La Grenouillière dares to be different. Sometimes a little too much so, as I will point out in this review, but mostly in a pleasant and entertaining way. We were curious about what we might expect this time around because last year we had been presented with some truly inspired food experiences such as a little heap of smouldering fresh juniper branches with a lobster tail hidden within (great fresh smoky flavour), a scoop of grass-green ice cream inside a crystal-clear sugar glass ball thrown on to your plate where it would shatter into pieces or, with coffee, a hammer and chisel taken to what looked like a piece of lava rock left as decoration on the dining table and what was really a Turkish Delight-like substance dyed grey through the use of squid ink. In addition, the restaurant had closed earlier this year for a major refurbishment so we were curious what it would look like.
As we arrived we went to sit in the lounge for a drink (G&T at and a glass of Champagne at a rather steep price of €15 each to find the cozy little area mostly unchanged. While we had our drinks we were presented with the menu in form of a crumpled up piece of flimsy A4 paper (one of the less inspired attempts at being different), an idea which was continued in the presentation of the wine list which was printed on the same flimsy paper and folded in half as a collection of loose sheets. While nibbling on some complimentary bread with herb-infused crème fraîche and very young raddish plants (the whole thing, including the still tender leaves - rather pleasant), we decided to go for the 8 course tasting menu for €85 (supplement of €12 for an extra cheese course) and proceeded to the dining area. Last year the restaurant consisted of a number of smaller interconnected dining rooms. This is now replaced by a large open room with a big glass front looking out into the garden, furnished with modern but comfortable light brown leather chairs and ovally shaped tables which also seemed to have a leather top in the same colour. In the middle of the room was a strange contraption which we suspected to be a hoax, or some would perhaps say a piece of modern art. There is also a spaghetti salad of wires hanging under the high ceiling feeding electricity to the small LED point lamps scattered around the room. One corner of the dining hall opened up into the showroom-type kitchen so we could watch the kitchen staff as they prepared our food in a calm and controlled manner, always a good sign I like to believe. The atmosphere of the restaurant has changed significantly since we came last year - a rather traditional French country restaurant (and I mean the premises not the food) has turned into a modern food temple. I have to admit that I preferred the previous setup, so call me old-fashioned!
We ordered a bottle of Pouilly-Fumée Prédilection 2009 from Jonathan Didier Pabiot at €86 and a bottle of Château Soutard Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé 2000 at €124 (both very good wines and normally priced for a Michelin-starred outfit: both wines retail for around 40-50 Euro), the former decanted and placed in an ice-bucket inside a leather-bag that was hung on the wall and the letter just opened and left to breathe in the bottle - an informed choice by the sommelier as we agreed on later. So, without further ado, here comes the food!
Bar, Nectarine - thin slices of raw fish, very thin slices of fresh nectarine, a drizzle of olive oil and a little bit of pepper. Nice, a good start.
Eau de Mer, Avocat - a cube of ripe avocado flesh with a thin slice of raw fish hidden inside and some sea water (I would say it was water flavoured with Wakame algeas, salt and olive oil - then again, maybe it was really sea water). Good, not great.
Courgettes, huîtres - a massive half oyster shell (haven't seen them that big since Hawaii) with a raw fresh oyster inside, a thin slice of courgettes and some other green bits I can't quite remember now... Very good flavours, great presentation, but don't make the mistake we made: we were only given forks or spoons up to this point (and for the rest of the lunch as we realised later on), no knives, so in the effort to be good sportsmen we tried eating with the fork only. While you got away with that until now, you really needed a knife to cut the oyster and courgette at least in half so you can enjoy them together (unless you want to risk choking on them). We reckon that what was until then used as a butter knife (which was unusually sharp and big for that purpose anyway) was meant to be used as our all-purpose knife for the day. That is an attempt at being different that I find rather daft to be honest.
Petit pois - four types of peas: pea gnocchi, pea shoots, pea jus and pea powder (!!). The most inspired dish so far, quite clever!
Saint Pierre, épinard fraise - the latter is a spinach-like plant carrying tiny little berries which look more like raspberries than the strawberries lending their French name. This was cooked very briefly and served with a small filet of John Dory: a very nice, well rounded dish. Unfortunately did the little red fruits provide much more colour than flavour - the eyes were pleased but the palate somewhat disappointed. Therefore a little anti-climatic and not one of my favourites of the day.
Vachette ferrée, salicorne - the only meat dish in the menu was reminiscent of a dish that was served last year, too: then, a plate with many little leaves of different herbs was served (to achieve the "what the f..." effect I suppose), shortly after followed by some flash-grilled thin slice of marbled beef served from a carving board. This year, the herbs were replaced with some samphire, the meat and the presentation were the same. The beef was tasty and cooked rather rare, a good simple dish.
Les fromages - a selection of good cheeses, not the best I have seen, but absolutely fine. No frills (fruit, honey, chutneys, nuts, etc) attached, a little disappointing given the restaurant's ambitions.
Marjolaine, citron - lemon curd, arranged in a cigar-shape on the plate, with lots of marjoram-sprinkled mini-merengue sticking out of it. Original, very yummy, great dish! The best in my opinion since the more you tasted it, the more you wanted to have more of it!
Pêche, lait de vache - wonderfully sweet and aromatic peach wedges with a milk based cream, milk powder and some whipped cream on the side. A seemingly simple but rather clever combination of best quality fruit and varied textures of rich milky flavours. Right up there in my top three dishes of the day.
"Deux Espresso et deux Cognac" (each coffee charged at €5.50 and each Cognac at €18) were accompanied by some slightly different petit-four: one being absolutely brilliant, little fresh rhubarb sticks covered in and served sticking out of a bowl full of crushed almond dragées, and a quite overpowering generous portion of what looked like tiramisu but was really rather rubbery chocolate-streaked marshmallow...
All in all a great day out, a nice lunch but in comparison to last year less ingenious and occasionally even a little pretentious at what seemed to be noticeably increased prices (I believe then menu last year offered ten courses at just under €80 and drinks seemed quite a bit less pricey, too). Maybe La Grenouillière was listed a little too early in the Top 100 Restaurants of the World (ranking at 78)...
I find it difficult to apply my rating - last year it was certainly a 9/10, with mostly lovely food, brilliant ideas, a great atmosphere and providing very good value for money. This year I must take it down a notch. 8/10, mostly still that high because of the very friendly and charming service.
Location:Montreuil-sur-Mer, France
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