[Paris] Passage 53

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Passage 53

Add: 53 Passage des Panoramas, 75002 Paris
Tel: +33 1 42 33 04 35
Hours: [Tue-Sat] lunch and dinner service (closed on Mon & Sun)
Website: www.passage53.com
Price: [weekday lunch] €60 [dinner] €120
Tasted on: Jun 2013

Tugged away in a passage and with white screens draping over its windows, Passage 53 looks uninviting and…closed. But this two Michelin starred, perennially booked restaurant is not intended for passersby anyway. If you do manage to snatch a much-coveted reservation, you will have the chance to taste Shinichi Sato’s precise and inventive cooking using market-fresh produce.

Delicious bread and butter.

On weekdays, Passage 53 offers a €60 four-course lunch set. For dinners and weekend lunch, the menu is €120. Our lunch began with this delightful amuse-bouche…

Followed by eggplant noodle with tomato coulis and fresh tomatoes from Sicily. The eggplant noodle was thinly sliced eggplants, served cold. With chilled tomatoes and a few basil leaves, this was an ultra refreshing dish that showcased the quality of ingredients.

Next, a vibrantly-colored green pea soup. Every single bead was a burst of flavor and freshness, as if each were handpicked to ensure that only the best pods were used. Actually, that’s probably true.

The fish course was turbot with green pea foam, white turnip sauce, and wild asparagus. A lovely harmony, each produce tasting incredibly alive.

The meat course was guinea fowl, artichoke, salsify, and clam sauce with licorice. The guinea fowl was incredible tender, the skin crisp and perfectly salted. The clam sauce worked surprisingly well with the poultry, and licorice – an ingredient I usually dislike – added a pleasant sweetness to the dish.

For my friend who cannot eat seafood, the chef substituted the clam sauce with this yogurt sauce.

Then, a trio of desserts were presented, each delightful on its own. In the recommended order, I first tasted this acacia flower cream served with honey sorbet.

Then, strawberry sorbet with vanilla cream and meringue.

Lastly, coffee jelly with chocolate crunch and mascarpone cream.

The meal ended with a few mini chestnut honey madeleines. I still remember not liking chestnut honey when I first tasted it in La Pâtisserie des Rêves’ Tarte Châtaigne, but I’ve since learned to appreciate this rather distinctive flavor.

Here’s a snapshot of the kitchen, which you will see should you venture up the narrow staircase for the washroom. At the bottom right is Shinichi Sato, who orchestrated our perfect lunch at Passage 53. Each dish was a pleasant surprise, with meticulous attention paid to both flavor and texture. Highly recommended.