For contact, directions and to make reservations, click on this link https://www.maison-sota.com/
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+)
4.5 - Star.......................................€€€ (without wine) ....................................... 2 - Bell
We've been to this restaurant before, pre-covid, but haven't come back until today. It's quite a long distance from us from the 15eme to the 11eme, but well worth the commute. When you walk by, you notice that it's a strange building in a sea of apartment buildings. It almost like a ski lodge that's been misplaced.
This is a Japanese fusion restaurant.
Once you enter the interior it is quite a large open space, with a large auditorium style kitchen. Both are located on the 2nd floor. You can sit at the bar, or you can sit at tables, which we opted to do.
For lunch there is a prix-fixe for €65 for 4-courses. In reality, you had an additional 4-dishes.
My guess is that it was a play on nori-maki sushi. But the difference is the sardines are cooked and it covers sweet sauteed onions over brown hearty bread rather than rice.
I would've thought that the sardines would've been salty, but they were very lightly salted and the onions were quite sweet. It was a good dish and quite inventive, a Japanese crostini. I liked it.
AMUSE BOUCHE #2 -- GRILLED BABY TOMATOES.
Simply prepared, grilled with a mild accompanying sauce of a light cream, drizzled with olive oil. In its simplicity it was a good dish, but very underseasoned. So I asked for some salt and pepper, adding the salt really brought out the flavors of the tomatoes.
The fish was very, very fresh, but to be honest, it was pretty tasteless. I would've thought it'd be served with a light soy sauce or some kind of salt, because again, it was under-seasoned.
However the green beans were out of this world delicious and seasoned perfectly. It had a nice crispiness despite it being tender. The sauce was light and not overwhelming, bringing out the flavors of the green beans.
The whole pumpkin was first baked. There was a lid, I originally thought it was part of the pumpkin, however, it was actually dough. My guess it was puff pastry.
The broth inside the pumpkin was nice and mild not overwhelming with any one spice(s). The chestnut made it smooth. Overall it was a good dish, but one complaint, it was under-seasoned. But adding some salt cured that.
LOTTE ET FOIE GRAS - MONKFISH AND FOIE GRAS.
At first glance it looks like a dull green blob. But, once you uncover it, there's a nice, meaty, piece of monkfish, otherwise known as cheap man's lobster. Monkfish is very, very meaty. The foie gras was extremely rare for my liking, but the combination seemed to work well. Not surprisingly, this dish too was a tad under-seasoned. I'm starting to believe the chef does not like salt. Adding salt made a world of difference.
PINTADE EN CROÛTE DEL SEL - SALT BAKED GUINEA FOWL.
They brought out a big clay chicken and I thought how odd, but actually it was the casement where they cooked the guinea fowl. The casement was made of flour, salt and hay.
This dish was absolutely fabulous. The meat was so tender, it was like melt in your mouth kind of meat. They also gave us the crispy portion of the leg. Moist, but crispy. My guess is that it was grilled before being served to us since the skin was crispy.
A+ DISH! And, guess what, it was well seasoned. Afterall, one of the major ingredients of the casement was salt.
I don't normally eat sugar, but after everyone was oohing and aahing I decided to eat it. One word WOW! out of this world delicious.
They took a poached pear, then topped with a the custard made of cream, lemon and eggs, and then brûlée'd it. It also had a dollop of vanilla honey ice cream and a parsley mint extract.
The pear with cream brûlée was so tender, it was melt in your mouth, even though it was cold. The parsley/mint sauce gave it a nice earthy flavor and the ice cream was just a nice added touch, both taste-wise and texturally.
MIGNARDISES - FINANCIER, GRAPE CREAM WITH A DOLLOP OF VANILLA HONEY ICE CREAM.
Mignardises is an after dinner treat. Yes, sometimes they will serve this even after they've served you desert. It's like a going away treat.
This financier was extremely moist, and it was served a little warm. The ice cream was great and the grape cream was nice way just to spread it on your financier to give it a nice fruity flavor. It was a big hit for all of us.
WINE - MONIER PERREOL SAINT JOSEPH BLANC.
Made from 100% Syrah, the Saint-Josephs are fine and elegant. Delicate and delicious, they develop subtle aromas of blackcurrant and raspberry, becoming nuanced with leather and liquorice with age.
SUMMARY
The atmosphere was great. I always like seeing the kitchen at work, so it was a treat for me. The meals are prix-fixe with lunch being the most reasonable at €65 for more like 8 dishes rather than the 4 they advertise (see link for menu and prices). Our total bill was quite high at €477 for 5-people, but that's because we ordered two €58 bottles of wine, which skewed the overall price.
As for the service it was beyond reproach. Very attentive and unobtrusive. For example, I spilt water, and they were there to clean up within a second.
On reflection, maybe this was purposeful, but a minor complaint I have, some of the dishes were very underseasoned, but the quick cure for that was adding salt. You can always add salt, but you can't take it away, n'est-ce pas?
All the dishes were very good, but my favorite was the Pintade and surprisingly the dessert as well.
Would we go back, ABSOLUTELY.
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