Restaurant (Saveurs de) Flora (Mikula)?

[cabrales]

Patricia Wells reports on the new, still reasonably-priced restaurant created by the former chef at Les Olivades. The restaurant is called Flora.

http://www.patriciawells.com/reviews/iht/iht.htm

(see the bottom of the article)

[balex]

Well just when I was about to give up on French food in general and Parisian food in particular, I had two good meals.

First, les Olivades, on Avenue Segur in the 7th, which was recommended by a friend, though the chef has changed and is now Bruno Deligne. Very small, not very formal. A short carte, with a very short wine list (5 whites and 7 reds) that they rotate frequently. I had a starter of a terrine of St. Jacques which was very nice. Not one of those nouvelle ones, but a traditional sort with nice chunks of the scallops in a white fish matrix. Served with a beurre blanc with chives, and a rather boring herb salad. Really delicious.

My partner had grilled langoustine with a salad, served with an orange juice and olive oil emulsion. This was also good.

My main course was a sort of pasta dish with lobster. Actually it was more of a lobster dish with some pasta. Unfortunately the pasta was overcooked. The lobster was very nice though, with a really good texture -- even the claw bits, which are sometimes a bit mushy. This was in a rich well-flavoured sauce a bit like a sauce Nantua but not quite as concentrated and there was a lot of it. The other main was a delicious bit of grilled sea-bass ('bar' on the menu, which the irritating head waiter said was 'codfish'). A nice hot apple tart, an Armagnac. We drank a bottle of delicious Meursault. The bill was 120 Euros for two, which I thought was very reasonable. We'll go back.

Since this is eGullet, and thus neurotic pickiness is the order of the day, there were a few flaws. The head waiter was rather annoying; they had one of those bottle cooling machines about 5 feet from our table which was rather noisy, and the tomatoes that the sea-bass was resting on were completely tasteless. And the pasta was over-cooked. I hate that. Only one table of French customers. (Does that count as a flaw?)

A really nice meal.

[fresh_a]

Try Flora Mikula's new place, "Flora", on the avenue George V

[Chez Christine]

Trying to take advantage of La Semaine Du Gout this week.

Restaurant Flora has a student menu for 40 Euros, which is 3 courses and includes 2 wines.

She got rave reviews when she first opened, haven't been able to find more current opinions. Can anyone help?

Also, is 40 Euros worth it for the menu she is proposing? Thanks in advance!

> Chef de cuisine

Flora Mikula

> Lieu

36 Avenue George V

75008 PARIS

01 40 70 10 49

> Prix

Prix Public : 45.00 €

Prix Etudiants : 40.00 €

> Menu

Soupe au pistou sur une gelée de tomates, nem de chèvre et aubergines grillées. Aigle bar légèrement fumé dans un bouillon safrané au jus de coquillage, chantilly d'aïoli. Déclinaison de la pomme et des fleurs. Vins servis au verre, 2 verres au choix : Cheverny Blanc 2004 de P.Sauger, Vin de Pays d'Oc Domaine d'Antignac 2003 rouge et Crème de Calvados avec le dessert.

> Note

Note Gault&Millau : 14

Etonnant dessert : Millefeuille à la rose et figues rôties, crème glacée aux éclats de violette cristalisés

[John Talbott]

Trying to take advantage of La Semaine Du Gout this week.

Restaurant Flora has a student menu for 40 Euros, which is 3 courses and includes 2 wines.

She got rave reviews when she first opened, haven't been able to find more current opinions.  Can anyone help?

Also, is 40 Euros worth it for the menu she is proposing?  Thanks in advance!

←

Let me try to answer. I think one reason you don't see up-to-date reviews is that she got plenty of good press (deservedly) after opening in in the summer and staying open throughout August (bold move!). As the reviews piled up, she began to 1. bump her prices up and 2. reduce the number of choices on the "menu" - neither of which is a sin, but some of us stopped going when we realized that for a party of four or six, many of us would be eating the same thing if we stuck to the still fairly reasonably priced "menu." In any case, back to your queries; I have not eaten there since last summer when it was still fine; the carte outside recently looked like there were more choices on the "menu;" but is it worth 40E? I think so - but price-quality ratios are very individual. Francois Simon recently commented that one place was a bad ratio because he hated the food even at a cheap price and another place was a good ratio because the food was so banal [to justify it] and presuming Pierre45's story is another Simon account, he felt that l'Ami Louis was a bargain compared with a RT ticket to NYC to eat among Americans.

[Jon Tseng]

went there last winter and was pretty impressed

good *-standard cooking; worth a trip IMHO

ta

J

Edited October 10, 2005 by Jon Tseng (log)

[grace3]

Lunch today is at Les Saveurs de Flora, 36 avenue George V. The dining room is so whimsical decorated with pink butterflies, orchids, pink water glasses - even the big chandelier is studded with different sizes of pink butterflies. Sitting in that room makes you feel like you're in a roomfull of cotton candy!!!!!

For our amuse bouche, glasses of chipped "soupe aux legumes vertes" served with rillettes of pork with olive oil bread squares. A glass of Muscat went well with it.

With the rest of the Muscat, Joan had a veloute de potiron served with a dollop of cream. Lilia's first course was a Tatin de boudin aux pommes vertes. Deliceux!

A glass of Saint Nicolas de Borgeuil was served with a "Couscous de Rascasse aux legumes d'hiver aux Moules, sauce Corse". Joan enjoyed that one. Lilia had confit de Caille, petits legume a l'oriental saute en wok, accompanied aby a glass of petit Bordeaux.

For dessert, Joan had the Poire Melba and I opted for the specialite de la maison - a waffle with marrons glacee, chantilly de Nutella, glace aux marrons and some warm chocolate sauce. WOW!!!!

With our cafe creme (for Joan) and espresso for me, came the mignardise - tiny madeleines and meringue and a very thin "sucettes" (lollipop) made of fresh lemon juice resting on what we thought were chocolates but turned out to be made of metal. C'est domage!!!!!

[tupac17616]

thanks for the report. very timely for me. we're going in about 3 weeks!

[Ptipois]

Was the meringue rose-flavored?

Nice report, which tends to confirm Les Saveurs de Flora's reputation, which I heard summed up lately as "A girl-only restaurant". Which I doubt of course, I've seen guys go there.

[John Talbott]

Was the meringue rose-flavored?

Nice report, which tends to confirm Les Saveurs de Flora's reputation, which I heard summed up lately as "A girl-only restaurant". Which I doubt of course, I've seen guys go there.

←

I agree but I think Flora (Mikula) has only herself to be blame for that reputation after offering a women's menu was it last summer or year before last summer? (It was mentioned the the Digest at the time).

[grace3]

Was the meringue rose-flavored?

No, the meringue was pink but not rose-flavored...... there were tiny bits of fraises in them but not substantial enough to give it a strawberry flavor.

There was a group having a party (a family-owned one, it seems because the old man and his two sons have the same forehead and those prominent noses!!!!!); next to ours was a couple of businessmen who both ordered a mixed plate of different pates and foie gras with one ordering the special plat of risoto with large slices of black truffles (can't miss it as the aroma wafts over to our table as soon as the lid of the beautiful white casserole was taken off.......wish we've ordered one of those!!!) and three ladies on our other side who's celebrating somebody's birthday.

My friend Lilia is doing these great reports for us....

Joan

[Ptipois]

I agree but I think Flora (Mikula) has only herself to be blame for that reputation after offering a women's menu was it last summer or year before last summer?  (It was mentioned the the Digest at the time).

←

Well it's not exactly a reputation she is blamed for, her approach has nothing in common with that of the infamous Adrien. It is really tongue-in-cheek.

Edited December 9, 2008 by Ptipois (log)