[Paris] Cobéa

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Cobéa

Add: 11 Rue Raymond Losserand, 75014 Paris
Tel: +33 1 43 20 21 39
Hours: [Tue-Sat] 12:15~1:30pm, 7:15~9:30pm
Website: cobea.fr
Price: [lunch] €44~105 [dinner] €70~105
Tasted on: May 2013

Opened near the end of 2011 and soon awarded a Michelin star, Cobéa is a collaboration between two friends – Jérôme Cobou the host and Philippe Béllissent the chef. The cuisine is contemporary French fine dining, with a style that’s delicate and light-hearted like a breath of fresh air. Served with passion and pride, sans any haughty attitude.

Dinner menu choices include 4 courses (€70), 6 courses (€85), or 8 courses (€105), while lunch starts at €40 for 4 courses. The menu is fixed and changes about every 6 weeks.

For the hands.

Amuse bouche #1: fried shrimps with coriander and Iberico ham.

Amuse bouche #2: cream of green peas with bitter almond foam and croutons.

Sourdough, served with seaweed butter.

Course #1: langoustine. From left to right: claw of langoustine fried in squid ink coating, roasted watermelon, and tail of langoustine, served with langoustine sauce. The tail of langoustine was perfectly handled, its flesh sweet and succulent, and the roasted watermelon added a refreshing sweet touch to the dish. The only disappointment was the claw of langoustine, which (on my plate, at least) was almost non-existent and I could only taste the squid ink fried dough.

Course #2: turbot. Roasted and served with some very delicious young vegetables and an orange coconut sauce.

Course #3: zucchini. Green and yellow zucchini delicately piled on top of one another, then dotted with date paste (flavored with a good dose of cinnamon) and black olives. At the bottom? Hummus goodness.

Course #4: filet mignon of veal. Pink and tender, accompanied  by grilled eggplant, mushrooms, parmesan, and garlic flower. Interesting to note: it was my first time eating garlic flower as it is, and wow it sure has a strong garlicky zing.

Course #5: 24-month comté. Shaved comté cheese served with a comté cheese chantilly  and Vin Jaune jelly. Loved the pairing of cheese with a fluffy light chantilly of the same flavor, which makes this a satisfying but not overwhelming cheese course.

Pre-dessert: sorbet of ginger, lemon, and lemon grass, served with (optional) vodka infused with lemon and lemon grass.

Dessert time :)

Course #6: strawberry. Strawberry sorbet with meringue, strawberry juice, fresh strawberry and poached strawberry. Lovely.

Dessert #2: white chocolate mousse and dark chocolate ganache with sablé. Eating the white chocolate mousse is like putting spoonfuls of white chocolate clouds in the mouth – light, fluffy, ethereal. Love at first bite!

Little bites: sablé with lemon curd, and chocolate sablé with vanilla cream.

Passionfruit.

We mentioned our love for the white chocolate mousse to Jérôme, and he surprised us with an extra bowl of it at the end of the meal. Why yes, I’d happily down another serving of this.

The cuisine at Cobéa is not so outlandish as to keep you on your toes all the time, but gentle sparkles of surprises throughout the meal make it a refreshing and fun experience. A place to come back to, for sure.

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