Pantagruel at rue du sentier, in Bourse district in the 2nd, opened its door about 2 months ago. We had our dinner a week ago. I’ve to admit that I’m undergoing a pâté en croûte and pie period, saw the dish on the menu on their website, wanted to try it out. The last foie gras cabbage pithiviers we had at Maison by Sota Atsumi was good.
We have a choice of à la carte or a 8-course carte blanche. I forgot to asked them if it was possible to order both at the same table, this could be interesting for a bigger group who wanted choices and tasting menu at the same time. For us we both went with the 68 € menu.
The meal started with a bouchee: Smoked herring with leek, very good
Mister had a glass from Terre d’Eole, a red that had a strong character.
I had a white muscadet Sevre et Maine sur Lie 2018 with the fish dishes and a red bourgogne cote d’or domaine Huguenot 2016 with the duck.
We were impressed by the work on each dish. Each course was cooked perfectly and presented beautifully. The duck dish didn’t disappointed. Staff was friendly and professional. We were given the choice of seats, and obviously we chose the kitchen view. There were 5 persons working in the kitchen, they didn’t look stressed and worked in a rather relax rhythm.
If we would like to criticise, the meal took us a bit more than 3 hours, the rhyme was fine in the beginning, but slow down considerably when more clients arrived. We had a very good time despite we get quite used to tasting menu style of restaurant. As with Condesa or l’Arcane, you feel the energy and the ambition in this place. Chef Jason Gouzy and his team did an excellent job. So I would advice to go as quickly as you can, 68€ menu is a steal and is still a best kept secret (for the time being).
Thanks to naf’s review at the time, I brought my gf here for her birthday dinner. It’s also since has a Michelin star and has gone up in price to 85 euros at the time, 90 euros soon.
And, thanks to Noosh’s write up of Pantagruel on his trip thread (linked above), I found this thread, which I hadn’t noticed before. Now I have 2 food photographers whom I greatly admire. Thank you naf.
Thanks for reporting back. Very glad that you enjoyed your meal. From your description, the courses with 3 dishes are more complicated than my meal back then. It is a more common practice in 2 or 3 stars restaurants. So to see the meal under 100€ is still a very attractive deal. Good to know the service improve.
Rather than starting a new thread, I finally finished my write up on Pantagruel on my site. I was experiencing some severe writers block and also just life getting in the way. My recent travels inspired me to finish this up, so I can write about my new experiences.
Mlle. She Travels Restaurant Review: Pantagruel
Pantagruel, on Rue du Sentier in the 2nd Arrondissement, opened in 2020, and received a Michelin Star in 2021, which is impressive given that the restaurant is Chef Jason Gouzy’s first. Pantagruel’s menu is made to look like a book, which given the name of the restaurant, is no surprise. Chef Jason Gouzy and his kitchen staff are the writers, and the front of the house are the Storytellers. The menu is divided into six chapters, with a prologue and a conclusion.
On sitting down with a prime view of the kitchen, I was offered a glass of champagne that would accompany the prologue (i.e. the amuse-bouches). Each serving in the prologue is very small, and my storyteller told me which order to eat them in. I cannot recall what the first one was, but the second was an egg tart, and the third a very crispy pastry smothered in finely grated cheese with a sauce. Each piece of the prologue was unique and flavorful and made me excited to dig into the chapters.
While I was still enjoying my glass of champagne, the first wine pairing was brought out. It was Maison Bonnard Fils’ Romananche Chardonnay from Savoie. Only 1,000 bottles of this wine are made each year, as it is a wine made from the two best barrels of the estate from the oldest vines. I really enjoyed this wine, with its white fruits, hazelnuts, and salinity, and unsurprisingly, have been unable to find it in the United States.
Each chapter generally has three main ingredients and then these ingredients are presented in three different ways. Chapter I consisted of smoked artichoke, whelk, and green curry. The first dish of the three focused on the artichoke heart as the star of the dish (smoked and fried), with a green curry sauce, with whelk underneath crispy fried artichoke bits. The second dish contained all three elements in a deconstructed tart. The third and final dish of Chapter I was a fried parcel, almost like a samosa.
The second wine pairing was the 2016 L’Argile, which is a white wine from Colliure produced by Domaine de La Rectorie. Colliure is an AOC located near the Spanish border on the Mediterranean coast in the Pyrénées-Orientales department. The wine smells of white fruits with a hint of aniseed. The taste is fresh, with an underlying minerality that makes it pair well with Chapter II.
Chapter II’s ingredients were spider crab, cumin, and fennel. The first dish of the three was served in the shell of the spider crab, and was a smooth, savory, mousse surrounded by a crab bisque emulsion with fresh herbs. The tastes and textures of this dish were outstanding, and the presentation took it over the top. The second dish was a single crab ravioli. The third and final dish of Chapter 2 was a vol au vent with a crab salad in it. While the second and third dishes were excellent, they paled in comparison to the mousse with crab bisque emulsion. That dish was sheer perfection.
The third wine pairing was a rosé from Martin Texier. The 2019 Le Preyna is an organic wine made from grapes from an old parcel planted with 75% cinsault and 25% grenache.
For Chapter III, there was a choice between monkfish tails from Loctudy, green asparagus, and Montbéliard sausage or lobster from Brittany, rhubarb, spring onions, and shiso leaf. While I like monkfish, I could not resist the lobster, even though there was a supplemental charge. Like the other courses, this course comes in three dishes. The first dish was what the restaurant calls croqu’homard. It is very hard to describe exactly what this is, so I am not going to attempt to. However, it was scrumptious. The second dish was lobster tail with rhubarb. The third and final dish was a shiso leaf with lobster inside.
The fourth wine pairing was a Malvosie from Cellier de la Baraterie in Savoie. It was another natural wine and another white, which is very unusual to serve with the meat course, but it worked quite well.
Chapter IV’s ingredients were brass lamb from Auvergne, green beans and sea beans, and clams. The first dish was a beautiful cut of lamb topped with edible flowers and a clam in au jus. The presentation of this dish was beautiful (the pictures do not do it justice), and I absolutely adored the plate itself (made by Montgolfier Porcelain in Limoges). The second dish was a dish made of green and sea beans in an almost jelly. The dish was visually stunning, but admittedly this was not to my personal taste as sea beans are too salty for me. The third and final dish was a fried morsel made with clams, similar to a clam croquette.
The fifth wine pairing was champagne with a Cocteau quote on the label. The “Rien n’est plus sérieux que le plaisir” Champagne has remained a mystery. Per the back label, the Vigneron is Christophe Martin, but I have been unable to find this champagne anywhere. Feel free to reach out to me if you have more particulars about this bottle. I do remember I really enjoyed this champagne!
Chapter V is pre-dessert and was ice cream in a handmade cone. The pistachio ice cream was creamy without being too sweet, which was refreshing.
Chapter VI was tiramisu spirit and caramelized almonds and came in the form of a beautiful tiramisu-esque dessert, a gorgeous ice cream, and a little cake ball decorated with edible flowers.
The last wine, a 10-year cuvée spéciale Mas Amiel from Languedoc-Roussillon, was poured. This is a dessert wine with red fruit flavors up front and a finish of black tea, licorice root, and baking spices. It went well with the bites that were served as a part of the Conclusion.
At Pantagruel, the last course is the Conclusion. This is wheeled out on a cart on which sits a large globe that opens. Inside the globe are multiple delectable bits that are then plated and served to each diner. It is definitely a bit theatrical, and I was all about it. As one does, I also ordered a double espresso as well.
I thoroughly enjoyed my meal at Pantagruel, and I would recommend it to anyone who was headed to Paris and looking for a great experience. The cost of my meal in May 2022 came in at 218 euros, which included a glass of champagne to start, bottled water, and a coffee to end the meal. Currently, per the Pantagruel website, the dinner menu plus wine pairing would clock in at 230 euros without any of the extras I had. So while there is an increase in price, which is to be expected given global inflation, overall it is not that significant.
Pantagruel, located at 24 Rue du Sentier, is open for lunch (12:15 - 13:30) and dinner (19:30 - 21:00), Monday through Friday. For more information or to make reservations, go to their website.
I’m a little confused about the current dinner tasting menu price. Your menu pic shows 85€, but unless I’m misreading, their site shows 150€? https://www.restaurant-pantagruel.com/menus
I thoroughly enjoyed my meal at Pantagruel, and I would recommend it to anyone who was headed to Paris and looking for a great experience. The cost of my meal in May 2022 came in at 218 euros, which included a glass of champagne to start, bottled water, and a coffee to end the meal. Currently, per the Pantagruel website, the dinner menu plus wine pairing would clock in at 230 euros without any of the extras I had. So while there is an increase in price, which is to be expected given global inflation, overall it is not that significant.
Got ya. I confess I noticed the last part after I wrote my question, but then was too lazy to look back and do the math ;). Inflation or not, a 75% increase in a year to me is steep, but your pictures and descriptions still make it worthwhile
Writing up our recent Paris trip, and the meal at Pantagruel has so many plates that I’m posting this report here given the number of pictures, so the folks who don’t like pictorial food porn will have less to browse through in my trip report for the week.
Pantagruel was probably the most expensive meal of the trip. having (for once ) eaten responsibly earlier in the day, I decided to splurge and added both the lobster and cheese courses.
Overall we definitely enjoyed the meal, and some of the food was quite impressive. I certainly recommend anyone interested in it to check it out. Not sure how quickly we’ll be back, only partly because of the cost.
I had dinner at Pantagruel last week; a slightly different menu but a memorable meal, and the wine pairing was superb! Did not take any photos, we were too busy chatting the Chef and the Sommelier (now they know of Hungry Onion!). The restaurant was nearly full, I think we were the only French diners that night… but the ambiance was warm and relaxed. Price wise, it’s not that expensive for Paris and for the quality of the many dishes.
) eaten responsibly earlier in the day, I decided to splurge and added both the lobster and cheese courses.
