Chef Florian Barbarot takes us into the depths of the sea at his mysteriously named restaurant, Quelque Part. An outstanding candidate in season 10 of Top Chef, trained in Michelin-starred establishments from Alsace to New York, the chef's cuisine focuses on seafood , but also on the finest dishes from the French terroir, a heritage handed down from his family of farmers in Grenoble.
For this plunge into the abyss, Florian Barbarot has imagined a raw universe, where tables with uncluttered dressings take their place behind heavy curtains, in a hushed, minimalist atmosphere. A second, even more discreet room nestles in the basement, with a direct view of the ballet in the kitchen.
The basement is also home to the centerpiece of Quelque Part, a capsule that invites guests to spend a special moment with the chef during the meal. Here, the chef chooses a product - at the time of our visit, scallops - which he brings to light in front of gourmets, bridging the gap between the kitchen and the dining room and ending with a tasting session.
On the à la carte menu, seafood , fish, shellfish and other crustaceans are king, and are revealed in several tasting menus in 6 tiers (€95, classic or vegetarian version), 8 tiers (€118, classic or vegetarian version) or 10 tiers (€155), withfood and wine pairings to match (€55 to €110 with alcohol, €40 to €68 without).
To accompany these seafood dishes, sommelier Quentyn Canevet - a Clarence alumnus - selects a host of French wines, some of them natural and biodynamic, but creative cocktails are also on offer, including the aptly namedSweet Immersion and theIodized Immersion with its oyster water espuma. The non-alcoholic range is equally inventive, with a parsnip cappuccino.
The dive begins with two mouthfuls, a cannelé topped with a carbonara of the sea with smoked haddock and egg yolk confit; and a cuttlefish ink potato chip, knife, celery mousseline and light aioli; followed by a tasty petit bao topped with asparagus tartare, wasabi flying fish roe, fromage frais, wild garlic and mint. Next, octopus cooked over time in a vegetable broth, spherification of beef bourguignon, polenta and spring onion pickles.
We then go back up to the surface to discover the parsnip dish, a particularly successful plate, with this root vegetable in mousseline, risotto, crystalline, chips, tonka bean-infused juice, and roasted in butter. Of particular note is Florian Barbarot's remarkable prowess in producing marine sauces that are worked like meat juices, and which are sauced to the last drop with the restaurant's excellent breads, baked on site.
This is followed by theile flottante de Saint-Jacques, with pike-perch and Saint-Jacques mousseline, leeks with toasted buckwheat, creamy Saint-Jacques coral, Saint-Jacques oil and Saint-Jacques carpaccio as a second course; and a very mysterious dish that arrives on the table without further clarification, covered in an electric-green foam - it's up to you to find out what it's made of, we won't spill the beans!
Without catching our breath, our immersion into the depths continues with the chef's signature dish, Brittany blue lobster roasted in butter with cherry condiment, accompanied by either sweetbreads surrounded by daikon radish, or Normandy scallops.
Before moving on to the sweet part, whose logbook is written by pastry chef Pierre-Henry Lecompte, we move on to the reblochon - in crème brûlée and a flame; accompanied by a bread and marrow bone crumble, a strawberry and cumin sorbet and a strawberry and cinnamon gel - and then rinse the palate with an infusion of wakame seaweed, ginger and radish.
A perfect transition to the astonishing radish dessert (!), in sorbet, tartar and voile. A delicate dessert. A first for us, and a great success. The second dessert is much more regressive, calling up memories of childhood and breakfast before school, with a rye and honey bread à la pain perdu, sourdough tuile - grown on site - yeast ice cream and vanilla butter cream. Delicious.
Location
Somewhere...
1 Rue Ambroise Thomas
75009 Paris 9
Official website
www.quelquepart-restaurant.com
