Cézembre -- Restaurant Review

17 Rue Gregoire de Tours,
75006 Paris
tel: +33 9 67 57 25 08
Metro: Odeon (line 4)
(check website for operating hours)
Website: http://www.cezembrerestaurant.com/en/

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+)

4.25- Star......................................................€€......................................................... 2 - Bell

It's been a while since I've done a review, because I've been traveling. As soon as we hit town, a good friend recommended this restaurant, so off we went running. It's in the 6eme (Saint Germain de Près).

It's on a side street and it's a relatively small restaurants. It's a long restaurant with tables located on both sides. Let's say a very intimate restaurant.

The Chef de Cuisine is Anthony Hamon who hails from Brittany and Cézembre is actually a small uninhabited island off St Malo.  Although the menu changes daily, his influence comes from Breton and superbly sourced and served.

The menu changes daily. I like that. There basically is not an a la carte menu. However, the waiter did say that if we were allergic to anything, to let him know and they could alter the menu for us. However, you did have a choice of either a fish dish or a chicken dish for your main.

I asked if I could replace a cheese plate for the sugary dessert, unfortunately, they did not have a cheese plate so I chose to forgo dessert.

Although they did not have an a la carte menu per se, the Chef does offer a 6-course tasting menu for 45€ which we all agreed would just be too much food for us.

SCALLOPS:  The scallops was our entrée. It was small dish, but punched with a lot of different strong flavors but not overwhelming. There were what I believed was a creamy herbal sauce. We overwhelmingly loved this tasty dish.

COD:  We all opted for the cod as our plat (main). This fish was perfectly cooked. and the accompanying sauces was a nice touch to the dish.  The dish was accompanied with mushrooms, carrots and cut string beans. What I liked about the dish all the components complimented each other, and the beans were cooked al-dente, which I loved.  The bed of risotto it sat on was also extremely delicious, again cooked to perfection, al-dente, and although I'm not a fan of foam, this was light and actually made the dish cohesive.

PEACH: I must confess I did have a little taste of the dessert. It was extremely light. A peach encased in a sorbet with a light foamed cream. Everyone loved the dish, because it was not only refreshing, not overly sweet, and light.

WINES: We ordered a bottle of  "Thierry Germain, Domaine des roches Neuves, Saumur Champigny". We debated whether we should get a white or red. Since some in the group don't drink white the waiter recommended this wine with our fish. It's a 100% Cabernet franc and goes well with seafood because it smells of red and black fruit. Light with a nice after sensation.














SUMMARY:  

What a hidden gem in the 6eme, otherwise known as the "Saint Germain de Près" area of Paris, a more upscale neighborhood without the upscale prices as reflected in this restaurant. The prix-fixe for 2-courses is 24€, and for 3-courses 28€. There was absolutely no pretensions about this restaurant. It was simple, straight forward delicious food beautifully presented and packed full of flavors. I did read some reviews from Americans wherein they thought the portions were too small; I thought they were perfect, but then again I am not a big eater. I did notice that every single one of us sopped up the delicious sauces with our bread, that's always a good sign.

The menu does change regularly depending on what's seasonal. The waiter was extremely efficient, and he spoke perfect English, he took time to explain each dish and the nuances of the wines in both languages.  Would we go back? ABSOLUTELY. Go before people discover this gem.

For three 3-courses, one 2-courses, a bottle of wine, a glass of white wine and bottle water our bill came to 155€ for 4-people.