Le Clocher Pereire

                  

This year we hope to discover more of our preferred type of restaurants- small to medium sized places run by passionate chefs serving delicious food to excite and admire, serving meals that cost no more than 20 euros for lunch or 35 euros per person excluding wine. Bonus points for decor, ambience, service and view and well, X-factor. Ten days into the new year, we're happy to report that this is not such an impossible goal after all because we have found not one, not two, but three places that we like.

The first is Le3, a restaurant tucked in a Marais courtyard which we nearly walked past had I not been paying attention. The restaurant is divided into two spaces, an inner white-napkin section with downlights and arty photo prints, and an outer glass-housed section with potted plants that would be pretty when the sun is out. Lunch menus was running at 17 euros with a carafe of drinkable wine. The food was not too complicated but still competent- starters like salmon with poached egg, mains of grilled fish with orange braised fennel and the budget classic of hachis parmentier. Dinner menus run from 26 to 34 euros without wine.

The second is the well-known L'Oursine, a brightly lit bistro on 92 rue Broca in the 13th arrondissement (T: 01 44 07 13 65). The location is not very convenient but still customers are willing to make the journey which speaks volumes about the food, we had delayed trying it out earlier because of this reason. The dinner menu starts from 32 euros and their dishes are mostly classics with little tweaks to go with the times. A starter of velvety smoked Scottish salmon on a cool pillow of smooth vicchysoise was excellent, so was onglet of veal served with a little tub of creamy polenta so good the two polenta-sceptics in us fought for the last drop, and desserts didn't fail either. My 'epiphany' of galette des rois did indeed lived to its promise and made me sit up and notice this cake which I use to think of as an almond bomb. The room is bright, tables are very close together but not elbow-touching yet so this place is good for casual meals. One critiscm is their service which was rushed and inattentive especially at the beginning.

The third is our favourite. Like L'Oursine, Le Clocher Pereire (T: 01 44 40 04 15) on 42 Boulevard Pereire is not located too conveniently, and parking was just as hard to procure. But the food, ooh la la, is most definitely worth the trouble, and time, to get there. The first good sign was the seasonal menu of 29 euros, and at this price even dishes with foie gras and scallops did not call for the usual 'supplements'. Everything we tried was fabulous, this was the only place that had husband saying twice to the staff that it was 'très bien' and even shaking the manager's hand as he left. The amuse bouche, a little shot of soup of petit pois enriched with a bright green blob of  olive oil, had a light, sweet savoury finish that left me wanting more, priming the palate and appetite for the meal to follow. An appetiser of uni (or tongue of urchin as stated in French in the menu) with cauliflower mousse and a disc of deep fried bone marrow was sensational in appearance as well as taste. Main of roast pheasant had foie gras stuffed inside, very yummy, but even more yummy was tender roasted parsnips. Instead of dessert I munched on slices of creamy-salty Orrat Iraty cheese accompanied by a generous glass of Jurançon. A near perfect meal.

Husband enjoyed his scallop tartare appetiser but loved more his mains of roasted black cod with champagne glaze. He gave me 9 out of 10 points for selecting the restaurant, being especially pleased with the decor; for that price point he was not expecting a relatively spacious room, table cloths, large napkins and a stalk of fresh roses on each table. For me, I was not expecting 'avant dessert' or pre-dessert which may be more common in 200 euro-per-head establishments. The entire meal was super value for money and I would not be surprised if in six months time the price inches up another 3 or 4 euros. The only glitch was that the white Burgundy we ordered was served a little warm, otherwise it would have been a perfect meal but like he says, there's always room for improvement. My dear husband is already looking forward to a business lunch there next week.

Comments

[Betty C.]

What a great resolution!

I need to apply it, albeit in a more modest way, to eating out in Aveyron. I'm always going back to the same places...

[umami]

Hi Betty, now that smoking indoors is banned we love eating out and hope to do a lot of it this year.