[Paris] Bones

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Bones

Add: 43 rue Godefroy Caviagnac, 75011 Paris
Tel: +33 9 80 75 32 08
Hours: [Tue-Sat] 6pm~late (closed Sun & Mon)
Price: €40~47/set
Visited on: Feb 2013

I liked what I saw the moment I stepped into Bones – a brick and concrete interior brought alive by warm lighting and a lively crowd. This new restaurant by Australian chef James Henry (previously at Au Passage) is still shy of two months old, but has already generated quite a buzz in the F&B community. On the night of my visit, for example, we spotted the chef from Septime and the sous chef from Frenchie. So what’s served? A no-choice, four-course tasting menu (€40) that changes daily according to what’s fresh on the market.

There are no lengthy descriptions on the menu, just a list of key ingredients. Simple and clean.

Started with a glass of Chablis.

Then, four amuse-bouches: homemade charcuterie (amazing), grilled octopus, duck hearts, and lastly a suckling pig broth with cabbage, foie gras, and sea urchin (a surprising combination that worked rather well).

House-made butter, served with house-made bread.

First course: mulet noir, citron Meyer, fenouil (black mullet, Meyer lemon, fennel). Very fresh, but the flavoring was too light for my palate.

Second course: saint-jacques, endives, poires (scallops, endives, pears). Marinated pears were a nice complement to the scallops, and the dollop of liver mousse on the plate was also memorably delicious.

Third course: porc Kintoa, salsifi, choux de bruxelles (Kintoa pork, salsify, brussel sprouts). The pork, still rosy at the center, looked deceptively tender but was in fact very tough to chew. One of my fellow diners had the same problem, while the other two were happy with their cuts. The blood sausage and vegetableson the side, however, were beautifully done.

Palate cleanser: shaved ice with ginger and lemon curd. A lovely one!

Fourth course: pomme, jasmin (apple, jasmine). I’d have to say that dessert was my favorite part of this meal. The apple has been thinly sliced and cooked for hours, resulting in a meltingly tender terrine that was barely holding together. Jasmine ice-cream was a rare find and very refreshing, and along with a sprinkle of crumbles…texture and flavor perfect.

To sum up the dinner experience: charming interior and ambience, but not all dishes hit the mark for me on this particular night. Service was friendly throughout the meal, though there was a long wait in between our 2nd and 3rd course, resulting in us rushing to finish the last sip of wine in order to make way for the second round crowd. With a great concept and talents in the kitchen, however, this place might just need a few more weeks to smooth out the kinks before it becomes one of Paris’ foodie favorites.