In April this year the infamous Gordon Ramsay opened a fine dining in Versailles, just 18km out of Paris. The local food press immediately closed ranks and as one, they savagely wrote him off. Figaroscope rated his eponymous restaurant one broken heart (out of possible 5) while even the free magazine A Nous Paris rated it 5.5 out of 10. Like the Hokkiens say, 'wah piang ah, ooh niah boh?' or 'fxxx are you sure?'
My curiousity piqued, I suggested to husband that we could try it out sometime. The time came two weeks ago when we celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary as well as V's third birthday. The restaurant is inside the Trianon Palace, a grand building at 1 Blvd de la Reine now a hotel run by the Westin group. It is a relatively small room sandwiched between a corridor bar on one side and on the other side a more open-air brasserie called La Veranda which is also part of Mr Ramsay's group. White button-hole banquettes seats and vertiginous pendant chandeliers provide illusory depth and height to compensate the lack of floor space. The restaurant was empty when we arrived, two other parties arrived later, it was a Saturday afternoon, the start of the Toussaint (All Saint's Day) school holidays. Little V loved the expansive banquette and delighted in the fancy table setting.
Drinks were ordered, and snacks came to occupy us while we considered the menu. Cones of fruity ice cream with caviar was startling but I finished mine since caviar is very expensive, at the bottom of the cone was some paler but definitely more yummy cream of salmon. The other snack on a stick was equally weird but not entirely disagreeable.
Husband and I ordered the dégustation menu, substituting the starting dish of foie gras with risotto of white Alba truffles, with paired wines to match the courses. We were served three types of wine during the meal.
The amuse bouche arrived. Soup of potirron (type of pumpkin) with smoked eel and girolles inside, the bread to eaten with some hazelnut butter shaped into a nut. Delicious. A Jurancon Çahaupe 2004 with its rich fruity bouquet and smooth coolness kicked things off to a good start.
The risotto came, the perfume subtle and lingering, a dish to be enjoyed at leisure which is a bit hard with a restless child by my side. They brought house made breads- mini baguettes, 4-cheese buns and an olive studded microloaf- all excellent, served with butter from St Malo. The breads distracted the child, she loved the cheese buns, and all was well again.
We ordered some steamed vegetables for her, in between she would get sample some of our dishes but she did not need a full blown meal. Of the vegetables, she ate most of the courgettes, beans and cruciferous types and while she exclaimed over the pretty colours of the other vegetables she rejected their taste.
Child fed, we could enjoy our second course. The signature raviole de langoustines d'Ecosse, caviar Petrossian, consommé à la verveine. The consommé was meant to be sipped together with the food, it was delicious, the tea flavour supporting but not overwhelming the flavours of gingers and crustaceans. The carpaccio of langoustines lining the base of the plate was delicate and sweet, the crunchy peas nicely bridging the contrast with the impeccable raviole, filled generously with langoustines. The caviar I thought was redundant, its distinct taste was a bit of a rude jolt not becoming of the overall delicate sense of the ensemble. Sometime between this and the next course we were served a Mersault, the white burgundy's refined finish matching the elegant dish.
The room was getting quite warm, the overhead chandeliers and the wine not helping. V & I took a walk around the hotel lobby, there was a medical conference happening and the bar was bustling with weekend guests. Back in the dining room, we were served Turbot de ligne roti et braisé, tian de guacamole et vinaigrette aux fruits de la passion. Faultless if a bit dull. The vegetables were crisp and beautifully crisp and hardly needed the generous sprinkling of seasalt, ooh I am the fussy one no? The tian was wrapped in what I think was peeled tomato which was quite brilliant.
The main courses came, V was surprised and asked, "again?". A final wine of a sophisticated Vosne Romanee 2006 was poured. My choice was Carré d'agneau Allaiton roti, panoufle confite, légumes à la Provencale et jus au thym. Allaiton lamb is one of the finest French lamb there is, and this dish is a homage to the meat. So highly regarded it is that they obviously did not want to tamper too much which resulted in a meat woefully underseasoned. The confited part at the base hardly fared better, it was dry and sad.
Meanwhile, husband was quietly appreciating his Filet de boeuf en cocotte et fricassée de girolles, Wellington de joues braisées, sauce au vin rouge. He kept feeding V bites of the perfectly saignant beef, and then he insisted I try the Wellington, which was a riff thereof, the pastry substituted with roasted potatoes, and when I finally did, wow, this Wellington was pretty amazing. So amazing I suggested to husband that we swap plates, hence the picture of it in mid-consumption.
The creamy-fluffy-crumbly potato acted as a perfect base for the beef cheeks which had been braised to the point of meat candy, chewy and tough and concentrated with flavours that went on and on, so good that if they made a main dish out of it I am sure that it will sell out. The little disc at 6 o'clock is actually beef marrow battered and deepfried, that was also a little wonder in itself. The fricassée turned out to be made with braised cos lettuce, lovely. The piece of beef meanwhile, was eaten slowly, as slow as is possible with a three year old fighting for her unequal (i.e. larger) share. So while the preceding dishes were unimpeachable and toeing the line in all that is proper and correct, and making our meal a bit of a plod, this dish which the manager had not really done any hard sell for, turned out to be an unexpected star. The fireworks flew, and excitement blew through the room, at least in our little corner, even contagiously spreading to the older French couple next door who declared that they were enjoying themselves (they emphasized that they have eaten in many fine restaurants) to the point of taking pictures of themselves non-stop with their flash-enabled camera.
After the beef highlight we were in a pretty good mood, and also feeling very full. It was time to choose a cheese or a pre-dessert. We went for the pre-dessert, a chef's concoction of comice pears ice cream with crystallised pears and exotic fruits and pear liquor. I love comice pears, this was easy to enjoy.
The first dessert was ananas glacé a la meringue, minestrone à la noix de coco. The meringue contained a light coconut mousse studded with crystallised ginger pieces, the combination of shatter-crispy meringue with sharp fruit flavours and velvety cream exuberantly fruity. It was fabulous, and we were not even finished yet, the meringue was sitting on top of some lightly cooked granny smith apples, its sweet and crisp tartness totally unexpected and adding to the party atmosphere. What a standout.
The second dessert, even if it was made of chocolate, could not possibly compete. Crunchy chocolate encasing passion fruit sorbet and hazelnut praline was pretty but not not terribly exciting. We were already too full anyway, even V could only finish part of the chocolate shell.
We ordered coffee for ourselves, and were given a little silver dish
containing chocolate popsicles filled with fruit flavoured cold cream.
Very nice. Later the chocolate trolley was rolled around, it has big
glass jars containing pistachio caramels and a selection of milk and dark chocolates. V chose these marshmallow-like treats, it's called something like 'ta ge da' and was very cute, the inside pinky white and softly melting while the outside is dusted with a fruity powdery film. We made husband try one, he liked it too.
It was a very pleasant meal. The brigade of waitstaff were very patient, helpful and attentive. I asked for a copy of the menu, this they gave to me in a discreet fashion at the end of the lunch in a folder (together with menus for the coming festive season) put into a black shopping bag within which was also nestled a small loaf of passion fruit and almond cake. V got a cake too, and they did not charge us for her plate of beautiful vegetables.
I asked husband if he thought that this places deserves a 5.5 score. He emphatically disagreed, and proffered a more generous mark of 8.5 instead. I am in accord with him, the food was of a high standard and some dishes were magnificient, the service was irreprochable and in general it deserves more attention than the relative disdain with which it is now getting. Good luck Mr Ramsay!
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