Translated by Bethszabee Garner
An article from issue 13 of OniriQ magazine, by Yves Derai
A selection of restaurants in Paris
A Club that's not so Cochon
At Club Cochon (Pork), there's no shortage of humour or culinary talent. With a name like that, you can't help but enjoy a laugh over a generous plate of food...
You enter the restaurant through the grocery store, well-stocked with pork products, wines and other delicacies, just to whet your appetite. Then you climb a charming staircase that leads to several rooms with the aroma of a bistro that takes gourmet food seriously. Here, there is no pretentious decor or aesthetic dishes. From the moment you read the menu, you can tell that the main idea is to delight customers' taste buds without knocking them out when the bill arrives. Starters are €5 and main courses are €19, giving an average bill of €30 for lunch with a glass of wine.
What do you eat for lunch at Club Cochon? Pork, of course, but that's not all. A sirloin steak and some excellent poultry are served in generous portions, and there's even a vegetarian dish of delicious mushrooms stuffed with Comté cheese and walnuts. But the star of the show remains the animal that is said to be good from snout to tail. You can try it as a vitello-style carpaccio, for example, to start with. You can enjoy it in the excellent stuffed cabbage, one of the signature dishes. You can share it by ordering an impressive, very tender piece of pincanha from the Montalet house.
And if you want to take your enjoyment at Club Cochon to the next level, why not swap desserts halfway through to enjoy two of the restaurant's sweet specialities, the light and tasty bitter chocolate mousse and the vanilla rice pudding? It's worth considering...
4, rue Drouot, Paris 9th
Cherry, for travelling without moving
This is a restaurant that you could find almost anywhere in the world. But Cherry is in Paris and brings together America and Italy.
The little Rue du Sabor, in Paris's 6th arrondissement, is gradually becoming a hub for Parisian gastronomy, with a few particularly successful Asian-influenced restaurants. This offering has been enriched by a new Italian-American restaurant, Cherry, opened by the Indie group, which already has establishments in Saint-Tropez and Courchevel.
The cosy decor and jazzy music create the perfect atmosphere for a relaxed evening with friends, sharing a few dishes. These include meatballs in tomato sauce reminiscent of traditional polpete, Cherry crudo, a trio of raw fish (amberjack, tuna and salmon) and delicious prawn carpaccio. If you have a hearty appetite, you can start with a first course of pasta (before the main course), perhaps the house speciality, rigatoni with spicy tomato sauce and vodka. It's original and typical of the cultural mix found here.
For the secondi piatti, the New York steak with Italian chimichurri sauce is a good example of this Italian-American cuisine, which is little known in our part of the world, but after the pasta, it would be wise to opt for the succulent oven-baked fillet of John Dory with champagne sauce, which is lighter and just as tasty in a different way. Among the side dishes, note the typical American grilled corn, which perfectly accompanies roast poultry, among other meats on the menu.
For dessert, you can choose between transalpine classics such as tiramisu or pistachio ice cream and American best sellers such as XXL cookies.
In short, Cherry has everything it needs to have its moment of glory. After that, it will have to last.
Cherry, 1 rue du Sabot, Paris 6e
Expect to pay around €100 per person
Lazare, the high-end station buffet
Éric Frechon no longer runs the kitchens at Le Bristol, but there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy his divine cuisine. Notably at Lazare, where nothing is left to chance.
When friends looking for good places to eat in Paris ask me for suggestions, I always recommend the brasserie run by famous chef Éric Frechon. First of all, the decor is grandiose, both literally and figuratively, with ceilings that are rare in Paris, a gleaming central bar, and an atmosphere created by polished wood, copper and leather that makes you want to sit down for an hour or two. Secondly, the service is warm and efficient. Here, there are no inexperienced bimbos, but experienced waiters and waitresses who can answer any question with a smile.
Finally, there is the touch of the multi-starred chef, who owns the place with his wife Clarisse. Inventive, flavourful and generous, Éric Frechon's cuisine never disappoints. You can start your meal with grilled leek, topped with a mimosa vinaigrette and smoked salmon. This is a simple, even austere vegetable that is transformed into a wild twist thanks to bold cooking and a cheeky sauce. Even more nostalgic is the celery rémoulade, subtly revisited with a few touches of green apple and fresh coriander. A starter from our childhood, but a little better than the school canteen...
Then comes the big dilemma of choosing just one dish from a plethora of tempting options such as roast turbot, ‘the best sausage and mash in Paris’, and croque-monsieur with truffle butter and scamorza (a type of mozzarella that is salted and then dried). On our last visit, we didn't hold back, choosing the veal kidney flambéed with cognac, just like grandma used to make. You couldn't ask for anything more comforting... The offal is cut into small pieces and nestled in a creamy sauce, along with the accompanying baby potatoes. It's madness.
For dessert, don't hesitate to use the excuse of lightness to dive headfirst into the île flottante or floating island, which is just perfect, buried under caramelised hazelnuts. The French toast, which I only saw as it passed by and landed on the table next to us, also looked interesting. Something to remember for next time...
Rue Intérieure, Paris 8th arrondissement (Gare Saint-Lazare)
Expect to pay between €70 and €100 per person
The Chef's Table is open!
The Confidentiel hotel, 1 place Vendôme, has decided to open its gourmet restaurant to outside customers this autumn. An opportunity not to be missed.
You could walk past it a hundred times without ever seeing it. Yet there is indeed a luxury hotel at 1, place Vendôme, a prestigious address in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, which is also the name of the establishment. But the sign is discreet and taxis dropping people off there often have trouble finding the entrance.
Inside, there are around fifteen rooms, suites and a Grand Siècle apartment, as well as a restaurant that until now has been reserved for hotel guests. But since September, 1 Place Vendôme, which belongs to the famous jeweller Chopard, has decided to open its gastronomic haven, La Table du Chef, to the public. As its name suggests, it consists of a single table overlooking the gleaming kitchen, where a five-course menu is served. The chef, Boris Algarra, who previously worked at the Mandarin Oriental restaurant when it was run by Thierry Marx, introduces new dishes there every fortnight or so. Better still, he agrees to cook specific dishes requested at the time of booking, at least 72 hours before dinner. ‘A few days ago, I simmered a shoulder of lamb to please a customer who had seen the recipe in a magazine,’ he told us. ‘Of course, I added a few personal touches...’
During our visit, we started with a consommé of beef ribs and tail, followed by a trio of perfectly cooked langoustines accompanied by a succulent bisque mayonnaise, then a blowtorched mackerel on a shiso leaf with a shiso, sake and soy sauce, sake and soy, before the finely roasted Racan chicken, drizzled with a creamy poultry jus.
Unsurprisingly, the chef, who owns a chalet in Hokkaido, claims Japanese influences that gracefully twist demanding but always consistent French cuisine, where there is no clutter of superfluous elements such as flowers and other decorative accessories.
The final course was, of course, dessert: a honey mousse from Château Monestier La Tour accompanied by a scoop of meadowsweet sorbet. Fresh, light and sweet but not overly so, it was the perfect way to end such a dinner.
La Table du Chef, 1 place Vendôme, Paris 1st
Five-course menu at €250 per person
