Spring, Paris 9e

[pierre45]

Had dinner last night with John Talbot.This is a very tiny place( 16 seats) and one eats the 36 E, 4 course menu that the chef has prepared .There is no other choice.Its unique in that one feels like eating in a private home.Its intimate and cozy.

THe guests were a mixture of local residents and a group of very attractive and fascionnably dressed( in black) people.

1st course was squach soup .soothing and smooth and needing some salt.

The 2d was a wonderful dish of fresh mackarel with multylayered taste of chorizo,green apple and coriander.Very lively

Main was a thick piece of lamb from the shoulder.Tender and succulent in an almond and basil sauce with carrots.

Last but not least was a very refreshing 3 apple dessert.

Red wines from the languedoc went very well with the food.

The chef Daniel Rose is an american.He is young and watching him work is a true delight .He has paid his dues in various restaurants ,including Le meurice.

When asked about the future he said he would love to open a restaurant that's set in a private apt above the street.Which i beleive is an extention of his current concept

[John Talbott]

FYI - Spring, 28, rue de la Tour d'Auvergne in the 9th, 01.45.96.05.72 will be closing on Saturday nights and open for lunch Thursdays and Fridays henceforth as well as still serving Tuesday-Friday nights. The one dinner seating is at 8:30-9:00 PM; there are only 16 covers; and with his reviews from everyone from Simon, hidden camera et al, to Michelin, he's really getting booked.

[Felice]

Daniel Rose has also started giving cooking classes. The prices start at 70€ per person depending on the menu and you'll spend the afternoon cooking, eating and drinking in this lovely restaurant.

You can go to his site for more information and to reserve.

www.springparis.blogspot.com

[Forest]

Thanks for the good info, as always! I will probably try it this weekend, but looking at the website, I'm wondering...is it a non-smoking restaurant?

[John Talbott]

Thanks for the good info, as always!  I will probably try it this weekend, but looking at the website, I'm wondering...is it a non-smoking restaurant?

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Yes, like Fish + Cerisaie it's just too small (16 covers) to have a smoking section etc.

[VivreManger]

Thanks for the good info, as always!  I will probably try it this weekend, but looking at the website, I'm wondering...is it a non-smoking restaurant?

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But I think it is closed on Saturday & Sunday, so only on Friday.

[John Talbott]

Thanks for the good info, as always!  I will probably try it this weekend, but looking at the website, I'm wondering...is it a non-smoking restaurant?

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But I think it is closed on Saturday & Sunday, so only on Friday.

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Correct although he will open Saturday night if you have enough folks. Great part about that is you can negotiate menu, wines, prices, etc.

[grace3]

Must put Spring on my list for October...

Need to work up some new ones to go along with some old favorites....

[Forest]

I just called to try and get in for tomorrow and it was just too last minute. They said you need at least 10 days in advance - so something to keep in mind when reserving!

[Laidback]

Ms. Laidback and I finally made it to Spring Friday night. This not the place to go if you are looking for decor and starred service, but the owner/chef is friendly and lacking in pretense. He spent some time in starred restaurants, lastly with Yannick Alleno at Le Meurice, and has a creative flair of his own. As stated there are no choices, there are but 16 places and he(Daniel Rose) told us he is full every night, although there were only 15 people this night, because apparently he accommodated a party of 3 by not putting a single at their table. We chose the table immediately in front of the counter in order to see up close how things came together. The 1st course was a very generous slice of good foie gras with toasted brioche; next came a ceviche of daurade served with a version of aioli flavored with vanilla, which to my taste was a mis-step; aioli to me means a dominant flavor of garlic and the vanilla seemed a distraction. The daurade was sparkling fresh and well seasoned with minced red peppers, ciboulettes, lemon juice and grapefruit on the side. The main course was the tenderest, most flavorful pigeonneau I have put fork to with a roasted brown exterior and rare interior, served with a large portion of very fresh green asparagus; even the Ms. ate most of her bird which is a testament to this selection and preparation as she has little appreciation for most game/gamey birds. Dessert was a clone of a Constant classic; ripe strawberries over mascarpone flavored with lemon juice and a red coulis. I asked about the coffee and it is purchased from somewhere in the neighborhood where it is roasted and ground.

Our wine was a mid-price Gigondas(€35), preceded by a couple of glasses of a white Mercurey,perhaps a tad pricey at €8.50 per, but the profit has to come from somewhere when you serve 4 courses, including generous portions of foie gras, fresh Daurade and pigeonneau for only €36.

The only real negative I had was that no one gets served until the entire group has arrived and one couple showed up over 45 mins. late. I think that Daniel needs to address this problem up front. Would I go back? Repeatedly!

Edited May 3, 2007 by Laidback (log)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

The only real negative I had was that no one gets served until the entire group has arrived and one couple showed up over 45 mins. late. I think that Daniel needs to address this problem up front.

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This happened to us to a lesser degree. Let's face it. There are a lot of slobs* in the dining public who think that common courtesy is for other people. Danial did emphasize on the telephone when I reserved that seating and service were at 8:30. I don't know what else he can do short of not admitting late-comers, period, which would dramatically affect the evening's purse.

*I noticed that the late party, which actually straggled in over the course of a half-hour, paid no attention to or commented on the food, but engaged only in social conversation. This, as a chef, would depress me.

[John Talbott]

I drifted by Spring today on the excuse of giving Daniel a hard copy of the Conde Nast Traveler article and found that he has a sous-chef helping at lunch and since he serves at 1 PM, this is when I'll go next time. He looks great though - as well he should after all these reviews - although he complained he's spending too much time on "insignificant" (my word) films/videos, but even if it's for Disney's "Ratatouille" and M6, it's flattering to be a star so soon after opening.

[Marianne]

I am so glad I already made a reservation for 18th May. With all the enthusiastic reviews piling in at the moment, that's bound to become more and more difficult. Thanks John, you already mentioned Spring last November in your monthly review, and it's been on my list since then. We'll report our findings.

[algy]

The only real negative I had was that no one gets served until the entire group has arrived and one couple showed up over 45 mins. late. I think that Daniel needs to address this problem up front.

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This happened to us to a lesser degree. Let's face it. There are a lot of slobs* in the dining public who think that common courtesy is for other people. Danial did emphasize on the telephone when I reserved that seating and service were at 8:30. I don't know what else he can do short of not admitting late-comers, period, which would dramatically affect the evening's purse.

If he's notified everyone that service begins at 8.30, then service begins at 8.30. If people can't make it until later, then they start at the point where the meal has reached when they arrive (and have some lukewarm stuff to top up, if they fancy).

They obviously pay full price.

Who does he want to upset - the people who complied or the ones that haven't? It's never a good idea to reward - directly or indirectly - bad behaviour.

However, the first post on this thread quotes:

"The one dinner seating is at 8:30-9:00 PM"

If you give people that amount of leeway - don't complain if they take advantage of it.

[SDyson]

One of the main reasons we ate at Spring about a month ago was precisely because there was a single service and, more importantly, a single daily menu.

We first heard of Spring late last year thanks to John Talbott’s e-gullet recommendation but we only had two nights in Paris and there were probably at least a dozen other places on our short list compiled from e-gullet and other sources. In the end, it was the messages on Daniel Rose’s blog that made us put Spring at the top of our list. To me, knowing that a restaurant has a single, regularly changing daily menu, is one of the best signals you can get that it’s seriously worth visiting. Daniel’s descriptions of his intent were compelling and his policy of a single service sent out a message that what he puts on each customer’s plate matters very much.

To be able to afford to deliver the food Spring provides at the prices charged, which presumably are partly so customer friendly because there are so few staff, a single service is probably essential. I thought it worked well the night we were there. People turned up over a 30 minute or so period. That meant it wasn’t too frantic for the charming young woman who managed front of house, there was plenty of time to organise wine for each table as they arrived. It all happened with minimal fuss, and there was plenty of activity to watch in the kitchen. We were the second table to arrive and perfectly happy to wait. His instruction of a “one dinner seating at 8:30-9:00 PM“ is similar to an invitation that’s quite common for functions along the lines of “7:30pm for 8pm” – where you know if you get there at 7:30 you’ve got time to settle and chat without any expectation of starting eating until 8pm but if you don’t get there until 8pm you won’t be late.

I’ve smiled, though, as I’ve read the discussions about a single service on this thread, while also reading Rebecca Spang’s The Invention of the Restaurant: Paris and Modern Gastronomic Culture as preparation for a contribution to a panel at the 15th Symposium of Australian Gastronomy last week. While, for me, a single menu and a single service is a signal to put a restaurant on the top of my must visit list, in the late 18th century, it was precisely this that the inventors of ‘restaurants’ as opposed to traditional inns, taverns and eating houses, railed against.

Ironically, the inn keeper’s table d’hôte, a single menu served at a set time and at a shared table was decried by the advocates of the new restaurants as inconvenient, common, and forbidding for strangers. Restaurants, which offered private tables, a menu of choices, a meal time that was not fixed, and cooking utensils that were hidden in the kitchen, were very much the flavour of the day.

So those of you who are complaining about the inconvenience of a single service and the need to turn up at a set time might take heart that you’re part of a long tradition that has helped to produce the cultural artefact we all know and love. For me, though, I’ll take Daniel Rose’s turning back the clock to a previous era any day.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Thoughtful post, Sue. Thanks.

[freshsnail]

Hello everyone. I check e-gullet every once in a while to see if people are still satisfied. This is the first time I've posted... Sounds like the waiting/seating time is troublesome for more than a few... Like the food, the restaurant changes a bit everyday. When the restaurant first opened I managed to serve everyone at their own rythym. This was before the long days, short nights, and stress started to take their toll.

Serving everyone at the same time is easier for me and I find, as other people have mentioned, that a single service enhances the experience (as long as no one arrives too late). The single service all at once thing seems to create a bond between the guests and between me and my guests. This is not always the case. Some people are put off by this sense of 'community'. When all are willing, everything falls into place- I get excited and the food is inevitably 'better'. People leave happy. The last month or so has been a good test of the one service system, but it clearly needs to be pushed to its logical and practical end... Dinner starts at 8:45! Come in, get comfortable at 8:30 or earlier if you want but at 8:45...

I will start being more clear with people from the moment I take reservations. I have mostly wonderful clients who will be more than happy to comply... I am confident this will improve the situation.

I'm glad that many of you have enjoyed yourselves at Spring. I look forward to making it an even better experience.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

freshsnail, you are doing everything right. Dance to your own music. 8:45 sounds like a brilliant solution. We look forward to sitting under the kitchen ledge soon.

Thanks for setting a new standard for intimate dining.

[Laidback]

Bravo Daniel, how refreshing it is to see someone who is the current darling of the media still be so responsive. Just keep on keeping on...the 8:45 idea sounds like a solution worth exploring.

[John Talbott]

We look forward to sitting under the kitchen ledge soon.

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I'd hate to put a curse on that table but it is the very best in order to watch Daniel work, listen to his iPod selections, and chat a bit when he's not pressed.

And welcome to posting on the France Forum Daniel, we need another informed voice from the piano.

[pierre45]

We look forward to sitting under the kitchen ledge soon.

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I'd hate to put a curse on that table but it is the very best in order to watch Daniel work, listen to his iPod selections, and chat a bit when he's not pressed.

And welcome to posting on the France Forum Daniel, we need another informed voice from the piano.

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Specially since his music taste seems quite similar to mine

[Marianne]

As promised, hereby my report on Spring.

On a Thursday night, through the pouring rain, we ran-walked into Spring. When it’s really raining there never is a taxi to be had on the streets. But after all the talk about inconsiderate guests, we certainly did not want to come in late (although there was a couple ……).

It’s a pleasant very small restaurant, with a sliding door to create more space for its max 16 guests. It’s open kitchen enables you to watch Daniel Rose working his magic while you’re waiting for the next course. The charming hostess gave us the choice of a French or English resume of things to come, and since we chose English, Daniel himself introduced the menu to us. My friends, who had been a bit anxious about a set menu, were put thoroughly at ease.

I have been trying to add photo’s but that's quite a challenge. Anyway they don't do the food justice, in reality it looked much better.

The first course was a cauliflower soup with a topping of small raisins baked in butter and almond flakes. Delicious! I assume I should have stirred the topping through the soup, but it was so good I wanted to enjoy it on its own. What a start!

Second course was duck slices marinated in sherry, white wine- and pickle vinegar

(I asked) with al dente green asparagus, shredded lemon peel, herbs, radish, raspberries and grilled sesame seed bread. This too was absolutely wonderful.

The main course of perfectly cooked tender veal with minted pureed peas, crispy onion shreds and baked artichoke in a divine gravy was fabulous.

Dessert was also very good, large raspberries with pieces of sweet crispy tuile in a vanilla sauce with truffle chocolate topped with coconut slivers and pistachio crumbs.

All in all we had a great meal in a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere, with the courses perfectly timed and charmingly served.

On top of that, the price for four courses plus wine and coffee (they did not serve tea) was Euros 220 for the four of us, a steal.

Spring is now my favourite restaurant in Paris and I will definitely return, more than once at that.

[Gale]

rats. I just returned from a week in Paris and didn't see this thread in time. Spring is on my list for my next trip!

[Vinotas]

Hello everyone.  I check e-gullet every once in a while to see if people are still satisfied.  This is the first time I've posted... Sounds like the waiting/seating time is troublesome for more than a few... Like the food, the restaurant changes a bit everyday.  When the restaurant first opened I managed to serve everyone at their own rythym.  This was before the long days, short nights, and stress started to take their toll. 

Serving everyone at the same time is easier for me and I find, as other people have mentioned, that a single service enhances the experience (as long as no one arrives too late).  The single service all at once thing seems to create a bond between the guests and between me and my guests. This is not always the case. Some people are put off by this sense of 'community'.  When all are willing, everything falls into place- I get excited and the food is inevitably 'better'.  People leave happy.   The last month or so has been a good test of the one service system, but it clearly needs to be pushed to its logical and practical end... Dinner starts at 8:45!  Come in, get comfortable at 8:30 or earlier if you want but at 8:45...

I will start being more clear with people from the moment I take reservations.  I have mostly wonderful clients who will be more than happy to comply...  I am confident this will improve the situation.

I'm glad that many of you have enjoyed yourselves at Spring.  I look forward to making it an even better experience.

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I'll be in Paris from the 3rd to the 8th of July and would love to try Spring. I will email Daniel to see if I can get an RSVP under the ledge, I've heard such good things that I'm already drooling.

Cheers!

Edited May 31, 2007 by Vinotas (log)

[John Talbott]

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I'll be in Paris from the 3rd to the 8th and would love to try Spring.  I will email Daniel to see if I can get an RSVP under the ledge, I've heard such good things that I'm already drooling.

Cheers! 

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If you don't hear back (he's got lots of email traffic) pick up the phone and call, a bit before dinner is a good time.