Serious talent in the kitchen, pristine product, prix fixe tasting portions that don’t leave one hungry, affordable wine list, friendly staff, comfortable unpretentious dining, classy without being stuffy and not far from home? Sign me up. Thanks to Chef Bertrand Grébaut and the team over at Restaurant Septime – I finally have a terrific local canteen in my neighborhood.
Just to the east of Bastille on the lively rue Charonne, foodies are comparing the Robuchon and Passard protégés’ style to Daniel Rose (Spring) and Gregory Marchand (Frenchie) with good reason – all of which have created a casual modern setting where guests can enjoy superb cooking paired with exceptional wines.
I’ve been to Septime several times now for lunch and dinner, and on every occasion, the service was downright friendly and dare I say helpful – glasses regularly filled and courses easily paced without missing a beat.
Choosing from the bio/natural price-friendly wine list over raw vegetable – butter palate teasers is a joy; all of my favorite producers are there: Mosse, Foillard, Barret, Pfifferling… and some delightful surprises such as Alsatian Julien Meyer by the glass.
Although much has been made of Septime’s “stark” design choices – I find the restrained combination of relaxed roughhewn farmhouse table tops, mosaic tile floors and metal, glass and iron fixtures comforting, allowing the stellar products on the plate and the happy guests around tables to take center stage.
Happy is right – everyone from NYC restaurateurs to the local Harley Davidson rider’s club were in house recently enjoying the “gather ‘round the table” vibe.
Oversized mirrors opposite glass windows set into dividing walls reflect well-placed lighting, giving the space a warm intimate ambiance.
These are thoughtful strategic features as every table feels connected to each other and the open kitchen where Bertrand’s staff work in harmony … (“Look,” I whispered, “how close their faces are to the plates, focused on each detail before the servers take them away.”)
My dining companions found this observation fascinating – yet I’ve always felt that when someone in the kitchen plates with their face extremely close… it isn’t something they learn in culinary school but an extraordinary insight into the person plating. Heck, even Monet lost his eyesight getting too close to the canvas. It’s a sign of perfectionism.
Whether for lunch or dinner, the prix fixe menu changes each day (which they refer to as “Carte Blanche” – you give the Chef carte blanche to choose which of the courses you receive) – and each plate has been so artfully arranged they’ve all been contenders for my category “Too Pretty to Eat.”
Presentation and gorgeous product are important, but so is taste.
During a recent dinner, the razor clams in salted butter, herbs and coriander flowers were so darned succulent, we imagined ourselves on a beach in Nantucket gorging on platters of them piled high as the sky with liters of Quincy. (Because I couldn’t get this dish out of my head for days afterwards, we did gorge on them on my terrace a few nights later – although nowhere near as easy to clean as it is to order them in a restaurant or as delicious at Betrand’s version!)
We loved the egg, celtuce (celery lettuce) velouté and pancetta…but joked about the next course to the servers, “We need second portions just to be sure we liked it,” after polishing off the beautiful grilled sardines, burlat cherries, cucumbers, peppery olive oil and mint emulsion – (featured photo) and then by the gnocchi clouds floating on courgette purée topped with aged Parmesan cheese and nasturtium leaves. All knock-outs.
After all that, we decided to order a la carte the line caught merlu with Chinese cabbage and artichoke purée … just to make sure we covered all the bases. Wow.
It’s no wonder we opted out of the aged cheese platter and went for the raspberries in a Verveine granité dessert to lighten up.
For lunch, the prix fixe includes one glass of wine, with two choices at 22e and three at 26e. The dinner price for five courses? 55 euros, 72 euros (average) including wine.
You can simply order a la carte if your budget doesn’t leave room for a full degustation (starters 12-15, entrees 22-27) but honestly, if you can, go whole hog as a splurge. The choices are too tempting!
Fun Fact:
Betrand named the restaurant “Septime” – after the fictional restaurant owner brilliantly played by French comedy giant Louis de Funès in the ’66 classic “Le Grand Restaurant” … I found this hilarious video clip below. Click play and then left click the “cc” on the lower right hand side of the frame you’ll see the subtitles.
http://youtu.be/OIbuihcA-q4
Septime: 80, rue de Charonne, 11th, M°: Charonne, Tel.: 01 43 67 38 29. Open Tuesday-Friday for lunch and dinner, Saturday dinner, closed August 5-23.
