A friend and I had lunch there. Definitely not cheap, but great ambience, excellent service and the food, well it was superb. Wines: a couple of glasses of Billecart Salmon Rose to wet the palate, then a Bonneau Celestins 2004 which I brought, and seemed to work with everything except the caviar.
Amuse
Two pieces of tuna, one toro one normal, a vodka yoghourt cream and micro greens. Very simple, but absolutely perfect.
First Course.
Quite simply the best Steak tartare I have ever tasted. Two contrasting textures, the perfect addition of seasoning and aromatics, a quail egg, a small scoop of caviar, and a “crouton” of dried and deep fried calf tendon for textural contrast.
Second course
An utterly profound corn cream with slices of crab leg, micro greens, and pieces of melon at a perfect level of ripeness adding crunch and a little sweetness. Perhaps the only fault in the meal was that the crab was slightly over seasoned, but I have low salt tolerance, so it may have just been me.
Third Course
Duck breast. Beautiful preparation, a superb reduction of wine and duck juice. Crisp skin, a beautiful medium rare. Served with a micro leek.
Fourth course.
This was another magnificent course, but unlikely to be on the menu. We brought in a superb American “Vacherin” which was warmed slowly so melted slightly and served with a smoky toast. The cheese was soft, ripe and addictive; the toast was a perfect accompaniment, and the wine, which had been happily doing its thing went up several gears, and just began to croon with the fat, the smoke and the rich flavors of the cheese.
The madelines are a Daniel Boulud signature; I have to say these small versions were every bit as good, and actually preferred by my companion.