[Paris 9e] Condesa

[naf]

Condesa’s chef Indra Carrill grew up in Mexico, studied in France at Institue Paul Bocuse and later got his training in Paul Bocuse, L’Meurice, Le Bristol, and L’Astrance. Also a world traveller, worked with different cultures in cities like Kyoto, London, Florence, Noma in Copenhagen as well as India and US. Winner of the title of Young Chef Gault Millau 2016, an impressive CV for the young chef that decided to open his own restaurant in 2017.

The restaurant was situated in the 9th district of Paris, a small room with 24 seats.

Menu was easy, only need to choose between 4 or 6 dishes, with or without wine pairing. We chose the 6 dishes and 1 wine pairing option.

Amuse bouche 1 - corn, goat cheese

Amuse bouche 2 - Mushroom tempura, sorrel cream

Nuts crumble, tofu, tomato

Beets in every form, smoked herring cream, fish eggs

Fish soup with lemongrass and ginger, zucchini in fine strips, squid

Cod, Mexican wild herb épazote, bean, Feta sauce, banana leaf

Lamb (selle and épigramme), shallot, eggplant caviar, red bell pepper with caramel

Dessert 1 - fig tarte, ice cream, chickpea, yaourt sauce with Indian spice
Chef Indra Carrill explaining the ingredients

Dessert 2 - panna cotta with coconut flakes, pineapples, ice cream

Mignardise

Kitchen was tiny.

The whole meal was refined and on the whole delicious. I like the squid fish soup and the lamb dish. We discovered some flavours that were less familiar to us. Staff was very accommodating, especially the sommelier. The chef him also, came out several times to present the food.

The price might seem a bit high, but when I see every dish had a lot of work and we had more than 6 dishes. We enjoyed our dinner very well. (So well that I forgot to take photo of every dish, and to remember all the ingredients of the dishes! Duh!)

Condesa
17 rue Rodier,
75009, Paris
Reservation - lacondesa-paris.com/en/home
(Note that there is no show charge)

[bcc]

Looks like we’ll have to go!!

[naf]

As for the cooking, French was the base, you can see some dishes were Indian influenced (2), Mexican influence (2), Asian (3). Some I couldn’t decode. If you like this type of cooking, go.

As for the wine pairing, we liked a lot the first 3 white wine, especially Côtes du Roussillon with a peach and abricot note accompanying the squid and zucchini fish soup.

[bcc]

Do you recommend the wine pairing? How generous were the pours? We only did a wine pairing once, and I thought that the pours were very stingy.

[naf]

Well, to tell the truth, the portion was small but enough for 1 person, we ordered 1 wine pairing instead of 2 because husband need to drive afterwards. There were 6 glasses (2 for desserts). I believe, the glasses would be equivalent to more than 2 normal glasses.

[bcc]

So we went to Condesa. We were a group of five, and the only time that suited all of us was Friday lunch. On Fridays they only offer a 3-course or 6-course menu. Since none of us wanted the 6-course, we all took the 3. Unfortunately one of the three courses was dessert. I am not a dessert lover. But I must say it was pretty good.

We received two amuse-bouches before the meal started. They were both exquisite, although I don’t remember what they were. Then came our first course, julienned vegetables such as zucchini, in a sauce. I don’t remember just what the sauce was, but it was too salty. On the basis of this dish my wife took a dislike to the restaurant. I didn’t like the dish, but the next course was fantastic. It was cabillaud (cod) in a curry sauce. At least I think it was curry. In any case this was the best cabillaud I ever ate. The taste of the sauce permeated the entire fish, and it was perfectly cooked.

Since only two of us wanted wine, and since none of us wanted a lot, we took the wine pairing. The pours were quite small, but one of the wines, an Italian white/red (I believe it was a “white” wine made from red wine grapes) was–for me–the hit of the meal. It is called “Out”, by Piana dei Castelli. I am looking forward to a return visit to Condesa the next time we are in Paris.

[naf]

@bcc

one of the wines, an Italian white/red (I believe it was a “white” wine made from red wine grapes) was–for me–the hit of the meal. It is called “Out”, by Piana dei Castelli.

Do you remember which dish this wine was pairing with?
I think they do a pretty good job in pairing.

@bcc

It was cabillaud (cod) in a curry sauce. At least I think it was curry. In any case this was the best cabillaud I ever ate. The taste of the sauce permeated the entire fish, and it was perfectly cooked.

Yum! You can find cabillaud in so many restaurants menu, an outstanding dish is not easy to come by.

Maybe I should be back for a lunch one day.

[bcc]

The Italian “Out” was with the julienned zucchini, I don’t remember what came with the fish, and there was a Crémant du Jura with the dessert.