LA CRÉOLE -- Restaurant Review

 

For menu, directions and general information:  https://la-creole.fr/

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 - Star........................................€€................................... 2 - Bells

Normally I don't do reviews of ethnic restaurants since most of my readers want to read about french restaurants. But, I made an exception for this restaurant, since they were old french colonies and the french influence incorporated into their native dishes made them not only interesting, but delicious. You can definitely see the french influence.

Friends recommended this restaurant. First we had apéros at Le Select, bar/cafe which was the old stomping grounds of Ernest Hemingway and other famous writers. To this day, you'll see wannabe writers in the back trying to get inspiration from their "spirits."

Then onto the restaurant.

The interior is what I expected, lively and had a very tropical vibe. The food is from 2-different sides of the world. The Indian ocean, which comprises of food from e.g., La Reunion, Mauritius etc. And, the Caribbean where we have e.g., St. Martin and Guadeloupe.

Mixed appetizer

There were 5 of us and we decided to share the mixed appetizers. The combination was fantastic. They had boudin noir sausages (blood sausages) very french, and many tropical dishes that had nice spicy flavorings. They had samosas, crab, crab fritters. Overall, it was a nice mix of different flavors, and some were actually spicy, yippee!

Goat Stew

This stew originated from Mauritius. It wasn't at all what I was expecting. I was expecting it to be more curried stew akin to what you find in Jamaica. It was not as spicy as I would've liked, but they did have some "Scotch Bonnet" salsa as a side that I added to it, to give it a zing. It had a side dish of rice and sweet plantains. Overall, it was good, but not one of my favorite dishes of the night.

Dorade

This dish originated from Guadeloupe. This was my favorite dish of the night. The fish simply grilled. It was fresh, extremely moist and the accompaniments were perfect. Just squeeze a little lime and add one of the spicy sauces, and it became magic in your mouth. As everything else, it was accompanied by rice and sweet plantains. 

Sausage Créole.

Lastly, JJ ordered the créole sausage. This was one of the spicier dishes. It sort of reminded me of "Louisiana hot links" but had added spices, like basil and ginger. It was served in a tomato sauce. Absolutely delicious. 

NOTE: We decided to pass on dessert, since we were all pretty full. Portions are substantial. 

SUMMARY 

What a fun evening. It was a lively restaurant with live entertainment. I have one word to describe the atmosphere, 'FUN'. The music was definitely afro-caribbean. I spoke to one of the singers, and he was from Guadeloupe. So his singing style was very stylistically Caribbean, but in french. The patronage were very mixed. Mostly people from the "old" colonies, so that's a good sign. The wait-staff were also very mixed. Some were from the Indian ocean with a strong Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani influence, as you can see in the food. Whereas the Caribbean side had more the seafood. 

The cocktails were very, very inventive. I had a taste of one of the cocktails, it was a sweet rum cocktail with spicy chilies, but not overwhelming, just gave it a nice interesting bite. Delicious!

1 Guinness, 2-cocktails, and 2 bottles of white wine, 1-shared large entrée, 5- plats, our bill came to €212 or €42.40 per person. Would we go back, ABSOLUTELY!