LE PETIT MARCHE -- Restaurant review

 

Check Website for directions, menu and reservations. https://www.lepetitmarche.eu/

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+)

2.5 - Star.......................................€€....................................... 3.5 - Bell

This restaurant has been around as long as we've lived in Paris (14-years) the theme has never changed, but the menu has. Their food has always been billed as Asian fusion. The first time I came was in 2008. Back then the idea of asian fusion was using soy-sauce, sesame oil, and sprinkling sesame seeds. Paris has come a long way.

We went 2-more times between 2014-2018, menu changed, food improved a little, and I particularly liked the Chinese chicken salad, which I thought was the best dish on their menu. 

Fast forward to August 11, 2022. One glaring difference that I noticed, there were a lot of tourist, mostly from Asia, in particular China. Hmm, I'm thinking it must be tour groups or their tour book guides include this restaurant since it billed as Asian Fusion. 

Last night was an extraordinary warm humid night. Sadly the restaurant did not have air conditioning. It was packed, and tables turned faster than you can imagine, thankfully, they did not rush us, or I would've been pissed.

ENTRÉE

GAZPACHO OF PEAS WITH SLICES OF CHORIZO. 

Since it was a warm evening I wanted something cold. So, I ordered the gazpacho The gazpacho was extremely under seasoned, had a bitter after-taste as well. The chorizo was thinly sliced out of package, I would assume. I would've crisped it up to give the dish some texture, because like eating any oily cold cut slice of eg salami or coppa it can be stringy and rubbery. On a charcuterie plate, it would've been fine as is. 

They had a small bottle of olive oil and salt and pepper on the table. So, guess what I did. The olive oil really saved the dish and made it more appetizing. But I really had a problem with the texture of the chorizo. Net-net, it wasn't bad, but poorly, poorly executed and very one dimensional. 

CEVICHE DE BAR WITH SLICED CUCUMBERS. 

JJ ordered this dish and I decided to taste it. One thing it had going for it, the fish was fresh. However, just like my dish it was EXTREMELY under seasoned. JJ doesn't typically add seasoning to his dishes, but last night, he added a ton of pepper, which gave it much more flavor. Again, the ingredients were nice and fresh, just so under-seasoned. 

PLATS PRINCIPAL. 

FOIS DE VEAU (LIVER) WITH GINGER SAUCE. 

It was accompanied with mashed potatoes and haricot vert.  Now this dish had some flavor. So it needed no salt nor pepper.

However, the liver was unevenly sliced, one half was thick and the other half was very thin. This created unevenness of doneness. One chewy side (thin) and one tender, perfectly cooked (thick side). Keep in mind I ordered it a "point" medium rare. 

There are many solutions to an uneven slice. The thick portion could have been sliced and "butterflied" to make it even with the thin side. Or, they could have cooked it pieces, even in strips preventing uneven doneness, this is cooking 101. But flavor wise was spot on.

CAPPELLETTI OF ROYANS, SPINACH, RICOTTA, & GARLIC CREAM.

JJ ordered this pasta dish. It was good, but not a wow moment. It's nice and hearty and the flavors were not overwhelming, eg no fishy flavors.  Net-net, It was a good pasta dish. Italians would have balked since the pasta was topped with cheese, a no-no.  

For the wines we had our standard of Sancerre a dry white wine. And a bottle Brouilly, one of the few red wines drunk cool bordering on cold. Both delicious wines.

SUMMARY

As you can see I've been a few times over the 14-years that we've lived here. In all honesty, I was never ever wowed. They do a few dishes really well like the Chicken salad.

Fast forward August 11, 2022, what has changed?

• It's become a major tourist destination place. 
• They turn tables, but in their defense, they in no way rush you, people just have to wait. 
• They're trying new combinations. My friend had a magret de canard, and I must say it was cooked very well. However, they paired it with "lady finger" bananas. It was slightly grilled on one side and served with half the peel. It was way too sweet with the combination for my taste, so a miss. If they had used plantains, it may have worked. 
• Sadly, the one thing that hasn't changed is their hits and misses. They're still looking for their groove. Or maybe not, since they get a lot of tourists

With 1-bottle of Sancerre, 1-bottle of Brouilly, 4-entrées, 4-plats our bill came to 189€ or 47.25€. Service was erratic, but nice. 

Would we (JJ/me) go back? probably not on our own, I'll leave it for the tourists. In concept the asian/fusion sounds great, but they lack inspiration and delivery. But if we have friends who want to go and live in the area, we wouldn't say no. But definitely not go out of our way.