After Christine and Les Fous de l'Ile, Emilie and Boris Bazan opened Le Colvert in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés at the end of 2018. The young couple, who trained at hotel management school, continued their career, which began in Italy for Boris and in London for Emilie.
United in work as in life, the Becs Parisiens first set out to save the family restaurant, Le Christine, which they eventually bought in 2004 and which has recently taken a stunning gastronomic turn. This was followed four years later by the purchase of Les Fous de l'Ile, a bistronomic institution on the Île Saint Louis, and then of the restaurant a stone's throw from Le Christine, Le Colvert.
After months of refurbishment, followed by a short stint with chef Arnaud Baptiste, the Colvert has given way to a Colvert that has been stripped of its definite article, unveiling a bistro menu and welcoming a new chef, Baptiste Borderie, cut out to take it definitively into the upper echelons of bistronomy. Not surprising from a chef who has worked his way up through the ranks of Michelin-starred restaurants, including L'Oiseau Blanc at the Peninsula Paris and L'Orangerie at the George V.
Refined and reverent of great French cuisine, this masterful neighborhood bistro can be discovered at lunch à la carte and with a starter/main course/dessert menu (36€), and at dinner, à la carte and with a 5-course menu (75€) that focuses on local produce.
At the time of our visit, there were flame-branded mackerel (17€), tarragon beet, black sesame, watercress coulis and horseradish cream; and the season's first green asparagus (17€), which lacked flavor but was happily (and deliciously) escorted by a competition yellow wine sabayon.
Then it's on to the most delicate of seafood dishes: a meunière-style skate wing (36€), celery confit, herbaceous citrus, tangy crème montée; and a binchotan braised monkfish (42€), creamy morels, ginger-scented cime di rapa, Madagascar pepper sauce. Two very fine creations.
Sauces are not overlooked and even have their own little casseroles, giving them a well-deserved spotlight inherited from the chef's palatial past. He leaves the cassolettes on the table, so you can sauce to your heart's content. Of course, the wines served here are our own, sourced from producers and friends of the couple.
The festivities come to a close with profiteroles to die for (€14), from the singular choux pastry to the real vanilla-laden ice cream. A real guilty pleasure.
An address which, with each passing chef, continues to enchant Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
Please note that it's been over 4 years since our last visit, so the place and experience may have changed.
This test was conducted as part of a professional invitation. If your experience differs from ours, please mention it in the comments.
Location
Mallard
54 Rue Saint-André des Arts
75006 Paris 6
Access
Subway: Odéon
Official website
colvert.paris
