Le Sergent Recruteur has been under the direction of Chef Alain Pégouret since 2019, who brings with him years of experience with chefs like Joël Robuchon.  From an average restaurant Pégouret has evolved it into fine cuisine, earning the place one Michelin star.  The prior atmosphere was dark and medieval which has been transformed into contemporary space with stone walls, music in the background, polished wood tables, mirrors and art on the walls and windows to the street in one of which the suit of armor still stands.  It’s a long space with the kichen in the rear where you can see chef and others making great food for the guests.  At lunch they offered tasting menus with optional pairings from a menu printed with your name and the date.  From the menu you could also pick a la carte selections which we chose to do.  Either way you go, do plan to go as the food and ambiance are wonderful.

Set-Up

 

Food

All diners start with some mackerel rillette with mustard and toasted bread.  They also have this to-go.  The toasted bread was more soft than crisp but was still a fine accompaniment.  It was tasty and a fun snack.

 

After we ordered the bread service was slices of fresh brown sourdough with butter topped with espellete and buckwheat.  The bread was lovely with good flavor and crisp crust.

 

An amuse bouche was green bean espuma with mint jelly and crispy carrot salad.  Inside the espuma were crispy little croutons and many other vegetables.  A vinaigrette like sauce was used to enhance all the ingredients and carrots made the pretty crisp on the top.  It was very good.

 

Duck foie gras poached in a sangria with vegetables, white fruits, flamed grapefruit and rhubarb was a first plate.  The foie gras was roasted after being soaked in the sangria that also helped flavor the sauce.  Here the rhubarb was silky in tenderness and combined well with apple, strawberry, and grilled grapefruit.  The sauce was light, somewhat thick and tart and amazing with the perfectly cooked foie gras.  Outstanding.

 

Morels and peasant asparagus on a full bodied royal, herbal garlic, fleurete with Gamay wine was a first plate.  Peas and panna cotta were also part of the mix in this dish with tons of tasty morels and shoots and pieces of asparagus.  The creamy sauce was outstanding.  A bowl of deliciousness.

 

Veal sweetbreads were roasted and seasoned with basil, tetragones (greens) and chanterelles on salad with fried artichoke.  The perfectly cooked sweetbreads were wonderful with some spinach purée and seated on some raw greens and mushrooms.   Then topped with a crispy fried leaf that was lightly sweet.  A rich sauce was added at the table which enhanced the flavors even more.  The fried artichoke was fabulous, with perfectly crunch leaves on top.  An excellent plate.

 

Saddle of lamb was with a mariniere of mussels and bigorneaux (small shellfish called periwinkle), and a macaroni “Marinara” of oyster leaf, sauce land and sea. Basically the lamb was with a sauce made from the mussels with some tomato spice and green olives.   In between the slices were 2 pasta tubes covered with the shellfish and stuffed with tomato and lamb.  The lamb was a bit lean and so a tad dry but the plate had a flavor of the sea.

 

A palate cleanser was a sorbet of coriander and lime.  It was cool and refreshing with a strong flavor of cilantro combined with the crunch from a sugar tuile on top and crumbs underneath.  Very nice.

 

A dessert of the day was a chocolate pie with caramel nuts which immediately spoke to me.  The bottom of the slice was caramelized hazelnuts which were topped with fudgy smooth chocolate.  Ice cream was on the side but I was over the top with this one.  It was yummy.

 

Sitting right next to the kitchen window Chef was kind enough to send out a second dessert to try.  Rhubarb with semi-cooked marmalade of strawberries and Timut pepper were under a green pea sorbet surrounded by mousseline with vanilla mascarpone.  Another fine dessert with beautiful color.  Lots of textures and once again silky rhubarb and sweet strawberries – all perfect with the lovely cream.   With that, the Director of the restaurant brought out a glass of Riesling to go with it.

 

Last treats included little chocolate pies that were silky sweet chocolate goodness in a brown crust and topped with something crunchy.  Alongside was a plate of fruit including spicy pineapple, strawberry, apple, kiwi and dots of fruit purée.  Refreshing with a bit of spice – perfect.