Tosca is the smart restaurant that puts you at ease. The restaurant of the Splendide Royal Hotel has just opened its doors and we must say that to make your taste buds quiver, they spare no expense! Behind the stove, Michelino Gioia, a starred Italian chef and on the menu, sophisticated but gourmet meals based on fresh products mainly coming from Italy. A guaranteed gustative journey.
The restaurant managed to offer a sophisticated venue in which we feel like at home. A smiling team welcomes you and accompanies you throughout this culinary expedition. All members of the team come from Italy and they’re happy to share anecdotes and their knowledges with us.
When it’s time to have dinner, the restaurant offers to discover Italy from a gastronomical point of view. To start your trip, what about a glass of prosecco? We leave fine bubbles to shake up taste buds whilst thumbing through the menu. Very clear, it offers between 4 and 5 antipasti, main dishes and desserts.
A menu thoroughly elaborated to guarantee the best products possible and mostly coming from Italy in your plate. In terms of wines, over a hundred references including gems from small producers are offered. In either case, the choice turns out to be Cornelian.
About the antipasti, we can taste the mackerels served with raspberry vinegar mayonnaise and surrounded by rhubarb, a very delicate and fresh starter that lovers of sweet and savory will know how to fully appreciate it. We can also give a go to the vegetarian plate, a true crown of crunchy vegetables and looking like a cornucopia with its summer truffle. Filled with sun, a splash of balsamic vinegar and pesto arugula are just enough to enhance it.
As main dishes, we advise you to let your appetite guide you towards the homemade and fresh pasta, excluding the paccheri with squids made in Italy, they’re Naples specialty. Yes, because we must give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. But, the Fagotti with tomato and straciatella di burrata served with raw king shrimps looking as good as they look and very delicate.
If you are a true gourmet, the veal raviolis and their braised onions cream, spinach and most of all, their touch of cocoa present a superb culinary experience. A dish at the level of the chef’s reputation including these surprising chocolate touches that please the mouth.
And here is the final touch of this meal, the feminine touch brought by Tosca’s pastry chef, Giula Mizzoni. At 21 years old, the young lady has a sharp palate and gold hands. This young talent managed to create very sophisticated desserts, nicely presented and not too sweet, highlighting then the richness and the freshness of the products. If you are a chocolate addict, go for the Piedmont hazelnut mousse with a gooey lemon and cedar heart that balances the whole dessert.
But if you feel like ending the meal on a note as surprising as pleasant, try the very fruity dessert based on crunchy rhubarb, ginger flavored strawberries, a sponge cake as light as a cloud and a ricotta ice cream.
All along the experience, the team offers small tastings that prepare you for the rest, nice meals that completely immerse you in Italian culture and make you forget about Paris. We leave pleased of having discovered an aspect of Italy we don’t know well.
Practical information:
Tosca
Open Tuesday to Saturday
From 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
20 rue du Cirque, 75008 Paris
Please note that it's been over 4 years since our last visit, so the place and experience may have changed.
Location
Tosca
20 Rue du Cirque
75008 Paris 8
Access
Metro Miromesnil (lines 9 and 13)
Prices
dessert: €14 - €16
antipasti: €22 - €30
plat: €22 - €38