Saturday 23 April 2011

Le Comptoir Du Relais

Le Comptoir Du Relais is a Parisian institution. It's one of those places that features in many tourist handbooks and yet it has such a good reputation amongst Parisians that they flock there regardless. Having lived in St Germain for over 2 years, we spent most weekends walking past here on the way to the Jardins De Luxembourg, wondering why there was always a big line outside, and what all the fuss was about. So one Saturday we decided to head across to see for ourselves. We arrived a couple of minutes before midday to find a queue already built up. Timing was perfect as they opened up just as we got there. This allowed us to get a nice table on the terrace, squeezed in, in typical Parisian fashion.

We decided to just share three starters instead or ordering mains and we were delighted with our choices: Scallops in creamy chestnut sauce with pine nuts, Poached egg cocotte, Lobster raviloi.

The scallops were nicely grilled and tender, and sat in a rich creamy sauce. Brilliant flavours and truly mouthwatering.

The egg cocotte was a very interesting dish, it seems like it was poached in a rich truffle sauce. The texture was absolutely fantastic, like a savoury creme brulee. My only minor criticism was that it was slightly heavy on the seasoning. Overall a very nice dish although I imagine more than one would get pretty sickly.

The lobster ravioli was absolutely brilliant. Large morcels of moist lobster tail were wrapped in a light pasta envelope. A generous portion. It was served in a foamy tomato sauce, with light dusting of paprika - not too over-powering and well balanced with the lobster.

There was a group next to us who shared planchas of fresh meats and cheese. On the other side a couple tucked into main dishes of souri d'agneau with couscous and a grilled tuna. They seemed like large portions and it'll definitely be worth a second visit. Unfortunately I didn't have the balls to ask if I could photograph their food. My loss and yours, it would seem.

Tops marks to Le Comptoir. The service was excellent, and it was great to have a friendly waitress in such a popular establishment. Now we know what the fuss is all about.

Le Comptoir Du Relais is actually a hotel as well so if you are visiting Paris, maybe it could be a good place to stay - check out my other restaurant reviews in the St Germain area.



9 Carrefour de Odeon
75006 Paris
01 43 29 12 05
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2 comments:

  1. Unknown5 May 2011 at 15:12

    If you go to Comptoir on a week night (must reserve well in advance), the biggest buzz is about this fixed menu the chef does, which is always brillant, about 4-6 courses, and a reasonable price for what you get, not to mention when it comes time for the cheese course, what they do is set down the entire cutting board of like 10 cheeses and just leave it at your table unattended! You can really sample EVERY cheese, and help yourself to the confitures and honey etc that are also on the cutting board. I would try this place again on a week night!

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  2. Unknown5 May 2011 at 15:13

    The place next door Avant le Comptoir, is also a great stand-up tapas place by the same chef. For some reason tourists love lining up outside the window to get Crepes to go (never tried them), but the real secret is having some of their delicious French tapas that run about 2-3 euros a pop and having it with a glass of excellent red wine. Standing option only though in a very cramped and narrow space, but well worth it!

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