Four Dinners in Paris

Paris has one of the best culinary reputations in the world, so on our second visit to Paris, we wanted to focus on that aspect of the city. After much research we managed to plan our four dinners in Paris, and here they are!

Dinner 1: Tasting menu at Dessance

Patrick actually chose this one, because he knows how much I love dessert. Dessance is known for blurring the lines between sweet and savoury in their dishes where you will find peas on the same plate as mango, and tangerine with veal. Every dish was beautifully presented and the attention to detail was clear to us as we were sitting at the bar just feet from where the dishes were being prepared!

There are three different set dinner menus of varying courses and prices. You can also get a drink pairing, either alcoholic, non-alcoholic or a combination of the two.

In the picture:

-Veal with carrot and tangerine

-Pea soup with mango and tarragon

-Grapefruit, mineral tea, tapioca chip, sweet potato puree and chocolate crumb

-Red berry gnocchi, braised apple, smoked cream and lavender sorbet

-The last photo is a liquid mojito in a white chocolate shell - it was very important to eat this one whole and not bite into it!

Sweet and savoury combined at Dessance, Paris

Dinner 2: Bistro classics at Chez Michel

Researching Paris bistros, which generally focus on serving traditional French food, it seems that a lot of them are very expensive indeed. I was a little worried, and then I found Chez Michel, which offers a 35 euro 3-course set menu that includes their famous Paris-Brest, a choux pastry with praline cream sandwiched in the middle. We obviously had this for dessert, while for my starter I had a very traditional duck terrine (with complimentary escargots) followed by duck breast with fig. This place is firmly traditional in food and in decor, and it's just what we were looking for.

Dinner 3: Le Garde-robe

Technically, Le Garde-robe is a wine bar, but they offer the choice of a cheese board, charcuterie board, or a combination of the two. We started with one mixed board, then ordered another one a couple of hours later as we worked our way through our wine, and we were definitely full enough by the end of it! We discovered Le Garde-robe on our last visit to Paris and couldn't resist coming back, as the atmosphere is so cosy and casual, with one wall entire lined with wine and a vintage feel to the place.

Dinner 4: Tasting menu at Pierre Sang Signature

Chef Pierre Sang was a finalist on France's Top Chef in 2011 and now he owns three restaurants in Paris. Pierre Sang Signature is the smallest, seating a maximum of 12 people per night and serving Sang's signature Asian-French fusion dishes. A tasting menu is the only option here, and it took a leisurely 3 hours to get through everything. Every dish was a hit, every single flavour carefully explained by our waiter (and poorly remembered by me!)

I only wish the wine was more reasonably priced!

In the picture:

-Seaweed and tempura rice crackers

-Parsnip puree with gambas and squid ink

-Tuna tartare with kimchi, soy and lemon

-Asparagus, hollondaise and caper puree

-The most delicious dessert I've ever had, full of Asian spices I can't recall because I was too busy eating it!