Samantha N.
Yelp
We came here on a Monday night, and since we made reservations quite late in the game, only bar seats were available. Aux Pres, owned by renowned chef Cyril Lignac, offers a 3-course meal at 49 EUR, which is an absolute steal, especially by Paris standards. However, compared to the other restaurants we visited in Paris (i.e. Fulgurances, Mensae and Ellsworth), Aux Pres did not impress, both from a food and value perspective.
The appetizers we tried were pretty mediocre. My husband ordered the spicy crispy prawns romaine salad with a sesame dressing. The prawns weren't crispy enough and there was nothing special about the sesame dressing (reminded us of a salad we had at Guu Izakaya, but that one was even more flavourful). In addition, there was no thought over the presentation of the dish. It was just a few pieces of fried prawns over a bed of shredded lettuce. I had the crispy rice, marinated sea bream with chipotle mayo, and similarly, there was nothing worth mentioning about the dish.
As for the mains, my husband ordered a scallop dish that came with julienned apples and a creamy foam. There was a nice sear on the scallops, but it lacked the unique fresh sweetness that you would expect from sea scallops, and the portions were rather small. I ordered the wild cod caramelized with miso and cauliflower wasabi and it was a winner. The fish was flavourful and tender, and the fresh sliced cauliflower and pickled vegetables added a nice textural crunch.
Quite a contrast from the appetizers, the desserts were to die for. I ordered the hazelnut caramel pear french toast with vanilla ice cream and the combination was absolutely heavenly. In Toronto, caramel desserts are usually overly sweet, but the amount of sweetness in this french toast was perfect. My husband ordered the warm chocolate cake topped with vanilla ice cream and he thoroughly enjoyed it. The flavours were complex and the cake was decadent.
Overall, we enjoyed our meal at Aux Pres, although we felt there wasn't much thought put into the ingredient combinations compared to the other restaurants we visited in Paris.