Les Magnolias: the gourmet restaurant to discover in Val-de-Marne (94)

In eastern Paris, this fine address is passed on from gourmet to gourmet, and its reputation extends beyond the circle of local residents. Les Magnolias, in Perreux-sur-Marne, is a veritable institution within navigo's reach! This gastronomic restaurant, with its bright, welcoming atmosphere and friendly, attentive staff, is one of those addresses that's well worth a visit.

Here, we discover the cuisine of chef Pierre-Henri Morel, who has worked in the kitchens of such prestigious Parisian addresses as the Hôtel de Crillon and the Plaza Athénée. At this address, which he runs alongside his father Jean Morel, he expresses his creativity by sublimating seasonal produce while demonstrating his fine technique. All around us, on the walls and on the tables, works of art looking for buyers give the place the look of a gourmet art gallery. In the kitchen, it's on the plates that the dishes are painted to please the taste buds.

Right from the starters, it's clear that the gastronomy we're about to enjoy here has a real bias, reminding us just how much luck favors the bold, both for the chef, who gives free rein to his inspirations, and for the gourmets ready to follow the gourmet path he has mapped out for them.

We opt for one of the classics on the menu, the foie gras de canard mi-cuit à l'Armagnac et à l'ail noir de Reims, accompanied by streusel and a fine garlic purée, and we appreciate the rather sharp, powerful notes that this plate presents, while preserving a certain balance. Opposite the foie gras, we opt for the only vegetarian dish on the menu: dome-shaped Auvergne blue cheese with aromatic herbs and textures and a seasonal truffle, in this case a summer truffle, whose fragrance immediately whets our appetite. Apart from this starter, the rest of the menu oscillates between meat and fish.

If you're vegetarian or vegan, you'd better not stop here. This characterful cheese, softened by the mascarpone, comes face to face with herbaceous accents, and we're in for a treat. On the organ of flavors, Pierre-Henri Morel doesn't hesitate to play with bitterness while thwarting it, and prefers the challenge of making people appreciate something that's different to the caution of consensual. So you'll need a taste for adventure to savor a taste for risk.

During our visit, a particularly comforting recipe made us melt, even on the eve of summer:Lou Paillol farm-raised lamb, confit au jus, served with golden agria and topped with Pata Negra (which can be replaced by an alternative to taurillon, for those who don't eat pork). Frayed lamb, richly flavored and meltingly tender, wrapped in crispy potato slices. Thus entwined, they bring back memories of generous, family-style cooking.

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Another dish that left a lasting impression on our palates was theskate wing with farmhouse cider and carrot risotto. Less heavy, but just as gourmet, this dish brings out the natural flavor of the product, between the sweet notes of the carrot and the softness of the skate, brilliantly cooked. Each dish is accompanied by a creamy mashed potato served in a copper casserole dish.

By this stage in the meal, we were pretty full, so we had to make a choice. So we skipped the mature cheese platter and went straight for dessert. When it comes to sweet tooths, Pierre-Henri Morel continues to create surprises, and it's time to cross paths: will we take the chocolate route, the fruit route, the classic revisited route or... the vegetable route?

We weren't about to turn down this latest invitation to go off the beaten track. During our visit, the vegetable used for dessert was the sand carrot. We found it in the form of a waffle, married to unctuous declensions of orange and ginger, with a soy-orange sorbet that added even more roundness while retaining a touch of pep.

If you're one of those chocovores for whom it's chocolate or nothing, you won't be disappointed: here we blow hot and cold, between the unctuous Manjari chocolate and the chocolate-coffee ice cream, accompanied by a Guanaja mousse with roasted buckwheat for crunchiness. Chocolate is enjoyed in all its forms, without saturating the palate.

In terms of price, the restaurant offers several formulas to suit different budgets: for lunch and dinner, from Tuesday to Friday, you'll find the more affordable "Marché" menu, served in four parts: starter, fish, meat and dessert. For our part, we opted for the Magnolias menu, priced at €65, which includes starter, main course and dessert, depending on the dishes on the menu (€79 including cheese). Finally, the five-course Menu Dégustation is priced at 98€.

For the love of fine dining or to mark a special occasion, Les Magnolias is well worth a visit. For those who don't have a car, it's worth noting that the address is less than a ten-minute walk from the Nogent - Le Perreux train station. Alternatively, if you don't have a parking lot, there's plenty of parking nearby. Finally, if you're not from the area, this is the perfect opportunity to put together a great program for yourself, as the Val-de-Marne is full of great ideas for outings to discover!