Somewhat of a trek to the end of line 4, especially on a rainy night such as Friday and seeing nothing particularly interesting from the outside and inside of the restaurant, makes one doubt whether this was really a good idea after all. Had I known that Doucet just opened La Régalade Saint-Honoré, I would have ate at this restaurant but I thought I'd owe it to the chef to go to the 'institution' itself.
La Régalade is an oddly shaped restaurant serving about 15 tables which are cramped together - Parisian style of course. When we walked in at 19.30 for our reservation, the restaurant had only filled a quarter of its capacity but we were surprised that by 21.00, the restaurant was not only packed but many customers were waiting at what was supposedly a bar to sit and eat. The service was a bit slow at first, with 1 waiter who's job was to take orders, and the other who only took orders for wine (and could not dare to take food orders). But, by 20.00, a new staff member joined and things started to get rolling. The decor is nothing special, reminds me of going to a little village in the centre of France and eating what they usually serve as a home-cooked meal, or in a style of someone's grandmother; the restaurant covered with old sculptures of pigs, roosters and paintings of the French countryside. It had a definite 'homy' feeling which went very well with our orders.
After ordering, we were joined by the terrine de maison, pain de campagne and a crock of cornichons and sweet-and-sour onions for the taking but we didn't want to fill our stomach too much, as a 3-course meal is obligatory if you take the fixed-price menu for 33 euros (a great bargain), and a very meaty, or shall I say porc-filled, menu it is with a choice of 5 dishes per course.
Entrées:
1. Royale de Foie-gras de Canard, bouillon crémeux de champignons du moment (Flan-like foie-gras in a mushroom soup)
2. Tout Simplement Le Panier de Cochonailles du Sud-Ouest (all the porc you can eat! - from saucissons, to boudin and crispy lardons)
Plats:
I was considering a fish dish but the cod did not look as tantalizing as the paleron de boeuf so I opted to go all out that evening. But the spotlight had to go to the poitrine de porc with lentils, hands down one of the best melt-in-your-mouth tenderized meat I've had.
1. Paleron de boeuf cuit a la ficelle, poelees de pleurotes a l'échalotes
Accompanied by a seed of mustard purée
2. Poitrine de cochon fermier moelleuse de chez l'Ospital, la couenne croustillante, Lentilles vertes du Puy cuisinées comme un petit salé (Pork belly, with crispy skin on a bed of green lentils)
I am still kicking myself for not ordering the Soufflé which was ENORMOUS on the other table, but simultaneously glad as I could not fill my stomach one more bit! There was also the choice of riz au lait but I knew it would come in a big portion and opted for something a little lighter. I actually saw someone order the riz au lait which came in a earthenware crock, accompanied by a giant wooden spoon.
1. Petit pot de crème à la vanille gelée aux fruits de la passion, langues de chat maison (Vanilla Cream topped with passion-fruit and accompanied by biscuits)
2. Figues rôties au vin rouge et épices chaudes, sorbet maison (Roasted figues in berry sorbet)
It was a fine meal overall, a bit of a stretch to get there but you could always opt to go to the trendier looking La Régalade Saint-Honoré. Having eaten at Le Comptoir du Relais (home of Yves Camdeborde), I constantly compared both restaurants while at La Régalade and there is a vast difference between both where Le Comptoir du Relais which serves more refined food but keeping it at the basics and at a great valued price.
La Régalade
49 avenue Jean-Moulin, 75014
Tel: 01 45 45 68 58
Metro: Porte D'Orléans (ligne 4)
or for a trendier scene...
La Régalade Saint-Honoré
123, rue St.-Honoré, 75001
Tel: 01 42 21 92 40
Metro: Louvre-Rivoli (ligne 1)
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