Erso is a new restaurant in the Saint-Ambroise sector of the Eleventh Arrondissement, near the Square Gardette. It features seasonal Provençal-inspired cooking and has a happy vibe to it. My report is here.
Last night I made my second visite to Erso and I was even more impressed than on my first visit. My report is here.
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Thanks again @onzieme. A very appealing menu and looks to be as tasty as it appears.
Thank you so much for this. Looks like the sort of creative cooking we love, and the chef isn’t shy about using organ meats or unusual combinations. I’m already researching for our October 2025 trip and this one will definitely be on the list.
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With thanks to @onzieme for illuminating this place to community, it was an absolute joy to dine at Erso last night. We were welcomed with a smile, seated in beautiful surroundings, and after a moment, given a detailed walk-through of the evening menu.
We started with the asparagus which was cooked to perfection with a bit of crunch, but so tender, it melted in your mouth. The dried ricotta provided the salt, the mezcal sabayon was beautifully light and airy, giving richness, and I think a shaved leek provided the acid. A perfect balance of the elements! We paired the starter with a glass of Louise Brison A L’aube De La Cote Des Bar Champagne which worked well indeed. This producer is new to us and this cuvee seems to be their entry level offering, but so enjoyable!
For our mains, I enjoyed the lamb and my wife the veal. Both dishes had us swooning with delight! The veal was shredded and braised, reformed and accompanied by a black garlic mousseline adorned with morel mushrooms, fava beans, and purple carrots. My lamb was perfectly cooked, with a great flavor, and balanced by a wild garlic and lemon stuffing. It was accompanied by wild asparagus, grilled zucchini, and a kalamata olive mousse that captured the essence of the olive perfectly, yet was so airy and light, just fantastic! For the mains, we enjoyed a bottle of 2017 Domaine de Villeneuve Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Vieilles Vignes, which was perfect! A nice CdP, not overly ripe, with great minerality.
We finished with the raw and cooked strawberries with almond ice cream atop a dacquoise accompanied by a creme princesse, a perfect end to a perfect meal, we will return for sure!
Bon weekend!
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I can’t remember who pointed out that Erso’s lunch menu was available on Saturdays, but I would like to thank them. The space is bright and cheerful, friendly welcome, pleasant and efficient service. We booked at 12:30 when they opened, and they took a couple of walk-ins after us, but then were turning people away, and it was mostly full when we left. I heard a couple of English speakers (each at tables with a French speaker) but otherwise everyone was speaking French (the family of four next to us struck me as being French tourists, but how would I know, really?). I couldn’t see the actual prep surfaces from our table, but I enjoyed watching the kitchen dynamics.
I took a glass of the Chenin Blanc, which was crisp and acidic, a good match for the food (though I can’t really afford to be picky about pairings).
Feeling a bit sated after our previous three consecutive three-course meals, we opted to have me order entrée-plat and my partner plat-dessert, and we would share the solo dishes. That worked well with the gravelax de maigre; a half-portion was perfect (I could have had a full portion as a main). Curiously, tables around us got an explanation that they had switched to tuna. This could have been a weekly menu rather than changing much on a daily basis.
We both opted for the fish main, which I think was merlu, cooked perfectly. The plating was a bit off; the cabbage was not particularly attractive (though it was tasty and went well with the rest of the plate) and we had to immediately lift it off to eat it or the fish anyway, so it probably should have gone on the side. A very minor complaint.
When the server came to take our plates away, she asked me if I was not tempted by dessert, and after those two impressive courses, I said I was. So much for restraint. It was worth the 6€ supplement.
I would cross the city to eat here again. Everything was pleasant and enjoyable, and it is a bargain for the quality offered. It is inventive without being too wild, grounded without being too traditional.
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