Restaurant Review -- La Cagouille

10 Place Constantin Brancusi, 75014 Paris
Tél : +33 (0)1 43 22 09 01 / Fax : +33 (0)1 45 38 57 29
la-cagouille@wanadoo.fr
Metro : nearest station: "Gaîté" (line 13)

Rating Standards: 5-Stars = Extraordinary; 4-Stars = Excellent; 3-Stars = Average; 2-Stars = Fair; 1-Star = Poor

€ = Inexpensive: 30€ and under; €€ = Moderate: 31€-49€; €€€ = Expensive: €50 -75; €€€€ = Very Expensive: more than €76 (prices based on minimum 2-courses)

1-Bell = Pleasantly quiet (less than 65 decibels); 2-Bells = Can talk easily (65-70); 3-Bells = Talking normally gets difficult (70-75); 4-Bells = Can talk only in raised voices (75-80); BOMB = Too noisy for normal conversation (80+)

4 - Star.........................................................€€€...................................................... 2 - Bell

We joined a friend for lunch at this restaurant on a warm beautiful Saturday. So warm in fact, many people opted to eat on their fabulous terrace.

The restaurant is located in the 14eme, in fact the morning market is located in that area, and coincidentally the fish monger was housed directly in front.  This restaurant is known for their seafood. It has gotten mixed reviews over the years, and bottom-line, people either hated it or loved it so I was anxious to try it.

We perused the menu. They had a lovely selection.

Once we ordered we were given a nice plate of cockels to share as an amuse bouche.  Cockels can be tricky if not cooked well, in fact, it can be down right nasty if it's overcooked and have the texture similar to chomping on rubber bands.  But these cockles were perfectly cooked, tender, beautifully flavored and not too salty.





Entrées:

Two of us had the mussels. The mussels were great, they were in a simple nice wine sauce with the right amount of garlic. You got a heaping portion, in fact it was so large, we were unable to finish them.

JJ had the razor clams. They too were delicious.  Whereas the mussels had a nice wine sauce, the razor clams had a wine and butter sauce. I only had one minor complaint with the dish, it could've been scrubbed more, since some still had sandy grit on them.  Otherwise it was a very good dish.

Plats: 

JJ had the mackerel.  The mackerel was beautifully grilled. Mackerel can be very salty and also very dry and fishy if not cooked well.  This mackerel had a nice searing and the flesh was quite moist and tender. The sauce was a mustard butter cream sauce, although it sounds heavy, it was actually a great accompaniment.

One person had the cabillaud (cod). It was nicely pan fried and lightly grilled on top, and sat atop a sauce of light garlic. The fish was perfectly cooked and the sauce was a a great accompaniment.

I had the Salmon where the skin was every so lightly pan seared, but the flesh was raw. This fish sat atop some steamed spinach. One person made the comment that they would've probably sent it back since it was basically raw. I decided since I like sashimi, what the hey, I'll eat it as is. I later discovered this was not a good decision.

Desserts:

Only JJ got the dessert. He got the apple and pear crumble. Although nothing out of the ordinary it was good and hearty.

This restaurant is known for the collections of cognac, so our friend got a glass of the "Ragnaud-Sabourin Grande Champagne 1er cru de Cognac". I had a taste of it, I have to admit it was excellent!











Summary:

We all enjoyed the food tremendously. So we're in the camp that really like this restaurant. With exception of the minor flaws in the razor clams everything was on par. Their service which has also been criticized was excellent.  Now here's a word of advice, if you cannot digest raw fish, then I would suggest that you ask them to cook the fish "a point" -- medium.  I've discovered recently that I can no longer tolerate raw foods whether it be fish or tartare, and I suffered for it later.

So, would we go back, absolutely.  With a bottle of Sancere, our bill came to about 60€ each.