We have been talking about going to the Marc for years. We finally got to make this happen for…read moreValentine's Day this year. And I'm so glad we did.
We had made a reservation far in advance as it was for valentines night. We were seated promptly and I got a corner table as requested, Thank you! The staff were all very attentive, pleasant and friendly, and never lingered too long. The restaurant was warmly lit and was mostly quiet but had some lovely relaxing/romantic music playing.
I ordered a lovely glass wine, which turned into a second glass, closer to dessert and hubs had a fancy non-alcoholic drink he liked.
The menu was a prix fix but I was pleasantly surprised with our options. There were 3 choices for each course.
Our first course, Hubs ordered the Bibb salad with chicken skin croutons, such a unique and delicious idea. I had the pork rillette, which was like an amazing pate, with apricot gelee, mustard and crisp bread. This was absolutely incredible.
Our second course, hubs had the duck with lentils and endive, every bite was simply divine. I had the steak with mushrooms, peas and asparagus, the sauce for this was amazing and the steak was so incredibly tender.
Third course was dessert, hubs had the chocolate cake, which he said was very good. I had the "cereal milk" panna cotta. This dish was the hit of the night, so many components from the berries to earl grey tea gelee to the cornflake tuile. Nothing in this dish was overly sweet as may desserts are, but they all worked so brilliantly together in each bite. I could not stop eating it.
The courses all came at perfect intervals, with enough time in between for you to want the next course. I often feel rushed at most restaurants, this was a lovely change. They were also perfectly portioned, so you have room for all three courses, unlike so many other restaurants.
My biggest complement was that each dish I tasted was not only delicious, there was an intellectual component, and each bite made me think about each ingredient and how they worked together. I have never been to a Micheline star restaurant, I personally think these dishes would fit right in. Well done chef!