eels restaurant, Paris, 11/29/17

building
building

Restaurant eels has been receiving lots of accolades since it opened 6 months ago.  It has about 15 tables and and offers 2 and 3 course lunch menus where you choose your selection or a 5 course surprise tasting menu with optional pairings at lunch.  We chose the latter option and ordered our own bottle of wine.  The menu changes monthly and all the food was quite flavorful but the pacing of the service was varied, although the scaled portion size was well done.  The restaurant has lots of hard surfaces, including 2 walls with windows looking out on the street, as well as some background thumping music and thus noise can be a factor.  It is a fairly dressy crowd in the packed room.  Tables have moderate spacing and there is a copper tint to the lighting.  

entrance
entrance
interior
interior
interior
interior
interior
interior
Frankie had the same coloring as the walls
Frankie had the same coloring as the walls
menu
menu
menu
menu
table set up
table set up
Frankie noticed the name on the water bottle
Frankie noticed the name on the water bottle

 

Our menu started with their signature dish – Anguille fumée matcha, vierge kiwi, amande –  which is smoked eels with kiwi and almonds. The eels were tender, smokey and delicious and served between dollops of green creamy stuff studded with crispy bits of almonds.  It was a wonderful combination of flavors and textures.

Anguille fumée (eels) matcha, vierge kiwi - amande
Anguille fumée (eels) matcha, vierge kiwi – amande
closer
closer
Frankie took in the view
Frankie took in the view

 

Alongside came some house bread that was crusty, moist and doughy and perfect for mopping up every bit of the lovely food.

bread
bread
Frankie liked the bread
Frankie liked the bread

 

Next was Huître Nº3 (Isigny) radis d’hiver, vinaigrette sésame – ponzu or oysters from Normandy with radish, sesame and ponzu or Asian lemon.  The toasted sesame gave it an interesting texture and chew.  It was tart but when all the ingredients mixed together it was a good dish and the oysters lovely.

Huître Nº3 (Isigny) radis d'hiver, vinaigrette sésame - ponzu
Huître Nº3 (Isigny) radis d’hiver, vinaigrette sésame – ponzu
closer
closer
underneath
underneath
wine
wine
Frankie checked out the bench seat
Frankie checked out the bench seat

 

Encornet grillé, petit épeautre, purée de cresson, sauce infusée a la graine de fenouil or grilled squid with turnip, fennel juice, spelt and cress purée.  The juice was tart but the spelt was nicely nutty and the whole thing had tons of flavor and textures to enjoy.  Not heavy with grease it still felt rich and flavorful.  A wonderful dish.

Encornet grillé, petit épeautre, purée de cresson, sauce infusée a la graine de fenouil
Encornet grillé, petit épeautre, purée de cresson, sauce infusée a la graine de fenouil
closer
closer
from the side
from the side
underneath
underneath
Frankie explored the dried flowers
Frankie explored the dried flowers

 

The last savory dish was Poitrine de cochon confite (Pays Basque) poireaux grillés, noix de cajou, condiment saté which was confit of pork belly with peppers, leeks, cashew nut purée, red peppers and orange peppers.  The peppers were both sweet and tasty and the nut paste was satiny.  The pork was well browned with a large layer of fat.  The sauce was thick and sticky and the leeks were really good.   A successful dish and really tasty.

Poitrine de cochon confite (Pays Basque) poireaux grillés, noix de cajou, condiment saté
Poitrine de cochon confite (Pays Basque) poireaux grillés, noix de cajou, condiment saté
closer
closer
other side
other side
another angle
another angle
Frankie checked to see what was left
Frankie checked to see what was left

 

A glass of lemon verbena drink was a palate cleanser.  It was not my favorite.

palate cleanser
palate cleanser
Frankie wondered where hers was
Frankie wondered where hers was

 

Dessert was Ananas rôti, kiwi, cremeux coco, condiment mangue – citron vert or pineapple with cream of cocoa, passion fruit, lime, mango and coconut cream.  It did have some wonderful chunks of a buttery cake that were nice.  It was cool and light and relatively sweet but wasn’t a standout.

Ananas rôti, kiwi, cremeux coco, condiment mangue - citron vert
Ananas rôti, kiwi, cremeux coco, condiment mangue – citron vert
closer
closer
detail
detail
Chef
Chef Adrien Ferrand and Frankie

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