Our friends here have all raved about the one Michelin star restaurant that is only a 20 minute walk or so from our apartment (we did the bus/tram last night as it was raining) and we finally got a reservation to this small cozy spot that we have fallen in love with.
There are only 7 or 8 tables in the small room which are all well spaced, although we did seem to see a group of 4 come in and maybe go to another private room. Even so, the service was impeccable and the folks were just plain nice, offering to explain everything in French and English so Will could try to improve on his language skills, but even so get the gaps filled in.
There are three menus: 3 courses which you choose for 70 Euros and Chef's menus (which are a surprise) of 4 courses for 100Euros and 6 for 130. We chose the middle option which was simply perfect and settled in for a nice warm evening with the chilly rain outside. The decors is basically white with very comfy grey velvet chairs. Some artwork in white is unexciting, but it is all about the food.
The wine list by the glass 3 whites, 3 reds and an orange and there are also wine pairings. We decided to order a bottle of white and a bottle of red as the prices here were very reasonable and the sommelier, Ambre, was super helpful as well. I chose the Saint Veran 2022 "Les Crais" from Domaine de Fa which was excellent with our first dishes as many were fish-centered. Ambre suggested a Bordeaux red at 55 Euros(!!!) that was mostly merlot with some Cab Franc 2019 Chateau Barbe-Bleu (yes, Bluebeard) from Lussac Saint Emilion that we just adored and was excellent with the beef course.
With the arrival of the first 3 canapes, we knew this was going to be a treat, we just had no clue how totally amazing the entire meal and every dish and sip would be! Vegetable Tartelettes with flaky pastry arrived with a creme base with citron as well as my favorite the Wild Dorado Tartare in a cup with a confit mago and Madagascar vanilla dot on top that was simply heavenly. Third was Mushrooms atop a rich cauliflower puree!
We assumed this was the amuse, but no..that came next in the form of a single velvety oyster with apple accompanied by a parsnip foam. The gorgeous warm bread was accompanied by butter topped with mustard seeds!
Saint Jacques are Scallops that were sliced thin and raw served with zucchini cream and served with confit kiwi as well as a smoked fir tree oil vinaigrette. While this dish was truly impressive it was the next that blew me away. Monkfsh was topped with razor clams and caviar on a bed of artichoke puree with a Jerusalem artichoke on the side all bathed in the most silky shellfish/seafood sauce that was like a bisque!!!
A choice of lovely handled knives was presented for our choice for the beef course which was a perfectly cooked fillet accompanied by salsify, crosnes(or Chinese artichokes!!), topped with shaved Black Perigord truffles in a Sarawak pepper sauce. Need I say more?
We had some nice breaks and it was a long dinner, but we enjoyed the red wine while we waited for dessert which was another revelation with Sauternes-soaked spongecakes(well, it is Bordeaux!) with apple, icecream and a fruit sauce!
We could not go home without mignardises and these arrived in the form of a marshmallow puff, a coconut thingy and one of the best Gianduja chocolates ever.
We will be back!!