Saturday, September 11, 2010

La Régalade (Paris, France)

We reached Paris Orly airport from Montpeyroux around 19:00 which was good since we had dinner reservations at 21:00 the new La Régalade on rue Saint-Honoré in the 1st arrondissement. Since we love La Régalade in the 14th arrondissement, we decided to try this new place out.


This is Paris; and due to the one way system, we could not figure the way to get to the restaurant. We know Paris very very well and for us to not be able to figure out the one way system to get to the restaurant was very rare. We finally gave up and parked the car in a parking garage. Which turned out perfectly because it was only a 5 minute walk to the restaurant.

We noticed right away that the atmosphere is quite different from the original La Régalade, where diners were jammed together at tiny tables. This new branch is light and airy, with a stripped-down bistro decor, and talking to my friend did not require me shouting or being forced to listen to your neighbor’s conversation.


We were hungry and when you are hungry; La Régalade is the perfect place to be. They first put a huge complimentary Terrine de foie de volaille in the middle of the table, accompanied with a basket of crunchy baguette and a jar of cornichons. WARNING...its all you can eat. If you want to eat the whole terrine, then you are welcome to do so. The pâté was so good that we had to control ourselves or we would not be able to eat our dinner.

The dinner is a €33 fixed-priced three course menu (same price for lunch and dinner) and it would be a shame to miss out on it if we were stuffed before the starters arrived.


The first starter was Lasagne gratinée aux légumes. The lasagna was nicely prepared, the pasta was thin, the vegetables fresh & flavourful, the ham added a nice saltiness. The dish was full of textures, flavours & colours...very nice.


The second starter was Thon blanc. The white tuna was a rare treat since this fish is only available during the months of May to September. Lucky me. The tuna was a very light & faded pink colour, the meat was firm and the taste was fabulous.


The first main was Palombe au foie gras. The wild pigeon was cooked perfectly (still red inside), the meat was so tender & juicy and the pigeon was unbelievably yummy.


The second starter was Filet de Rascasse. I could not believe my eyes when this dish arrived. It was about 400 grams of fish. I already over stuffed my face with pâté and white tuna. However; the fish was incredibly fresh, it was cooked perfectly, the meat was so so tender that once the fork touched the meat of the fish, it fell apart..so amazing. The fish was accompanied with inked risotto which was so tasty but left me with black lips and teeth.


The first dessert was Figues gratinées. Its always great to be in France during fig season because this fruit is so sweet & yummy. The figs for this dessert were so soft, juicy and intense in flavour. Just what the stomach needed to end the great meal.


The second dessert was Soufflé au grand marnier. The soufflé a lovely sight, was so airy & fluffy and had the most wonderful flavour & a hint of grand marnier. No matter how much just I ate; there was still room in my stomach for this very light dessert.

Overall; the food was wonderful and as enjoyable as the original branch...huge portions and hearty bistro food. The only problem we had was the waitress we had. She had no emotion in her face; it seems like she did not want to be there serving the customers. She had a bad vibe about her. She was efficient but was in no way interested in us or the food she was serving us.

However; we also thought it was way more comfortable in this branch in terms of space and acoustics. It was not as chaotic & fun as the original (which is not a bad thing for a bistro, it just depends on our mood). Another great address for us to add in our Paris restaurant list.

123 rue Saint-Honoré
Paris, 75001
Tel. : 01-42-21-92-40

Menu-carte : 33 euros.

Ouvert de midi à 14 h 30 et de 19 heures à 22 h 30 (23 h 30 les jeudi et vendredi).
Fermé samedi et dimanche.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Looks great and I believe tasts also great. Every time when I am in Europe I make a point to have diner at the Regalade in the XIVe. I did not know about this one, so I have something to look forward to? Do they have also the concept of the "coup de fusil"? Richard

Unknown said...

Looks great and I believe tasts also great. Every time when I am in Europe I make a point to have diner at the Regalade in the XIVe. I did not know about this one, so I have something to look forward to? Do they have also the concept of the "coup de fusil"? Richard

Hungry in Bangkok said...

Hi Richard, I agree with you that eating at Regalade every time you are in Paris is a must. I am not familiar with the term 'coup de fusil' but if the term means a 'supplement' for certain items; then yes Regalade does have that.

Unknown said...

Hi C. Thank you for your answer. Perhaps you can help with a very short query as I am booking again a Paris trip for next week. I was wondering if there is any difference now between the food served in rue Fbg St Honore to the one in the XIV?
merci
Richard