Stella Maris is a cute Michelin-starred restaurant near the Arc de Triomphe, with a Japanese chef…read morewho churns out beautiful haute French cooking. I had dinner here with my mom and we were both very impressed.
We were seated upstairs in a clean, minimalistic dining room, white and cream with some spare unobtrusive artwork on the walls. The kitchen appeared to be in a level between the two floors, and there was a steady stream of staff walking in and out. Service was excellent, very attentive and rather formal. The atmosphere was relaxed and casual, but we were treated as honored guests.
We opted for the seasonal menu, which was €70 per person. Our meal kicked off with a plate of four parmesan gougeres, which brought a hefty dose of cheese in a tiny package, with a browned crust and fluffy insides. Then came an amuse bouche of Iberico ham in corn gelée. The plating was adorable, with three little pieces of ham swimming like goldfish with three corn kernels in a solidified soup. The ham was excellent, and the gelée tasted through and through of sweet corn. My mom doesn't eat pork, and I was happy to take her ham and she was happy with just the corn. The bread that followed was also good, a nice slice of country brown and a fluffy white roll.
For our appetizers, we got an asparagus risotto and marinated mackerel. Both were delicious. The risotto was very rich, with parmesan, asparagus, and a couple shaves of black truffle. The asparagus came through as the dominant flavor despite all the competing starch and fat, and the risotto was easy to finish despite the heaviness. My mom found the mackerel too fishy, but I enjoyed it. This was mackerel marinated in white vinegar, served with a rocket and parmesan salad. I liked the brazen oily pieces of fish, and the lightly dressed salad brought some balance to the dish.
The entrees were even better - salmon "Stella Maris" and an irresistible rack of lamb. The salmon was cooked about as well as I've ever seen, a lucid skinless orange-pink cross-section of uniform thickness. The meat was oily and succulent and just close enough to raw that I didn't feel like I was eating an uncut slab of sashimi. It came with a dollop of creme fraiche and salmon roe on top, which were both wonderful. The salmon was accompanied by roasted vegetables and a frothy olive oil emulsion. The winner, though, was the prime rack of lamb. This was roasted with parsley and served with a sweet shallot puree and an épigramme d'agneau, which Google tells me consists of "small pieces of neck or breast of lamb, cooked, then dipped in egg and breadcrumbs and grilled or fried." The lamb was among the best I've ever had, juicy and pink with no toughness, delicious right down to the bone. The épigramme was also great, hearty and dense. A small shallot that could almost have been decoration gave so much flavor that I cut it into tiny pieces to stretch out for as many bites as possible.
I hesitate to call our last course dessert because we went so savory. It was, however, a superb course. First we had the cheese plate, which came with three cheeses, walnuts, raisins, and dried prune. The cheeses were all lovely - a firmer brie, a creamy goat, and the soft stinky blue of fourme d'Ambert. What left the greater impression, though, was the red pepper gratin with tomato and citrus sorbet. This was one of the more memorable desserts I've come across, if only because it was so unusual. It was a round of creamy tart red pepper gratin topped with sorbet, surrounded by a ring of what I believe was slightly sweetened balsamic syrup. While the textures and temperatures were dessert-like, the flavors of this dish were aggressively savory. It was fantastic, though, very refreshing with a nice zip that didn't leave me longing for sweetness.
Still, sweetness came in the form of little petit fours - a tiny raspberry tart, a dark chocolate truffle, and a caramel macaron. These were adorable little bites that put a nice cap on an splendid meal.
If Stella Maris were in the States, I would go be angling to go back for another meal. I know that Paris is a rich restaurant city that I have yet to tap fully, but I can say with confidence that my meal at Stella Maris would please any food-loving tourist.
