Antoine is an enclosed patio with about 10 well spaced tables of various sizes. Those tables nearer the windows to the outside were smaller whereas the ones along the kitchen wall were larger. However those at the windows could have a view of the Eiffel tower and/or the museum across the street. There is music in the background and the tables are covered with nice white clothes and set with good sized white napkins. You are greeted at the table with the champagne cart – a wheeled “figure 8” table with the ice bucket of champagnes on top (later on it carries the cheese selection). We were there at lunch time and they did have a special lunch menu as well as an a la carte menu and a 4 course lunch surprise tasting. Wine pairings were available and they are known for their seafood. We chose their 4 course lunch with our own bottle of wine. They currently have a one star in the Michelin guide. Servers spoke good English and were friendly and helpful.
With a glass of champagne we enjoyed a few amuse bouche before the meal started. An oyster poached in carrot juice was topped with a creamy carrot sauce. It was a bit tart but the gold oyster was nice.
Some smoked eel with horseradish was served in an ultra thin tart shell. It was creamed and the horseradish was a minor element but just enough to work well with the smokiness of the eel. It was good and presented on a plastic wrap on the top of a bowl filled with moss.
Chopped cod was formed into a ball and lightly fried for the next bite. It was nice.
The last amuse was a brioche topped with flowers and creamy cod roe. The brioche was lightly toasted in butter and salted. The topping was okay here, again on the tart side, but the brioche was wonderful.
Also at this time they brought some rolls that were light and went well with a bit of the butter, but they didn’t need much.
The daily raw fish and the mushrooms was a ceviche with marinated cucumber and caviar smoked milk sauce. The fish that day was Barbue (brill) and it was nice but the star here was the marinated cucumber. It perfectly melded with the caviar for a really nice combination of flavors. The presentation of the mushrooms was in the form of a lovely flower, but it had more looks than taste. Overall this was a very good dish but not overwhelming.
They brought out slices of crusty brown bread now that was good.
The next course was presented as haddock but the menu called it whiting. It was a fish bread soufflé wrapped in a sheet of cuttlefish in a herbed tomato water then covered with a sorrel sabayon sauce, It was like a quenelle – tender and delicious. The sabayon sauce was creamy and mixed well with the strongly flavored tomato water, which all gave flavor to the very mild fish. It was an excellent combination.
The main course was monkfish with vegetables in a spicy Spanish bouillon. The firm fish was perfectly cooked with fresh vegetables including peas, asparagus and spinach. The sauce was not spicy but it was a tasty dish.
Dessert was a limoncello soufflé. First they opened it and poured in cream anglaise and then topped with a scoop of jasmine ice cream. It was light with a mild lemon flavor. An excellent dessert that was tasty and perfect.
Final treats were all better than the usual fare. A choux pastry was filled with salted caramel and passion fruit. The passionfruit overpowered the caramel but it was still good. A vanilla macaron was soft and good. A nougat of chocolate and nuts was chewy and delicious. A strong finish.
