Le Comptoir du Relais
Add: 9 Carrefour de l’Odéon 75006 Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 44 27 07 97
Hours: 12~3pm, 8pm~1am
Price: €35~55
Visited: Apr 2013
Le Comptoir du Relais is one of the first restaurants I went to after arriving in Paris (review here), and it remains an easy go-to place for the following reasons: 1. good food, 2. opens on Sunday, 3. no reservations needed for lunch. Here are some snapshots from a recent visit.
Foie gras de canard des Landes de la maison Paris aux pruneaux (€16). The foie gras is delicious, but what makes this dish stand out is the accompanying creamed prune, its sweetness a perfect complement to the foie gras.
Os à moelle gratiné, petits pois et feves, caviar de hareng (€11). Bone marrow, peas and fava beans, herring caviar, self-explanatory.
Pressé d’agneau et aubergine confite (€??), terrine of lamb and aubergine. I didn’t particularly like this dish as it lacked flavor – we had to sprinkle salt and pepper to finish it.
Calamar farci de légumes Provençaux, sauce a l’encre (€15), calamari stuffed with Provençal vegetables and orzo, in ink sauce. This is the dish I had on my first visit, and I’ve been in love with it since then.
Cochon de lait braisé et rôti, lentilles en ragout (€26), braised and roasted suckling pig, with lentil ragout. Crunchy at the top, tender at the center. Slightly too salty for me.
Dessert was skipped this time as we were heading to a nearby patisserie right after lunch, so no pictures to share this time. Last note: Le Comptoir is extremely popular, do arrive before noon for lunch if you don’t want to wait for long.
