Hémicycle, opened in August 2023 as a new restaurant from owner Stéphane Manigold under the direction of Chef Flavio Lucarini and Pastry Chef Aurora Storari.  It only took four months to earn a one Michelin star rating in addition to Storari winning the Passion Dessert Award.  The small place offered a 3, 4 or 6 course lunch menus with pairings as well as an a la carte menu.  The 3 course lunch was made from what’s fresh at the market where as the others are composed of a la carte items.  We chose the 3 course with the pairings (the bottle is with matching course).  One corner of the place was the open kitchen that was packed with people.  In the dining area were nicely spaced round marble tables and wood rectangular tables all without cloths. Music in the background, some art was on the walls as well as wood accents and the floor was stone.  Interesting light fixtures added more visual interest to the room.  The food here was mostly unattractive yet well flavored but also lacking texture.  This one I’d call interesting but I won’t be going back.

Set-Up

 

Food

An amuse bouche was a fried spinach leaf topped with cardamom powder and house made mango cream.  This was a tasty start.

 

The next amuse were clams with parsley and basil sauce and gnocchi with artichoke sauce.  The clams were quite good.  They called the spoon’s fillings noodles but it was a gummy ball that was more like a not quite cooked gnocchi but in a very tasty sauce.

 

The bread service included fennel sticks and sourdough bread.  The butter was scraped into a roll from a large container of butter on a bread cart that moved around the room.  The bread had a good crust and moist doughy interior.  All 3 products were made in-house.  I liked the sticks.

 

The first plate was shrimp with squid ink gel and lobster bisque and peas.  The shrimp were barely cooked as were the large green peas.  The dish was dusted with lots of powder.  It had a bit of a nasty color to the dish but the flavor and smell were much more pleasing.  It was fine but not a standout.

 

The main dish was a large open ‘ravioli’ filled with duckling, lavender and Chinese lettuce.  The well cooked duck was under a thin large sheet of pasta that was accented with green disks  on a strongly flavored jus.  It was almost salt, but on the edge.  The texture of the dish was unappealing and the look of it was almost disgusting.

 

Dessert was called panna cotta with shiso leaf ice cream and a pineapple drink.  It was sour and dark and the bottom layer was like raw cookie dough.  The leaf was tough.  The drink was cool but not great tasting.

 

A last treat was an orange and raisin brioche where I couldn’t find the raisins.  It was mostly a sweetened croissant served with Diplomat sauce (a chantilly cream) made with marsala wine.  The pastry was flaky and good while the sweet sauce easily overwhelmed the flavor.  Even so it was the better dessert.

 

With coffee came a cute skewer filled with balls of sugar.  A couple cookies were sent as a treat for later.