Dandelion (Paris, 20e)

[andygottlieb42 (Andy G)]

At @SteveR’s suggestion, we went to Dandelion for lunch on a warm day in late June. I’d considered going for dinner, but Dandelion is very “hot” right now and even booking several weeks ahead I could find no dinner availability in June. Lunch is less of a problem, and they ended up not being full the Friday we were there.

There were several tables outside, but it seemed a bit cooler to sit inside near the window.
The room and setting are pleasant if a bit spare.

Service is a la carte only, with a small number of appetizer and main choices.

My raw bonito with a raspberry sauce was very good, but not particularly special.

My wife enjoyed her string bean salad (which she ordered sans the trout eggs).

My wife’s vegetarian pasta main (off menu, unpictured) was pretty good.

My tartare with anchovies was very good, again without being special; the ginger was an interesting addition, but for me there was too much of it. The lettuce and the potatoes dauphinois accompaniments, on the other hand, were both excellent.

We enjoyed the Chou a la Tropezienne dessert we shared.

My glass of wine was uninteresting, though inexpensive. The water was served cold and yet they did not charge for it - a pleasant surprise.

For me the jury is still out on Dandelion. Prices are not low, though not outrageous. I don’t quite understand the hype for this place, but I’m not willing to just write it off completely. My wife liked it better than I did.

It’s not on our must-return list, but I expect we’ll try it again sometime.

[SteveR]

Nice report. I’m glad you went. And I agree with your analysis, as our meal there was also more than acceptable but less than what we know the chef is capable of. When he was in residence at Fulgurances Brooklyn (Laundromat) for a month, our 2 pre-fixe dinners there were inventive, well executed and different from one another. Enough so that I would put them in the Perception category. Since we went to Dandelion just after he opened a year ago, I was wondering whether he was just getting his bearings and would be improving over time. Your report doesn’t seem to indicate much of that & it’s too bad. We’ll keep it on our list for a return and, hopefully, Dandelion’s current hype will give him the means to step it up a bit.

[onzieme]

I’ll add a third opinion, consistent with the two previous. Food was good, but not exceptional and not up to the hype. Additionally, we went in autumn on a day where sitting outside was not an option – the interior is EXTREMELY noisy. Wine list is fairly militantly natural and markups are on the high side. It wasn’t a terrible dinner, but for the money, one can do so much better in Paris.