We went to the restaurant to check out the menu in the afternoon and the list of the food on the menu looked really good, so we reserved a table for the evening (lucky we did because we got the last table).
When we arrived in the evening; the place was packed! Due to the lovely weather all the doors were open to accommodate more tables on the sidewalk. I would have to say that the decor was lacking in creativity. I am no interiour designer, but it looked like it was a rushed job and so they bought the decor from IKEA (not that I do not like IKEA, I love them...but for a restaurant at this level, they should have put some thought into it). Anyway; since the place was packed, I thought who cares since the food will be the star of the evening.
I have to say sorry in advance...my photos are dark because I was shy to take photos with a flash since out table was so close to other people and did not want them to think...'Mon dieu, another Japanese tourist taking photos of his food again!' and the lighting was bad.
My friend's starter Effiloche raie (14.00 euros). The raie was fresh and had good consistency. But, we thought the dish was bland. The dish was also suppose to be accompanied with avocado but we could not find them. The dish was ok.
My starter was Civiche (13.00 euros). My starter was civiche, which was much better than the raie. The fish was fresh and actually abundant in such a small glass. The lemon, lime and herbs added good flavours to the dish. Not bad at all.
My main dish was Loup de mer (25.00 euros). My fish was cooked nicely, it was moist and flaky. The dish was simple but was prepared well. Nicely done.
My friend's main dish was Tartare de canard (27.00 euros). The tartare was amazing. The best dish of the evening. The fois gras was cooked perfectly and the duck was tender. The fois gras and duck made a great combination and the sauce added a nice flavour to the dish.
Overall; from the reviews we read & heard...this restaurant was a let down. Not that it was not good...the problem was that it was inconsistent. The starters were ok and the main dishes were much better. We were disappointed because our expectations were too high after the reviews. The total bill: food plus a coupe Louis Brut (10.00 euros), a glass of Pouilly (6.00 euros) & a bottle of wine (36.00 euros) was 131.00 euros.
For a place at this level; they need to start realizing that they will be attracting people who know their food and are expecting a lot. For example; a table of three were sitting next to us; one of the ladies at the table ordered Veal with mushrooms (as explained on the menu). Her dish arrived and she noticed that the veal was accompanied with small pan-fried potatoes and her side dish was mashed potatoes. Of course she was not happy & confused that she must have mis-read the menu.
So she called the waitress to ask her how is it possible that her main dish had two times potatoes. The waitress (who was not in a sorry mood what-so-ever and even had a who cares attitude), went to the kitchen and came back out and told the lady that the kitchen had no more mushrooms so they replaced it with potatoes. So the lady said; why did you not tell me or ask me if I wanted something else or to replace the mushroom with another vegetable?
We could not believe it either. The kitchen thought they could pass a fast one on the lady by cutting the potatoes up and making them look like mushrooms and thought the lady would not even notice. Uuummmm; duh, people do notice what they are eating! On top of that who ever the chef was...was not even smart enough to know that you do not serve two time the potato serving for one dish. How stupid can you be? I am no chef but my goodness, even I know not to do that.
We were really hoping this was going to be an awesome restaurant that we could add to our list because it is so close to the apartment. Oh well; our job of finding fantastic restaurants next to the apartment goes on.
73 avenue Niel, 75017 Paris
Tel.: 01 44 40 28 15
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