LE PETIT MARIUS -- Restaurant Review

6 Avenue George V 75008
 Tel: 01 40 70 11 76
Metro:  Line 9, 1 (Alma Marceau)
Open Daily

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+)

1.75 - Star......................................................€€......................................................... 4 - Bell

Our good friend Jay recommended we try Le Marius, since it recently changed hands. This restaurant is located in the 8eme, a known posh area and has been around a long time. Le Marius specializes in seafood, so if you're looking for a steak or pork chops, you're out of luck. As I mentioned,  the restaurant has been around a long time, and the reviews have been all over the board, but mostly average and/or not very favorable so we were curious.

The interior is nautically oriented and actually quite comfortable. It did get noisy as it filled up, to the point it became almost impossible to hear. In fact Jay's decibel reading registered 87, which is quite high and can be equated to an alarm clock going off or a disposal running.

As we pursued the specials of the day and their standard fare, we were given a tuna rillettes with toast, pas mal (not bad).

 The menu had a nice selection, but since I was having stomach issues I wanted nothing raw, and selected from their a-la-carte menu, Jack and Jay followed suit. Note, they did a lunch special of 27€ for 2-courses.


ENTRÉE

Note: Jack decided not to have an entrée

Poached egg in a cocotte. When it was first delivered I asked if I had ordered it, cause it didn't look like eggs at all, but I was reassured it was what I ordered.

I don't even know where to begin. The bowl looked like a bowl of cream with swirly potatoes. As I scooped my spoon into it I felt something hot and something cold, plus salt, lots of salt. It was so extremely salty that I thought maybe I just bit into a salty patch. As I continued it got saltier, but I did find the eggs. They were poached nicely, and there were mushrooms at the bottom. Basically half the dish had a covering of hardened egg whites topped with cream. I honestly could not finish the dish because it was so salty. And, I have a high tolerance to salt. So I just tried eating the yolk with bread.


Sautéed mushrooms with poached eggs. Jay ordered this dish, unfortunately, the picture did not come out, but it looked like it sounds. The dish was OK, nothing special, but one thing noteworthy, it was NOT salty. There were lots of mushrooms and 1-poached egg sat atop. From the looks of it, the egg was slightly over-cooked, so not as creamy as one would expect.


PLATS

Langoustine ravioli.  OK, I've heard of badly composed dishes, if I could give prizes to the worst composed dishes (presentation and taste), this dish would win. Where do I start? Let's start with the ravioli, ravioli skins were rubbery, the langoustine themselves were fine though, but what made this dish horrendous was the sauce.

The sauce was heavy, creamy, spicy, overly sweet. It hit every sensation all it once and not in a good way. Nothing was refined about it. It was like someone slapped you. One thing I will say, it wasn't salty.

Then to add garnishes of peas and cubed potatoes, what is this chef thinking. This dish was so busy and just so badly composed, the flavors were just not complimentary. I have to say in all my years in Paris, this wins as the worst dish I've ever had. It felt and looked like I threw up an Indian curry meal. Maybe it could be a Jackson Pollock painting.

Sole. Jay ordered the sole. And, I have to say this was pretty good. The skin was crispy and it actually had some flavor. It wasn't salty, a simple dish that was cooked perfectly. Although there were no accompanying vegetables, it did come with mashed potatoes that were pretty good.

Yellow Pollock (Lieu jaune basquaise).  Jack ordered this fish dish. The fish was nicely presented and, although perfectly cooked, the fish did have a "fishy" smell, hmm, I wonder how fresh it was. The sauce was mustardy which was a nice accompaniment to the dish. And, what was nice about the dish it came with lots of different vegetables. Jack thought it was a very good dish, and he would definitely have it again.









DESSERTS

Baked apple. I was afraid to order anything else and opted not to have my usual cheese. The two decided to share this dessert, topped with a raspberry sherbet with quince. It was good, nothing out of the ordinary; however, the quince flavor was undetectable.














WINES

A redemption for the meal I had, the wines were good.

Laroche La Chevaliere Chardonnay 2016 -- Known to have tasting notes of vanilla, smoke and hints of sweet spices such as clove and cinnamon. I really enjoyed this wine, and it does pair excellently with fish.

Laroche La Chevaliere Pinot Noir 2016 -- It was served quite chilled. I'm not a red wine person, but I have do say I do like a good pinot noir because of its lightness when compared to other red wines. And, this particular wine from Languedoc-Roussillon has some excellent pinot noir.  Known to have tasting notes of roses, fruits, black cherry, berry, and currant.


SUMMARY

Wow, this restaurant is all over the map. Out of the 5-savory dishes we had, two were absolutely horrendous and inedible, and guess who had them, yours truly, moi. The remaining three-dishes one was average, one above average and the other was excellent. We really gave this restaurant high hopes since it has new owners and a new chef. But we left very disappointed. I will say the one dish which I will never forget, and not in a good way, was my dish of langoustine ravioli. It looked like I threw up Indian curry, and some artists may think it looks like a Jackson Pollock painting. Would we return, ABSOLUTELY NOT!


For 2-entrees, 3-plats, 1-dessert, 2-bottles of wine, 2-coffees our bill came to 160€ or 53.33€ per person.