We were staying in the area while in Paris on our vacation and decided to try this place on our last night in town. Boy am I glad we did!
If you like Foie, go to this place.
If you like goose or duck in general, go to this place.
Heck, if you like fresh ingredients prepared for you like you are in someone's home, go to this place.
We were one of the first tables in the restaurant, but by the time we left it was full. The space itself is warm and decorated in eclectic but home-style with boards everywhere stating their menu. I opted for the 26 Euro set menu which is a great price considering what you get. You would never get this type of food for this price in LA.
We started with a house special goose pate and a foie gras. The goose pate was full bodied but not gamey and the foie melted in your mouth like butter. So rich, yes, but I wanted more!
Our second course was a filet of pork which came with mashed potatoes and a mirepoix of vegetables. I had the duck confit which came with french fries and a green salad. Inadvertently it looks like we picked two of the most popular dishes as that was all that seemed to be going to the tables around us.
The duck confit was AMAZING. The skin crispy and fatty, the duck meat rich and moist. Although I had fries a few days in a row now and was thinking I didn't want any, whatever they were fried in made them so tasty I almost ended up finishing them. The salad was simply dressed and a nice light balance to the richness of the duck.
The pork was great too, the sauce was a good and the mashed potatoes were a bit chunky, not too creamy. The mirepoix was actually a great side as it had a bit of acidity that also balanced the richness of the sauce and cleansed your palate a bit.
I had a glass of the St Emillion Bordeaux with my duck which was a perfect match too - soft but had tannins. A great pairing.
As we were eating we noticed in addition to the nice waitress who was taking care of us there was also a gentleman running around who was great with hospitality. Also a young girl was running food too which we guessed to be his daughter. This added to the feeling of being in a real home like environment. Turns out we were right, Stephan owns the place and he is one of the nicest, warmest gentlemen around. My husband knows a bit of French and would really like to become truly conversational so after our meal we chatted with him a bit and he encouraged my husband to really attempt everything "en francais." We walked out but you could tell he wanted to stay and talk to Stephan all night!
We couldn't have picked a better place for our last night in town and the bar has been set for duck confit for the rest of my life :) read more