Louis -- Restaurant Review

23 Rue de la Victoire
Tel: 01 55 07 86 52
Metro: Line 12 (Notre dame de Lorette)
Closed Saturday and Sunday
website: http://www.louis.paris

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+)

4.50 - Star......................................................€€......................................................... 3 - Bell

It's been a while since I've done a restaurant review, because we pretty much were traveling for the whole summer and most of the fall. But we're back and not even a week back we went restaurant tasting. This restaurant is one of my friend J's favorite restaurant, surprisingly, we have never been before.

It's a very small restaurant and very intimate. In fact, there's probably only seating for maybe about 22-people. It was very cozy, because of it's small size, it did get a bit noisy at times, but overall a wonderful cute little interior.

The menu is a tasting menu. So you have to let the restaurant know in advance if you have any allergies or any diet restrictions.  We all opted for the 3-course lunch, which was very heavy on seafood.

AMUSE BOUCHE. When our amuse bouche arrived, I actually had to ask if it was our entrée, because there was quite a bit of tasting morsels that I had not expected.

From left to right: There was a toast with a dollop of aubergine, which was excellent. A parmesan wafer topped with grapefruit, and lastly a meringues topped with beets. All a great differences in flavors and a nice introduction of what is to come.

BONUS ENTRÉE. Next we had a "bonus" entrée, which was a raw scallop that sat atop a slightly smoked earthy greens. J is a good customer and has been there many times so this was an extra for our table. We were advised to "whiff" the aroma of the earthy greens, then the scallop was placed atop of a gelée of what I assumed was the jus of the scallop. A very simple dish that hit the sense of smell and taste. For me it was a hit and I don't even like scallops.

ENTRÉE. The main entrée was another scallop dish, but served warm. The scallop was slightly seared and served atop spaghetti leeks in a light cream. Interestingly the scallop dish was sprinkled with a "vegetarian caviar" which I had never heard or tasted before. I assumed it would be seaweed grapes, but they were actually black and a little larger than a sesame, that had a slight moistness in the center. Overall a very good dish served with a slice of toast.

PLATS.  For our main dish we had a white fish unknown to me called Carrelet fish, a flat white fish. It was slightly poached and sat atop a bed of artichoke hearts with a long shaved fresh raw white radish topped with red radishes.  Finally it was poured with a jus of radish, but very mild. So the the juxtaposition of something warm, something raw, and something citrusy was a great hit.

CHEESE COURSE.  Only JJ had the cheese course. It was a combination of blue cheese, camembert and a basque sheep cheese; all excellent choices.

DESSERTS. For our desserts we had a combination of different flavors. First we had a lemon tart, and boy was it tart. So for you lemon lovers you'll be in heaven, cause I know the people at our table loved it.  Secondly we had a dashi sorbet. Normally when I think of dashi it's usually made from shrimp or bonito flakes, but this was either made with shiitake, seaweed or a combo cause I tasted no fish. It sat atop of what I thought was dried cream. And, lastly raspberry and a caramelized cream. Overall all a nice combo of sweet, savory and citrus.

"MIGNARDISE" (parting sweets). We had small morsels of very flavorful pistachio cakes and the most chocolatey truffles that were basically thick ganache, but served atop of raw cocoa. Delicious.

WINES: We had a Chinon, which I neglected to take a picture of, and also a Domaine des Pothiers.

Chinon. Cabernet Franc characterized by a medium-bodied red wine with tasting notes of savory, bell pepper-like flavors, medium-high acidity and mouthwatering taste.

Domaine de Pothiers. Known for his fresh tasting notes of  red-fruit and candied aromas,

And, if that wasn't enough, Chef Stephane Pitre brought out a brand new bottle that weighed more than I do as a parting drink for J and lucky us, "Eau de vie Prunes" a very strong tasty digestif.


SUMMARY

What a great experience. The chef made the food so all your sensory sensations could be tickled. The sights of the food, along with the smells and combined flavors of sweet, savory, salty and citrusy was a big hit for me. The 3-course menu was big on seafood, but they did have the 5-course which included fowl. But I felt very satisfied with all the seafood. Would we go back absolutely.

With 3-course lunch, 2-bottles of wine, 2-white glasses of wine, 3-coffees our bill came to 275€ for 4 people or 68.75€ each.

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)