NHome is under the direction of Chef Matan Zaken who offers a 9 course blind tasting menu which fluctuates with the season. His concept is to have diners sit around a single large table with a relaxed and festive atmosphere. He did just that by setting up adjoining tables to accommodate about 20 people in a vaulted cellar in a building opposite Palais Royal. It opened in Sept 2022 and you can see the chef’s in the kitchen from a street window but upon entering are ushered to the back stone walled room. The lights are lowered, mirrors are on the ceiling and music was in the background. Diners do have different start times but there is some cross talk with the casual crowd seated around the tables. The tasting had 2 possible supplements including a cheese course. We didn’t opt to add the cheese course and were told by several diners we had made a huge mistake. Cocktail as well as wine pairings are available. They have a one Michelin star rating. Staff were enthusiastic and super friendly and will make you welcome while serving you a fine meal.
Set-Up
Food
Several snacks were served while drinks were being ordered. A gougere of truffle cream and mushroom had a warm gooey center and was a delightful bite. A tart of celery, peas and sea urchin was mixed with a little mayo and curry. It was more mildly flavored than I expected but quite pleasant. The spoon held beef tartare with mustard seed and Jerusalem artichoke skins were the crisp on top.
Oceanic started the tasting and it was an oyster with shiso, pickled shallots, and sea grapes. The oyster was cut for easy eating. It was a wonderful blend of perfectly balanced flavors.
Smokey and Savory was a signature course of smoked eel, foie gras, fennel seed, radish raw and cooked, an herb like anise and onion broth. The small pieces of eel were alternated with the foie gras all surrounded by deeply flavored onion broth. The idea was to eat a bit of everything in each bite. This was a great course with the broth being especially so.
They served a slice of brown sourdough bread and butter – all house made. The bread had a good crust and a moist doughy center. Very good.
Vegetal was a large spear of asparagus with seaweed salad including spring garlic. some espuma cream with lemon and egg was also on the plate.
The Sea was a lobster from Brittany that was grilled with the shell. A lobster bisque along with chocolate, peppermint, salsify and cacao leaves were also on the plate. The lobster was barely cooked and worked great with all the other flavors. It was not overly an grilled flavor but quite nice.
A transition course was granite made with herbs, verbain, coriander, aesop, and ginger. I loved the cold ginger flavor with the cilantro background. This one left a tingle in your mouth.
Animal was a piece of veal barbecue with a veal sweetbread, white asparagus, miso mushroom butter and morels. The morel was stuffed with sweetbreads. The tender veal was cooked perfectly and the sweetbread had a wonderful light crust. The sauce brought out the best of everything on the plate.
A bit of sweetness was composed with kiwi, cucumber and ginger. Cucumber water was infused with lemon oil. This was another refreshing course with some very sweet kiwi.
Fruit was made with blood orange citrus and saffron carrots and bergamot. The sorbet was made with blood orange which was cool and sweet and quite citrusy. Something on the plate was chewy but I couldn’t identify it. Overall this was a good light combination of flavors.
Winding Down was made with leftover sourdough bread, sorbet, prunes and miso. The sauce was made with miso and prunes. A good chocolate variation with a nice mix of textures.
Take a Guess was a selection of final sweets. A tart of black rice with beetroot was crunchy inside and out. A Jerusalem artichoke and vanilla was pickled with pine flavors in the spoon. A dark chocolate of 65% with crisps inside turned out to be studded with chicken skin. Another winner.
