Goumard, for seafood plus

[KJS]

A very nice seafood restaurant behind La Madeleine, Goumard offers a traditional seafood in the midst of modern decor. I had a five-course lunch there on a Sunday afternoon. I had a little trouble finding it, but it’s easy if you go to La Madeleine and, facing it, go to the back and right to find the restaurant.

I was greeted warmly at the entrance and taken up the lushly carpeted grand stairway to the dining room. I was seated in the corner with a view of the whole restaurant. Only three other tables in the restaurant were occupied.

As soon as I was seated and ordered an apperatif, I received two tiny pizzas with a delicate pastry crust and two petite bread sticks. The sommelier brought the wine list and as I studied it, I received, as an amuse-bouche, a dish of two very tiny fish, filleted and split, served on top of a layer of sauce and olive oil.

For my wine, I chose Saint Veran, Domaine des Deux Roches 2000 at 38€. It was not possible to order by the glass, which would have been nice for a single diner.

As an entree, I ordered les fillets de rougets rotis, jus au foie gras, compote de figues et pommes at 19€ (roasted red mullets in duck liver sauce with apple and figs chutney). Mullets are small delicate fish and the chutney made a delightful counterpart to the blandness of the fish.

My plat principal was la sole des sables meunière with épinard au naturel (Normandy Sole menuière with spinach) at 41€. The waiter presented the fillet to me before cutting it into four fanned sections. The large sole fillet was floured and fried in butter. It was good, but nothing remarkable. The spinach however, was wonderful! I would have accepted it as a dessert! It was served, lightly steamed or stewed, in a small dish. It was slightly sweet, tender, fragrant, and melted in my mouth.

I took my time with the fish, wine, and bread (very crisp round rolls, dotted with sesame seeds. The taste of sesame was pronounced.). Afterwards, I assented to the cheese course (12€). The waiter brought a large wooden block on wheels covered with assorted cheeses.

The waiter helped me to a slice of a lovely blue cheese, a mild chevre, some camembert and some brie. My favorite was the chevre. It was slightly firm, with a mild but insistent flavor that soothed and seduced the tongue. The cheese was accompanied by small, thin slices of bread full of golden raisins. A perfect pairing!

Then I had dessert, les petits blinis au chocolat et supreme d'orange, glace Guanaja, (12€). Wow! I would come to this restaurant just for the dessert! What was presented to me was: a plate with six tender chocolate cookies overlapping one another next to a spiral of chocolate sauce; three perfect slices of orange over a delicate red sauce. Next to that was a dish of cocoa-flavored ice cream. Another small round white dish held a delightful custard. Next to it, another small rectangular dish held a macaroon, a tiny fruit loaf, and a small lemon tart with one currant on top. The orange slices were not simply cut from an orange. In fact, except for reading the menu, I couldn't tell what type of citrus they were. They were perhaps marinated, and all traces of skin and toughness removed. What remained was the pure flesh of the orange. The dessert was beautiful, delicious, and completely satisfying.

I would recommend this restaurant to someone who loves fish, but I thought it was quite expensive for seafood. My bill for a five course meal came to 139€.

The Goumard web site, in both French and English, includes complete menus for lunch and dinner: http://www.goumard.com/

Goumard

9, rue Duphot

75001 Paris

Tél. : 01 42 60 36 07

Fax : 01 42 60 04 54

[cabrales]

Earlier this year, Goumard was pitching its "champagne bar". Actually, it's nothing other than a separate wine list for champagne, with some good selections. The restaurant discourages clients from coming in just for champagne, although ordering some oysters and other less filling dishes would be sufficient. The decor has a lot of Lalique, both in the ceiling lights, and in a nice set of Lalique crystal fish of different colors. The restaurant tends to overcook its fish slightly, relative to my subjective tastes. However, I go there for oysters from time to time.

[John Talbott]

Goumard, coordinates above.

6.2 - wonderful for two of us.

3.0 - not so for Colette.

Well a lot has changed since 2002 and the above were posted (I myself haven't been in a decade, when we used to go a lot).

A few weeks ago I saw in Web Radio du Gout that they had a facelift to become a "brasserie de luxe sans contrainte", converted the downstairs to a oyster bar/tapas joint/small plates and single glasses of wine location and upstairs to a less pricey (cf 139 E pp KJS paid) and not totally seafood centered resto.

Colette and I went today with a trusted palated friend and he and I were thoroughly pleased with the all inclusive menu (3 courses, 1/2 btle wine, 1/4 btle water and coffee) for 49 Euros. The first was a base of tepid crushed crab with a crabesque veloute on top, a main of beautiful and beautifully-cooked cod with a superb crust on top of a bed of a slightly more fluid than usual brandade (there was also a meat option and there are many more meats on the carte than before) and then a fine apple dessert concoction with ice cream and beurre sale.

As I say, he and I were very pleased, even though, as he noted, the wine provided was a screw-topped "3,90 E white from Monoprix." (NB the lowest priced white or red otherwise was 40 E). But the bread was super (as usual), the cafe serre proper and the service attentive.

Our bill, with all that and Colette's bar was 129 Euros (less than KJS's entire meal).

But but but, John, what's wrong with this picture?

Ah, you had to ask. Colette's bar with girolles and green beans. It was blah with no character or much taste and for 26 E one expects a bit more, even pouring salt over it as Colette did but never usually does.

So Go? I think so, the all-included (which actually harks back to chef Philippe Dubois' original idea) menu is a great buy, but why we two were blessed with a great meal and Colette got stuck, I'll never know.

PS The Louis Majorelle (Nancy recall? where Colette and I recently revisited) Art Nouveau touches (1904) remain secure in the national heritage bathrooms (the North ones not the South ones) only mildly ruined by General DeGaulle's upgrades, according to our dining partner).