Le Bouchon Breton

[howardlong]

I organised a table of eight at Le Bouchon Breton last Friday evening. Maitre d' is Francois Bertrand, formerly sommelier at Le Gav and the last to wear the silver tastevin there. I believe that I have previously described Bertrand as irrepressible, a trait that delightfully continues.

It's covered very well over on the Dos Hermanos site here, however I found the service was a bit hit and miss: I made a mental note not to go on the first night a place opens.

I found the food in general slightly dissappointing, going for a scallop special starter and lamb main. The scallops were done in a deep buttery sauce that rather detracted from the main ingredient. The lamb was done at least medium well, but I ordered medium rare, "as the chef recommends". The tarte tatin was superb. We also all had a nice big lump of Roquefort each... with a 1989 Suduiraut, yummy.

The general consensus for the best main dish was the braised beef with mash.

The best bit was that it turned into an impromptu wine tasting. With a 700 bottle wine list in front of us, we set to. After welcoming the evening in with a couple of bottles of Bolly Grande Année '99, we had two Saint Aubin '05s, a Zapata Alta Catena chard '05/06??, a Hamilton Russell chard '07 (served blind, two of us guessed it, but we incorrectly reckoned it was an '06 - how nerdy can you get?), a Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz/Cab '96 (I thought it was on its way out, but others differed), a curved ball young Spanish red grenache server blind (which none of us got), and of course the '89 Suduiraut. Glasses were Reidel.

We had a good old nose around the kitchen too, meeting chef Nicolas Laridan who was pretty chatty.

The location won't exactly attract a passing trade, being upstairs above La Tasca. I wish them luck, and it's certainly a 'go' for a repeat wino session. Only 693 bins to go.

Cheers, H

[Food Snob]

I had liked the look of the menu that Dos Hermanos had posted and been attracted by the the pedigree of the chef/staff - as Howard mentioned, formerly of Le Gavroche. The fact that Michel Roux Jr. was also consultant on this project was almost the clincher, but then I read this post last night and J. Moir's review this morning and I think I have changed my mind.

Has anyone else tried it yet?

I've heard a lot about the meat dishes, any information about les poissons?

Cheers.

[howardlong]

I had liked the look of the menu that Dos Hermanos had posted and been attracted by the the pedigree of the chef/staff - as Howard mentioned, formerly of Le Gavroche. The fact that Michel Roux Jr. was also consultant on this project was almost the clincher, but then I read this post last night and J. Moir's review this morning and I think I have changed my mind.

Has anyone else tried it yet?

I've heard a lot about the meat dishes, any information about les poissons?

Cheers.

←

I am not totally sure what Moir's banging on about bland wine. Clearly it's not her forté, "stick to the food dear" methinks, where I can agree with her based on the selections I made, although some of my fellow diners certainly made better choices (the braised ox cheeks for instance).

I would resist the temptation to think too hard about M Jr having a huge hand in this. It's more of an arms length loose acquaintanceship.

They have a moderately sized display outside the door of a whole variety of fresh fish/shellfish that you can point and choose.

I will definitely give it another go.

H

[howardlong]

I am not totally sure what Moir's banging on about bland wine. Clearly it's not her forté, "stick to the food dear" methinks, where I can agree with her based on the selections I made

I have been found out. I have made the gross error of exposing a condescending side of me online, and fallen fowl of hiding behind a keyboard (albeit perhaps to my credit not anonymously) thinking that there'd be no-one around to defend themselves. In an attempt to redress my faux pas I humbly withdraw the above comment that I made on the author of the review, and apologise for ever making it in the first place. Mental note to self: you never know who's reading this stuff.

Jan, I publicly apologise.

Cheers, H

[muichoi]

oops, better remove that. I'm not entirely convinced by Ms. Moir's wine coverage, but no one makes me read it, I suppose.

Edited October 9, 2008 by muichoi (log)

[Food Snob]

Finally, I made it here. And I am pleased I did.

I liked the restaurant itself; very comfortable and a serious attempt at authenticity.

The staff were all very polite and friendly; the chef, ex-Gavroche is really nice and a real foodie himself.

Stand-out dishes: Steak tartare prepared tableside; and Roasted pheasant with truffle risotto (not very 'brasserie', I know, but it was very good nonetheless).

My Le Bouchon Breton Lunch

Compared with what else is on offer, at its level, around it, this place is worth visiting.

P.S. Thanks for the recommendation, Howard

Edited November 12, 2008 by Food Snob (log)