Our final night in Rio had me very excited to find a place run by Chef Thomas Troisgros, the son of multi-Michelin starred Claude and nephew of the even more renowned Pierre. I dined at Troisgros in Roanne about 20 years ago and it is one of the most memorable dining experiences of my entire life. I expected a revelation from Chef Thomas' top rated one Michelin star destination in Rio, Olympe.
We arrived at 8pm to be the first diners and settled in to a cozy table with crisp white linens, crystal and china in a muted quiet setting; the air was on so strong, we were freezing and my neck became stiff. Luckily, they turned it down after we indicated the freeze. French bread arrived with a baked on cheesy top as well as a basket of large fried yuca and tabasco "puffs" that tasted like air with a hint of spice in the back of your mouth at the end.
The music had a weird repetitive beat that left a lot to be desired and we could not help the flashing red lights through the clouded window that gave the effect of a red light district.
There are several tasting menus and we all settled on the 7 course for $R450 each(about $110US) and Will and I had the paired wines for an extra $R200(just under $50US) each. An amuse of superb yucca soup with what looked and tasted like chive oil arrived and our first wine a Muscadet et Sevres 2017 from Serge Saupin (demi-sec) arrived while Sam ordered the "house" beer called CT By Jeffrey, the "CT" being the initials of Claude Troisgros who it seems moved from France to Brazil ages ago and raised his son Thomas there. The sommelier spoke almost no English, but kept remarking that the wines were French--duh! I decided to google most of them and they seemed to all price in the teens in US$; hardly fine wines.
The first course and definitely the best course all night was paired with the same wine(which worked quite well) was the super lean Wagyu Tartare with lard and vegetables as well as kimchi and mustard seeds(we think). I say "we think" as virtually nobody could explain the dishes in English (or French), so it was quite difficult to determine many of the ingredients. Menus arrived at the end so now I know the dish has Emerina Bee Honey, Anchovy and Egg as well!
Gerard Tremblay 2016 Chablis "Domaine des Iles" was served at the coldest temperature I have ever had a white wine, but was quite tasty once I warmed it in my hands for 5 minutes. The next dish for Will and me was an excellent Lobster with Kale, Parmesan and local cheese in Beurre blanc sauce. The server called it "sleepy" lobster, but the menu on departure enlightened us to the fact it was a "Slipper Lobster with Mujol Roe." Sam had the Sea Snails with Cardonciello Mushroom and Watercress and ate most of it saying it was weird, but then he is not a mushroom fan, but almost had a fit when his menu arrived with the "snail" revelation!
Duque de Viseu Branco 2014 from Quinta dos Carvalhais in Portugal was an interesting blend of Encurado(sp?) and Malvasia Fina and paired with what I called the famous Bologna dish "Tortellini in Brodo" here in a Shitake Dashi broth with smoked olive oil.
"Read Snep Fish" was a thick flaky white fish that I think might have been Red Snapper?? It came with Snow Peas(they call them beans) in Rangpur Citrus sauce while Sam had Suckling Pig in Pork Broth with Lima Beans, Baby Veggies and Apple that was quite fruity. The wine for us was a Domaine de Gournier Rose Cervennes 2018 that was unmemorable.
The main meat course for all was a Beef Short Rib with a super thick and rich Demi-Glace, Aligot & Onions. I never heard the term "aligot" and it was on the menu, but when served all I can say is that it was a super gooey, gummy whipped potato with cheese that was only redeemed by the amazing tapioca crisp atop. Chateau Puycarpin 2015 was a way too young and tight Bordeaux.
Get ready for the weirdest cheese course ever created with a chocolate sable cookie, roasted beets, Kefir (local sour cheese that reminded me of the Israeli Labneh yogurt) and Brown Butter. The FB picture looks much better than the thing tasted, although the cookie and beets on their own were fine. They poured another CT brand wine 2014 Merlot from Brazil that we liked a lot.
Dessert was a hit with Caramelized Passion Fruit Pancake Souffle (a specialty since 1982!) that had marshmallow and coconut on a corn bread with Guayaba cookie and salt and caramel that was to die for. Chateau Grabitan-Bellevue 2014 from Ste Croix du Mont in Bordeaux was a nicely paired Sauternes-style sweet wine.
We headed home very disappointed by the entire experience, especially after the amazing first night meal at Oro and all our superb lunch and snack breaks with such superb food all over Rio. This star does not shine.
