Le Petit Commines --- Restaurant Review

 

16 rue Commines 75003 Paris

Tél. +33.1.42.74.57.09 / +33.7.78.18.63.39

Metro: Line 8 (Filles du Calvaire)
Website: https://le-petit-commines.com/restaurant-papounet/le-petit-commines/

Reservations can be made online at La Fourchette

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 (70-80); 4-Bells = Can talk only in raised voices (75-90); BOMB = Too noisy for normal conversation (90+)




3.5 - Stars....................................................€€........................................................ 2.5 - Bell

I've been wanting to come to this restaurant for a while now, since it's located in the 3eme (Le Marais)  and we're usually in that neighborhood a lot.

The interior of the restaurant is small and the menu selection not large, in fact, very few choices, but something for everyone. As some of you know I prefer small menus, it tells me they work on quality rather than quantity.

The interior of the restaurant was very Parisian French with the stone walls. What impressed me most was the wine selection. We had drunk a lot from an earlier event so we just ordered some wines by the glasses (3).

NOTE: I'm only reviewing the dishes that I had.

AMUSE BOUCHE

 It was a vegetable root creamed with cinnamon. The first thing that came to mind, "CINNAMON"? As a generalization, the french do not like cinnamon in savory dishes.

I thought the amuse bouche was nothing special, it was just OK. The cinnamon was almost non existent. I tasted just a hint of it. Probably that was done purposefully to accommodate the french palate.

ENTRÉE:  Les 6 tempuras d’escargots « Jacot-Billey », pistou d’herbes et confit de rhubarbe (Tempura escargo with herbs and a rhubarbe sauce)

Typically, when I think of tempura I think of batter that frys up light, airy and lacy. The batter was quite heavy, it tasted fine, but it's just not what I expected. They were more akin to croquettes then tempura. Maybe they should look into renaming it. The tartness was a great relief from the fried escargot. And, the escargot was actually very tender. Although good, it really wasn't anything extraordinary. 

La « MATURAX », une côte de boeuf charolais de Limoges, frottée thym, fleur de sel et piment d’espelette. 8 semaines de maturation (The “MATURAX”, a Charolais beef rib from Limoges, rubbed with thyme, fleur de sel and Espelette pepper. Dry salt cured for 8)

There was three of us who split this dish. (NOTE: cannot be ordered by 1, it's a minimum of 2).  The beef in France is great, because they're GMO free and grass fed. And, you really can't order it beyond rare, otherwise the meat becomes leathery tough. 

We ordered 1-kilo.  The beef was very simply prepared. The texture of the filets were tender and very tasty. I ate the meat around the bone rib, since I find the meat very flavorful due to the marrow. Of course it was a little chewy, but tasty. However, the winner was the filets. This selection was a good one. NOTE: There were only 2 sizes for the meat: The 1-kilo was size we ordered (3 people) as the waiter thought the smaller size would be better for only 2, but we couldn't even finish it.

SUMMARY

As you enter the restaurant, there's no mistaking that you're in Paris. It is small, quaint and cozy, albeit tight, but hey that's normal in Paris. Our waiter was the ONLY waiter for the whole restaurant which had about 8-tables and 40-people. He took time for non french speakers to translate line-by-line each dish. I can't say anything but good things about the waiter and his service. 

Now as for the food. The food was good, with my favorite being the beef. With the exception of the beef (see menu on website) the prices were very reasonable. Was it inventive, inspirational, NO. Would I go back, the answer if I was in the neighborhood, I'd go, but I wouldn't go out of my way to go.

I bumped up the rating 3 to 3.50 because of the service more than anything else. With 5-entrees, 2-plats and 3-glass of wine our bill came to €45 each, rounded up.