Dominic Carpin
Google
It's hard to explain how wonderful this restaurant is. It's so good I dined here twice in one week. The staff is professional, yet personable. They make you feel at home. As I was leaving the maitre d approached me, shook my hand and thanked me for dining at the cafe. It felt like a sincere gesture. This is not typical. I started off with a coup de champagne (Taittinger, my favorite). They brought me a bowl of complimentary bulots (nice touch), and an amuse bouche that was like a tuna mousse. The waiter recommended a certain type of oyster (out of this world). I added some king prawns. So delicious with the mayonnaise, that for some reason tonight had a bit of mustard seed in it. Clever and delicious. I went big with the whole homard bleu. With risotto. I feared a giant platter of rice with the lobster on top, but no they are too smart and careful to do that to you. You get a side dish of it, which by the way was the most delicious risotto I've ever eaten. Lobster cooked to perfection. Just done, still tender. This is no small feat because as you may know an overdone blue lobster is not nearly as desirable. They become tough and chewy. Sometimes bitter. This one was sweet and could almost have been cut with a fork. Only the French could devise the notion of serving lobster bisque as the sauce with this dish. Brilliant! A glass of Sancere and a Martinique rhum digestif to finish things off. Perfection! No wonder this was Anthony Bourdain's favourite Parisienne restaurant.