Les Parisiens, generous bourgeois cuisine with no false notes by Thibault Sombardier

Published by Manon de Sortiraparis · Photos by Manon de Sortiraparis · Updated on November 7, 2022 at 08:13 p.m. · Published on October 25, 2022 at 08:03 a.m.
Chef Thibault Sombardier signs the menu for Les Parisiens restaurant, in the Pavillon Faubourg Saint-Germain hotel. On the menu, bourgeois cuisine honoring French traditions and a floating island... gargantuan!

To understand the origin of the name of the Pavillon Faubourg Saint-Germain's new restaurant , Les Parisiens, we have to go back to the beginning of the 20th century, when the Irish novelist James Joyce, author of the book Dubliners, stayed there. The hotel's restaurant was named in homage to this work, a godsend for chef Thibault Sombardier, who can express his vision of bourgeois, gastronomic Parisian cuisine to his heart's content.

Carefully decorated with large mirrors reflecting the outside world, leather and velvet banquettes, quartzite tables encircled by brass wire, and a pretty floor resembling the Milky Way, the neo-brasserie knows how to receive guests in a warm, chic atmosphere. Following on from Antoine, which was awarded a Michelin star before closing its doors, and Mensae and Sellae, chef Thibault Sombardier now turns his hand to French haute cuisine, designing the menu for Les Parisiens.

Restaurant Les Parisiens - QuenellesRestaurant Les Parisiens - QuenellesRestaurant Les Parisiens - QuenellesRestaurant Les Parisiens - Quenelles

Fine langoustine quenelles, cauliflower velouté with hazelnut butter

Let's face it: this new address is a success, and succeeds in modernizing a cuisine that is sometimes mired in tradition. This is achieved by paying particular attention to local and French produce, with fruit and vegetables from the Ile-de-France region, meat from animal welfare-friendly farms, and wild fish from the French coast.

To magnify these recipes, Thibault Sombardier has placed a man he trusts behind the stoves, chef Matthieu Pirola, whom he met in Yannick Alléno 's kitchens at Le Meurice and who was formerlyAkrame Benallal's executive chef. And it's all on the plate, whether it's the à la carte menu or the lunch menus - €34 starter/main course or main course/dessert, €39 starter/main course/dessert.

Restaurant Les Parisiens - Ris de veauRestaurant Les Parisiens - Ris de veauRestaurant Les Parisiens - Ris de veauRestaurant Les Parisiens - Ris de veau

Pan-fried sweetbreads, porcini mushrooms a la plancha and Bigorre bacon

The langoustine (20€), in quenelles, swims in a creamy cauliflower velouté with hazelnut butter, while the Meunière-style frogs' legs (20€) waddle in a garlicky butter, topped with a delicate herb sabayon veil. We're jumping right into the great French tradition.

And the pleasure doesn't stop at the plate, with a fine selection of keels, some of them biodynamic, that are the perfect accompaniment to the rest of the lunch: on the one hand, a Loire pigeon & foie gras puff pastry, green cabbage, offal jus (42€), and on the other, a golden sautéed veal sweetbread, plancha ceps and Bigorre black bacon (58€) to die for.

Restaurant Les Parisiens - Ile flottanteRestaurant Les Parisiens - Ile flottanteRestaurant Les Parisiens - Ile flottanteRestaurant Les Parisiens - Ile flottante

Floating island to share, caramelized hazelnuts

Lunch concludes with a masterly dessert, as much for the eyes as for the taste buds: the most grandiose, naughty and generousfloating island (22€) we've ever seen, topped with handfuls of caramelized hazelnuts, to be shared between guests... or not!

Practical information

Location

5 Rue du Pré aux Clercs
75007 Paris 7

Route planner

Accessibility info

Official website
www.pavillon-faubourg-saint-germain.com

Comments
Refine your search
Refine your search
Refine your search
Refine your search