L'Ourcine Restaurant Review

Find Out What all the Talk's About at this Parisian Neo-Bistro

Apr 6, 2009

With a rising star at the helm, l'Ourcine is set to take Paris' dining scene by storm.

The Buzz

The French love their food, and they love to talk about it. It seems that everywhere you go, people are talking about this little bistro headed by Sylvain Danière, formerly of La Régalade under the formidable Yves Camdeborde.

The talk isn’t for nothing, and you'll get your share of it as soon as you walk through the doors; This little place is all boisterous conversation, clanging cutlery and clinking glasses. While the cacophony may overwhelm at first, the setting is so charming in its simplicity that you'll soon join in with the other noisy, happy gourmets. The dinning room, with its cream walls and wooden tables is decidedly plain, perhaps to avoid competing with the beautifully presented fare.

Rustic Reaches New Heights

Indeed, as the waitress set down a complementary amuse-bouche of airy mushroom mousse topped with tiny golden croutons, the anticipation of the good things to come was nearly unbearable. What followed was a veritable parade of traditional French dishes reworked into contemporary inspirations. The procession started with spider crab-stuffed ravioli, the sweetness of the meat wonderfully offset by the bed of slightly bitter endives meunières.

The delicately flavored seafood bisque was quite perfect, with just the right amount of seasoning and a texture that begged a thorough scraping of the sides of the bowl. A main of fillet mignon of pork was wisely and expertly served in its simplest form, broiled until just cooked through, the warm juices sealed in by an initial pan-searing that left the meat wonderfully tender. Accompanied by roasted garlic cloves and grenailles, tiny whole potatoes that look like little golden jewels, the dish was a superb example of rustic beauty.

The wine list tends towards the pricey, but with such gorgeous food at such reasonable prices, it's easy to justify a little splurge and choose something special. Baskets of fresh baguette slices continued to appear as if out of thin air throughout the meal, and the staff were quick on their feet, never allowing empty dishes to languish too long in front of the satiated clientèle. Just when it seemed the meal had reached its highest point, dessert arrived. Rich, dark, egg-sized chocolate quenelles, so creamy the spoon sliced through them like a hot knife through butter, sitting in a shallow pool of saffron-infused crème anglaise. Need any more reason to go see what all the talk is about?

L’Ourcine

The copyright of the article L'Ourcine Restaurant Review in European Culinary Travel is owned by Lise Charlebois-Ludot. Permission to republish L'Ourcine Restaurant Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.