With a tempting provide of 50% off the à la carte menu (however just for a short while), we determined to have lunch at Atelier d’André, tremendous near the Lodge Saint-André des Arts, for this month’s evaluate.
Their web site says “Way more than a meal, it’s an expertise…“, which is all effectively and good, however is it one or a nasty one?
Atelier d’André opened slightly below a 12 months in the past, providing French classics (suppose frogs legs and onion soup – test the menu right here) supervised by chef Yohann Clotz and served in an unassuming however however fairly stylish venue, with mirrors to offer the phantasm of house and some well-chosen items of artwork to raise the tone.
The kitchen serves continuous from lunchtime till late, and the restaurant is without doubt one of the uncommon locations on the town to supply free reside music, with the Octave et Anatole gypsy jazz group each evening (besides Sundays and Mondays). It’s an effective way to be transported instantaneously to the Saint-Germain-des-Prés of yesteryear!
It was very chilly exterior on the day of our go to, and it was apparent (from the three transportable radiators) that the restaurant wasn’t actually ready. Hopefully, evenings are a little bit hotter.
We began our meal with a small tart with mushrooms and preserved egg, which contained a very salty sauce in its centre, however with beautiful gentle flaky pastry and peanuts that gave a fantastic crunch to the ensemble.
The second starter was chipirons (squid) served with a parsley and garlic garnish and ‘ferocious’ sauce which appeared to have a chorizo-like flavour, a fantastic mixture of tastes.
The 2 starters had been nice, however regardless of being the one desk at this level, the (in any other case very pleasant) waitress (or most likely the chef) had been very lengthy serving our meals, and by the point the starter plates had been taken away, 45 minutes had already handed. For a enterprise lunch, that’s means too sluggish. For vacationers maybe it’s a fantastic excuse to savour their time within the metropolis? 
For the principle dishes, we selected the vegetable risotto (the one really vegetarian choice on the menu) which was pretty impartial however pleasingly creamy, with pine nuts and a contact of grapefruit juice (beautifully introduced), and seared octopus with a chimichurri sauce and pronounced citrus facets. Not a nasty alternative should you like mixes of tastes like this, however we discovered it a little bit robust.
Dessert time had arrived, and this turned out to be maybe probably the most profitable a part of our expertise.
The chocolate soufflé was extraordinarily cute and completely cooked – actually delish – and the ‘honey cream’ was a form of mousse, with crumbled items of buttery biscuit each sprinkled on prime and buried on the backside. An incredible invention!
Our meal at Atelier d’André left us with combined feelings. The meal spanned 90 minutes, with disappointingly massive gaps between programs, and the room itself was objectively far too chilly. We think about (hope) that night meals accompanied by the reside jazz band are a way more comfy expertise.
The present provide of 50% off for lunch at noon could also be over quickly, however for a typical Parisian night, Atelier André might be price a strive.
Atelier d’André (right here) is open seven days every week, continuous from noon till 10.30pm
On-line reserving right here
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