Louis -- Restaurant Review

23 rue de la Victoire, 75009
tel: + 33 1 55 07 86 52
Online reservations: reservations@louis.paris
Metro: Le Pelletier (ligne 7), Notre Dame de Lorette (ligne 12)
Website: http://www.louis.paris/
Opened: Monday-Friday

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......................................................€€......................................................... 3 - Bell

Good friends J and Colette recommended this restaurant which they've been to several times and have always enjoyed it. It's a small restaurant. It can barely seat 20-people.

The interior is simply decorated with snug tables. It's pleasant enough and it appears that the patrons prefer a later lunch, since it didn't' start filling up until after 1 p.m.

We perused the menu. It's a tasting menu and changes daily. For lunch you can select either 3-courses or 6 courses. We all decided 6 would be a bit much, so we selected the 3-course lunch.

Amuse Bouche.  It was a trio of a toast, wafer with a light cream and beets. What the 3-shared was their extreme lightness. They were not heavy at all. And, not too rich as to clog your taste buds, but also flavorful enough that it left lasting impression.

Entrée, Tempura oysters with a creamy leafy cream sauce.  The oyster was either on steroids, or they combined 2-oysters. Nice and crunchy and it sat atop a tuber and a little spinach. The presentation was simple, but the flavors were spot on.

Plats, Chicken & cod. Talk about surf and turf. In its simple presentation, it was quite elegant. The chicken wrapped around some fresh cheese and the sauce was a "colza" sauce is which typically made of rapeseed. At first glance you think, this dish is not going to fill you up. On the contrary, it was quite satisfying. The chicken, as well as the fish were extremely moist. And, the added root vegetables were a nice accompaniment. Although there was one long root vegetable I didn't recognize and it was a bit stringy for my liking. Otherwise a perfectly composed dish.

Cheeses. As many of my readers know, I do not eat desserts, so I opted for the cheese plate. Wow, kismet, I got the 3-cheeses I love the most, camembert, brebis (sheep), and blue. It was served with some nice greens and great tasting toast. I don't know what seasoning he put on it, or if it was just the bread, but it went well with the cheeses.

Dessert, a napoleon with rhubarb and sorbet. What struck me visually was the green sugar wafer. How did he get it so green. I have to assume it was some kind of natural food dye, cause I can't imagine the chef using food coloring. Everyone seemed to like it. It was a combination of vanilla, cream and a touch of chocolate with rhubarb. So you had the textural component (crispy wafers), the creamy component (napoleon filling as well as the sorbet), the chocolate element, and the sourness of the rhubarb, which brought it to a more complex level. How can you go wrong, it's got something for everyone.





Wines:

D’Aupilhac Loui Maset, Languedoc 2014.  A red wine known for its fresh and crispy fruity notes, mainly of fresh red fruits such as raspberry and strawberry.

Bourgogne Aligote, Anne Boisson 2014. A white from the Meursault region known for it's citrus flavors (lime, grapefruit). This wine may not be for everyone, because it is very tart.

Parting sweets, of chocolate and a small madeleine. The chocolate truffle was a bittersweet chocolate that was melt in your mouth delicious. And, the madeleine was extremely moist. It went perfectly with the prune armagnac that was also given to us as a parting treat.

Chef de cuisine, Stéphane Pitre

Interestingly, for such a small restaurant the kitchen was staffed with the chef and 3-other staff members. Chef Pitre has worked at some very prestigious restaurants, including a Michelin starred restaurant. He also worked in London as well as Martinique and brought much knowledge and skill to his restaurant. I wouldn't be surprised if he's being considered for a Michelin star in the near future. In fact, while we were at lunch the CEO of  "Gault et Millau",  quite a well known French restaurant guide in France was dining there. And, he introduced himself to our famous food blogger J., after all he is a celebrity in the food world.


SUMMARY

This restaurant is not for everyone, since it is a "tasting menu" and you won't know what's being served. I suppose you could call ahead of time, if you're a picky eater. This restaurant served excellent, well presented food. What was different for me from other restaurants was the finesse in which the dishes were served, and how the different flavors complimented each other. As I mentioned, it is a small restaurant and the tables are packed in so it got really noisy and difficult to converse when the restaurant filled up. The portions appeared small, but I'm not a big eater so for me it was filling enough. I did find one of the root vegetables a bit stringy, but aside from that, everything was delicious. And, the service was excellent. Would I go back, ABSOLUTELY.

For a 3-course lunch, 2-bottles of wine, 2-coffees and 1-tea our bill came to 210€ for 4-people. (Note: the prune Armagnac was complimentary)