Perception is a restaurant in the ninth arrondissement. It has a Korean chef and has already received many favorable comments on this board. Yesterday was the second time that I have eaten there and the first that I have written up.
Well, as it turns out, we were there yesterday evening for dinner and had a great meal as well. They allowed us each to choose different #s of courses &, to their surprise, my wife chose the 8 course menu while I chose the 6. As counter intuitive as this may seem, she knew that I would inherit some of her food throughout and she didnt want to miss the duck or bibimbap course (the extra 2 courses on hers). We did not take the wine pairings but allowed our waiter to pick a white by the glass that would go for the first 3-4 courses, then a glass of red for the remainder. We wound up loving both choices but have long ago given up on trying to remember what they are, as we’re not going to find them again anyway. I do remember that the white was a slightly fruit forward chablis like wine that went so well that we wound up with 2 glasses apiece & the red was a slightly spicy mostly grenache wine that complemented (her) bibimbap and then (our) pigeon courses. As the menu changes very regularly, I dont think its necessary to describe each dish; however, I dont think there were any that I would rate as anything other than excellent. As an example, the asparagus dish had 3 half stalks — the middle one “cooked” in a coconut broth & the other 2 fermented ala kimchi. The result was both interesting and a positive taste sensation. Her duck course was a ravioli in a deep broth, the bibimbap a large bowl of rice, seaweed and spicing w/rare (raw?) beef slices mixed in, and the pigeon was beautifully rare/red breast meat in its juices. Needless to say, the desserts were excellent as well. It was a standout meal start to finish and the overall 260euro price tag for the 2 of us was more than well worth it. Highly recommended.
Am tiptoeing behind you both when I am in Paris week after next. Looking forward also to trying and thank you for endorsements! Sounds interesting and delicious for sure!
Turns out that Ginny took a couple of photos & it further turns out that I forgot to mention that there were moules (& moule foam) in the asparagus dish:
And the duck ravioli looked like this:
We enjoyed Perception too. The only issue I have with places like Perception is that a week later I wont remember any of the things I ate. But that’s more of me problem. Or is it
1- it doesnt matter since you wont see it again anywhere anyway, including where you ate it;
2- we take home a menu when available (usually just a piece of paper du jour);
3- who are you again?
I’m some guy you see every other summer Olympics.
Dont get me wrong, we enjoyed every dish. I vividly remember the Whiting. By vividly I mean I went to my report and looked at the vivid pictures.
Great write up - thank you!
I am very excited to go again to Perception in September.
We loved last year, and super happy to hear that Perception still excels!
Well, I’m not sure if I posted anywhere about my dinner at Perception in late May, but my two friends and I enjoyed the heck out of it. I’m not sure if this will upload as the little movie, but if it doesn’t, hard to describe how toasted we were by this time in the meal and the hushed appreciation of the waiter’s describing that the side served with the pigeon was “vol au vent.”
“Ahhh, vol au vent,” my friend can be heard saying. Still makes me giggle. But given that long tasting menus no usually my thing, this was a real treat.
We dined there a few weeks ago and it absolutely rocked! Awesome execution, great flavor balance, and a pleasant vibe all around!
Glad it was good for you! We were there in fall 2023 and some was great others so-so. It is on my diningwithfrankie.com blog if you want to see how the meal has changed.