battersea's popular Le Bouchon Bordelais. The boss wasn't too upset at them leaving – Michel Roux Jr is a consultant to Le Bouchon Breton.

Related articles

• His FishWorks chain hit the rocks, but Mitch Tonks is back with a small-fry operation that's making a big splash
• What does our financial future have to do with the price of fish? Everything, according to this Hastings boozer
• Fancy restaurants are going to the wall. Could this be the perfect time to open a tearoom?
• Search the news archive for more stories

Not that this is a real bouchon. If we are all being honest, then that particular style of cosy, family-run, offal-serving bistro really exists only in Lyon. This is more your vast, 160-seater Parisian brasserie, complete with mock-époque flourishes, bold black-and-white flooring, long pewter Champagne bar, double-clothed tables, Mme Sarkozy singing in the background, and shiny red leather banquettes that have a touch of the Angus Steak House about them.

Is there a more democratic menu in the world than that of the French brasserie? There are platters of Brittany fruits de mer if you don't want meat; charcuterie and steaks if you do; salads as side salads and salads as meals; as well as breakfasts, brunches and bar snacks including croque monsieur. I dip a toe in Breton waters by way of six mixed oysters (£13.60), served on crushed ice strewn with seaweed. All are freshly opened and swimming with juices, but the Spéciales de Claire (£2.20 each) are brilliantly briny-fresh and mouth-filling.

A wooden platter of charcuterie (£10.50) has freshness and colour, with its sliced cured hams, chunks of terrines and leafy greens. Best is a ball of shreddy, lightly fatty duck rillettes; worst is a pâté de campagne that tastes harshly of herbs.

There is no excuse for sourcing tasteless frankfurters with dyed-red casings for the dry and boring choucroute Alsacienne (£16), a selection of smoked pork, sausages and sauerkraut that is the calling card of every true French brasserie. If this is cost-cutting, then it's the wrong sort. They would have been better off cutting back the weighty, pricey 700-strong wine list instead. Even a modest 2007 Domaine de Calvaire de Roche-Gres Fleurie is a precipitous £34.

Again, the seafood proves a better bet. A big, black, enamelled pot of mussels with white wine, shallots and cream (£13.95) is nicely judged, the plump Breton mussels cooked just to the point of the shells opening. A big bowl of frites on the side lack potato flavour but are crisp, salty and golden; and a green salad (£3.50) is deliciously dressed. Tarte tatin (£7.95) is made with my favourite tatin apples, Golden Delicious, and is bloody good, right down to that all-important touch of salt in the pastry.

France has never been able to do a British pub, and it appears Britain still can't do the French brasserie of our dreams, especially not on a charmless mezzanine floor of what appears to be a deserted aircraft hangar when the market is not in full swing. Le Bouchon is busy, and could be handy in this restaurant chain-heavy area, but it is too new to yet have that lovely contented brasserie buzziness.

I like the overall honesty, however, and shall return the favour: the wine is too expensive and the bar is too Brits-abroad loud. Best to stick to shellfish, simple grills and the cheese trolley – or just ask the manager what is special.

14/20

SCORES: 1-9 STAY HOME AND COOK 10-11 NEEDS HELP 12 OK 13 PLEASANT ENOUGH 14 GOOD 15 VERY GOOD 16 CAPABLE OF GREATNESS 17 SPECIAL, CAN’T WAIT TO GO BACK 18 HIGHLY HONOURABLE 19 UNIQUE AND MEMORABLE 20 AS GOOD AS IT GETS

Le Bouchon Breton, 8 Horner Square, Old Spitalfields Market, London E1, tel: 08000 191 704. Open Mon-Sat 10am-11pm; Sun 10am-7.30pm. Around £120 for two, including wine and service.

The crunch bunch: French for less

Le Petit Bistro

56 Le Pollet, St Peter Port, Guernsey, tel: 01481 725 055

Cosy and crowded, this lively bistro serves up all the French classics, from coquilles to coq au vin. The set lunch is £10.95 for two courses

Daniel's

88 Commercial Street, Leith, Edinburgh, tel: 0131 553 5933

The menu wanders all over France with its boeuf Bourguignon, cassoulet and moules marinières. At night, the fixed-price table d'hote menu is £18.50pp

L'Absinthe

40 Chalcot Road, London NW1, tel: 020 7483 4848

Former Marco Pierre White frontman Jean-Christophe Slowik has brought no-frills bistro cooking at no-frills bistro prices (£20 a head) to Primrose Hill