Exactly ten years after the opening of Silencio, the team has just opened a brand new venue in the heart of the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district, christened Silencio des Prés. This time, it's not a select club, but a 150-seat restaurant with terrace, bar and cinema.
Behind the stoves, the Silencio team has opted for a now Michelin-starred chef with a reputation for unconventional cuisine, in his own image: chef Guillaume Sanchez. On the à la carte menu, the young chef has chosen to revisit Parisian brasserie favourites .
In this historic building, which was once a bar, a cabaret and a projection room, and which has been completely redesigned by the French architectural duo Studio KO, Chef Sanchez offers a permanent menu where ingredients are adapted to the rhythm of the stocks of the small producers who supply the restaurant.
How do you ensure a service with a large number of covers on a daily basis, while conveying a message of respect for the planet and those who cultivate it? At what cost and under what conditions? These were the questions that guided the chef's approach.
On the à la carte menu, Guillaume Sanchez offers Parisian brasserie-style cuisine with his own personal vision. Starters include cold langoustine ravioli (17€) in a delicately marbled black, blue fish with verjuice, honey and mustard (16€), caviar egg and wagyu cecina.
A creative cocktail by barman Remy Savage, such as the pleasant Floradora (ginger, raspberry syrup, lime, gin; 15€) or the naughty Calvados Pornstar (calvados, vodka, passion fruit purée, vanilla syrup, yellow lemon; 15€).
In the restaurant's(very) subdued atmosphere, we discover the rest of the menu and opt for the bistro dish par excellence, the croque-monsieur (16€), generously served, comforting to the taste and accompanied by crispy pommes allumettes, and for the saithe (28€), twisted with black pudding, black radish and mashed potatoes and celery.
For once, we've also fallen for the à la carte desserts, including a pana cotta (€12) topped with supremes and a very well-crafted citrus chutney.
Although Silencio des Prés is a long way from the culinary hallmarks of chef Guillaume Sanchez, renowned for his work with fermentation, lacto-fermentation and the constant search for new techniques in the kitchen, it is nonetheless an attractive anchor point in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district for those wishing to dine in a musical atmosphere (and wild during the second service, according to the establishment's owner) and sample bistro dishes revisited with brio.
Official website
www.silenciodespres.com
