[Paris] Semilla

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Semilla

Add: 54 Rue de Seine, 75006 Paris
Tel: 01 43 54 34 50
Hours: 12~11pm (open daily)
Website: www.facebook.com/semillaParis
Price: [lunch] €23~33 [dinner] €35~45/person
Visited on: Feb 2014

Semilla, a contemporary bistro by MOF Eric Trochon and his brigade of Ferrandi graduates, sits right in the heart of St. Germain-des-Pres. The renovated interior is modern but not overly edgy, its focal point being the gleaming open kitchen and its team of cuisiniers, who slices and sears and plates with a composed hustle and bustle. The atmosphere was so attractive that I wished I could get on the inside and partake in whatever they were doing there, too!

Next time, I’d like to sit here, right in front of the kitchen.

On another note, cute wall drawings.

Sunday is brunch day at Semilla. The short but appealing menu, in the same style as the decor, offers dishes that are dotted with pleasant surprises without being overly innovative. We started with beignets de potimarron, purée de courges (€14) – fried pumpkin dough with mashed squash, which was quite lovely but small in portion considering the price.

The wintry theme continues with véloute de châtaigne/champignon, écume fino (€12), cream of chestnut and mushroom with fine foam. Pleasant.

Burger de canard, grenailles et jeunes pousses (€20), duck burger with roasted new potatoes and green shoots. The thick patty of duck meat, cooked to a perfect medium rare, came topped with pancetta, parmesan, and roasted green.

Oeuf parfait, carottes, butternut, mousse panais (€14), slow cooked egg with roasted carrots, butternut squash, and parsnip mousse. A delightful contrast between crunchy honey-glazed carrots and melting butternut squash, accompanied by the soothing harmony of creamy yolk and parsnip mousse.

Still feeling slightly unsatiated at this point, we added on an order of Sunday Roast: faux filet de boeuf rôti, gratin dauphinois (€26), roasted beef with potato gratin, served in a red wine sauce. The beef slices, roasted medium rare, were tender, juicy, and flavored just right, especially satisfying with the accompanying (very creamy) potato gratin.

On the sweet side, we tried French toast, chantilly châtaigne, marrons confits (€10), French toast topped with chestnut whipped cream and glazed chestnuts. Maybe I’m just a chestnut fan, but this was lovely, lovely, lovely.

Tartelette chocolat/tonka, praliné, marmelade clémentine, glace café blanc (€10), chocolate tonka bean tart with hazelnut cream, clementine jam, and white coffee ice-cream. Loved the crumbling crunchy texture of the chocolate tart base, but wish there’s a bit more clementine jam for extra fruitiness.

To finish, a noisette (€2.3).

Semilla is one of those places where I wish I’d discovered sooner and cannot wait to come back another time. Did I mention this place has beautiful flowers? This place has beautiful flowers!