le Divellec in Paris 7e

[balex]

We had an indifferent meal on Friday at Le Divellec, a Michelin 2-star fish and seafood place on the Invalides in the 7th. The dining room is nice; they seated us next to the lobster tank because we had children with us -- and it did keep them entertained -- and the head waiter fished a giant lobster out of the tank for them to play with.

We had a couple of amuse-bouches -- little dishes of mussels in an americaine sauce, and some shrimps, and some sort of mushed up fish thing that I ate without paying any attention to which was pretty tasty. Also a dish of those little grey shrimp.

We had as starters:

some raw sea urchins -- impeccable

some raw praires (large clams 'tartufi di mare' in Italian, and the rather less charming name of Warty Venus clams in English)

lobster on a bed of wilted chicory with truffle vinaigrette; this was very good, but was slightly over-complicated -- there was a slight curry flavour which didn't seem to have any point, but the basic idea of the dish which was the combination of the flavour of the Breton lobster with the bitter sweet chicory (I think perhaps in America this is called Belgian endive -- the firm white stuff not the fizzy green stuff anyway) was excellent. I couldn't taste any truffle in the vinaigrette though it was very dark brown.

Main courses were

my son had a sea bass en croute de sel that he thought was very very good indeed and I had some -- it was excellent.

my daughter had some steamed scallops in a sort of soup of water cress (I think) that she didn't like becuase it was too creamy.

I had some sole with an oursin sauce. I had very mixed feelings about the dish -- the sauce was very good and the flavour of the oursin came through perfectly.

But ... in the end I didn't really like it -- it was a bit confused -- there were lots of other bits and pieces on the plate -- a little mousse of sole (I think).

The other main course was a scallop dish with a little risotto that was good but the waiter had assured my wife that it would be not very buttery, and the scallops were swimming in a very buttery sauce.

Puddings were good -- roast pear, and a chocolate and mint hot souffle, followed by a few plates of little chocolates and stuff, including some mini creme brulee that I was the only one to sample.

About 600 Euros for 4 with a bottle of O. Leflaive recommended by the sommelier.

All in all not really worth it -- there was nothing really wrong with it, but the level of culinary intelligence on display was not really sufficient to justify the complexity of the food. The fish and seafood were as you would expect of an extremely high quality.

The following day, my wife and son had gastro-enteritis (probably unrelated).

[hollywood]

Next time you might try Taira, a French-Japanese seafooder.

[Steve Plotnicki]

I think this is, and has been for a very long time, the most overrated restaurant in Paris. In fact I can't remember the last time I knewsomeone who had a good meal there. And in fact based on my one visit many years ago, I always doubted whether anyone ever really had a good meal there.

[Bux]

We had what we thought was a very good meal there. It was about 15 years ago. I'd meant to go back, but there are too many places and I've had so little time in Paris. My initial visit was prompted by an article in the NY Times Magazine with some recipes. Can't remember exactly who wrote the article, but it may have been Craig Claiborne. It was that long ago. There's not much buzz about the place these days and my tastes may well have changed or devloped since then, but I have a reasonably fond memory of the evening we spent there. That memory includes food that was very rich and old fashioned in some ways, although inventive in others. If my memory serves at all, it was a September of the summer when more than ten francs exchanged for the dollar on a good day (for the US visitor) and it seemed reasonable to eat in excess.

[Steve Plotnicki]

Once 15 years ago is not a rousing recommendation you know.

[balex]

In fact one of the reasons I went there (other than the fact that it is quite close to our flat) is that my grandmother took me there once about 15 --20 years ago, and I remember it being pretty good.

[Moondog]

I ate there three years ago and it was very good, though the specifics escape me, except for the dessert, and only because of the name:--'Pet de nonne"--Nun fart.

[lizziee]

The last time we ate at Le Divellec was in 2001 and it will be our last time. I must say that in previous years we have had excellent meals, particularly their turbot. But this time, both the service and the food was mediocre at best.

The restaurant was half empty and Madame tried to sit us at a tiny table at the back of the room at the kitchen door. Once re-seated, service was perfunctory and condescending. The sommelier left us sitting with empty wine glasses regularly.

I don't remember the specifics of the meal, but it was not particularly memorable. I do recall that my husband complained that his tuna tartar was not as good as the tartar at the bistro at the Vernet.

[cabrales]

I have only been to Divellec once, many years ago. In reviewing its indicative website menu, I noticed the following potentially interesting dishes:

-- Piballes pochées à l'huile d'olive, piments, ail confits: These are the little seasonal eels that I've always wanted to sample. I am monitoring Divellec for this reason, among others.

-- Homard à la presse avec son corail: This is a signature dish made with the Divellec signature lobster press (it looks a bit like the Tour d'Argent duck press, but it's for lobsters). I sampled this dish when I visited the restaurant, but don't remember anything about the experience (not necessarily a negative; this predated my note-taking days).

http://www.le-divellec.com/us/page2.html