Comptoir de la Gastronomie
Add: 34 Rue Montmartre, 75001 Paris
Tel: +33 1 42 33 31 32
Hours: [Mon-Thu] 12~11pm [Fri-Sat] 12pm~12am (closed on Sun)
Website: www.comptoirdelagastronomie.com
Price: €35~45/person
Visited: Jan 2013
Comptoir de la Gastronomie comes in two parts. The deli/boutique side is lined with gastronomic ingredients like fresh foie gras d’oie (fresh goose liver), andouillette (chitterling sausage), tapenade (olive spread) etc., while the restaurant side cooks up dishes featuring these ingredients. Gastronomic, indeed.
The menu includes a page of “classics”, from which we chose this simply yet deliciously-prepared panfried foie gras with ginger bread (€16). There were a few other foie gras-themed dishes that sounded particularly appealing, like the house platter of duck foie gras with chutney and toast, or foie gras carpaccio with honey sauce and sea salt.
Onion soups (€8.50), served burning hot, was a godsend for us on this January day. Caramelized onions plus grated cheese, yes please.
Roasted duck with balsamic sauce and mashed potatoes (€16) – great flavors, unfortunately the meat was a bit tough.
Venison filet, candied beetroot, butternut squash puree, wild mushroom sauce (€22). Mushy meat…why?! Did not like at all.
Foie gras ravioli with truffle sauce (€19) was the pièce de résistance of the meal for me. The ravioli skin had a slightly chewy/sticky texture, combining with creamy foie gras and fragrant truffle sauce…so good, I’d go back just for this.
For dessert – traditional French “crepe Suzette” and mandarine impériale Napoléon (Grand-Marnier) (€9) – not bad, not especially memorable.
It’s been a few months since I dined at Comptoir de la Gastronomie and writing this post really, really makes me want to go back for another bowl of onion soup (despite the climbing heat) and another plate of that foie gras ravioli with truffle sauce…