A new restaurant here in Paris, we had a good feeling about it before coming. There was no menu, so we couldn’t see what we were eating beforehand, which was a little bit like ‘Leave it up to the chef.’ The menus are crafted according to the seasons and market products. You could choose between the Perle menu and the blanc menu, we opted for the longer one with the beef course. (Blanc)
I feel conflicted writing this story because there were a lot of things the restaurant did well and so many that needed to be tightened up. In total of the fourteen courses, we found some to be interesting/working, some that were not to our taste and others with errors from a culinary standpoint. This cannot be accepted at this price point. (We are verging on an extremely expensive one star at £360 a head without wine).
Firstly, the dining room: Clean, simple lines and colours with a circular ceiling which appeared to be made of wood. I really liked the seating; we had a decent size corner sofa just for the two of us providing lots of table space. I can’t say I would’ve been happy with one of the smaller tables. The room felt inviting, calm, and well spaced out.
The restaurant has an interesting and varied whiskey list, along with an intriguing burgundy, white wine list. For the food there were at least seven cold/room temperature dishes and depending on preference this might not be to everyone’s taste. It felt for me too many and a lot of dishes had similar jelly like textures. It was the first time that I had sweetbreads cold, and I wouldn’t repeat it. Highlights from the blanc menu:
The signature dish: Caviar and oyster ice cream accompanied by a whiskey pairing worked well. This was one of their strongest dishes.
The squid, Parma DOP, Horseradish bites were a surprising combination, with one of them containing mango.
The first bread was light as air and a pleasure to eat.
The turbot, green peas and wild garlic was solid in the cookery.
The Brittany blue lobster course delivered good flavour and texture. My lobster was cooked perfectly.
The eel dish with potato and stracciatella was showing great ideas on the plate yet was ruined by being burnt delivering an acrid taste on the palate. Don’t try to hide the burnt part, it will be discovered!
The first elderflower dessert was very nicely balanced.
Disappointments:
Not all the dishes were coming out the same, there were discrepancies in the execution and the look. Often my guest’s dish was overcooked and mine wasn’t. (Lobster and Turbot). He bought this up to the waiter at least twice and for some reason he couldn’t understand it. We are not delusional; it is there clear as day in front of us!
As above some elements were burnt and acrid. We all know that if it’s burnt don’t serve it! This is not what one should expect from such an expensive menu.
Halfway through, the chef forgot that he was catering for a gluten free guest and a ravioli was served. If we hadn’t identified this, we would be in trouble.
The Galician beef was far too chewy in the beef course, and finally there was a hectic feeling during service. Phew…
Despite the downfalls, I still like this restaurant. If they address certain areas, it can be great. Did the kitchen have a bad night? Either way you can’t deny the fact that this was far too pricey for what it was and for the lack of attention to detail, this left a bad taste in our mouths.
