I was back in Paris last weekend, and of course had to eat.
Thoumieux is one of these places that’s been around for a hundred years and is too close to a tourist attraction (Les Invalides) to interest me normally. But about a year ago, the Costes brothers and a pedigreed chef, Jean-Francois Piege, took over, and last week, Francois Simon wrote that Thoumieux’s soul was “back,” which was “sans doute one of the best pieces of news of the season.” So how could I resist?
We knew we were in for a treat based on the quality of the freebie bread (crusty and crackly), butter (so rich it’s better than cheese) and sardine pate.
Years and years ago, I had the best frisee, lardons and poached egg salad of my life at Au Moulin a Vent (Chez Henri) in the 5th. I’ve tried to recreate that classic salad’s creamy porky glory at home to no avail. But the updated version at Thoumieux finally surpasses my memory of even that long-ago salad. Instead of lardons, there was a rich lardon-infused cream waiting to be scooped up from the bottom of my bowl, along with bites of crispy croutons for texture. The acidic tang of vinaigrette balanced all the creaminess of warm egg yolk and meaty deliciousness. I’d go back to Thoumieux just for this salad.
Jon’s “calamar sauvage prepare a la carbonara” was served as slivers of fresh calamari “spaghetti,” which was playful and delish. There’s no more comforting a combo than warm egg yolk and hot, crispy lardons.
Basically, if I’d ordered my frisee salad along with this calamari salad, I’d have had the perfect lunch at Thoumieux.
But alas, the mains we tried were much less successful than our starters. There was a lot more “Asian” influence that just didn’t work out. My pork belly had a strong turmeric/curry flavor, and one of the two pieces of pork belly on my plate was 100% fat. Now, I love pork belly as much as the next girl, but even I draw the line at a block of pure pork fat. Especially for 19 euros.
Jon’s scallops were a bit anemic-looking and -tasting and overwhelmed by the accompanying Thai-coconut sauce.
Overall, Thoumieux was a wonderful place to have lunch, because the salads were so outstanding; the servers so professional (I love when tap water is constantly refilled unobtrusively – and oh, did I mention? the servers were extremely good looking); the room so congenial; and the atmosphere so buzzy (the room was packed with happy groups of families and friends by 1 pm).
Though I was eh on our mains, based on the excellence of our two starters, I’d give other items on the menu a try. The place certainly does have soul, and based on our starters, it also has talent in the kitchen. So order something other than the scallops and pork belly, and let me know how it goes.
Our tab for two starters, two mains and a half-bottle of wine totaled 82 euros.
Thoumieux, 79 Rue Saint-Dominique, 7th arrondissement, Paris; +33 (0)1.47.05.49.75; closest metro: La Tour Mauborg. Icing on the cake: Thoumieux is open 7 days a week (i.e., it’s a place to eat on Sunday!)
[For the French speakers among you, see also this 17 Nov 09 review in Le Figaro, and this 19 Nov 09 review in L’Express, both glowing with praise.]
Oh, the mains *looked* promising though – they’re so pretty and radiate comfort. Definitely one for the list though next time I’m in Paris!
When we were in Paris last May, we considered having lunch at Thoumieux, but reneged on it for some reason. Not sure why now 😦 For such a Paris institution, it seems a bit “off” to fuse Asian flavours, though. Isn’t Asian fusion over? The wild calamari carbonara style looks absolutely divine!
What a shame that the mains didn’t live up to the starters. I would also find the Asian influence a bit strange…
Su-Lin – that’s a great way to describe the food, “radiating comfort.” I mean, our mains weren’t *bad*. They just didn’t taste as simple and “classic with a twist” as our excellent starters did.
Jen – The Asian Fusion scene is alive and well in Paris. On this trip, we also dropped by William Ledeuil’s latest venture, KGB, which is quite the bee’s knees right now in Paris, and which also showcases Asian influences on its menu.
Lizzie – I read two more reviews this morning about Thoumieux (one in Le Figaro and another in L’Express – both links above now), and there was rave praise for the pig belly dish. So I guess I’m saying I seem to be odd man out for not loving my curry-tasting pork belly.
Is it me or does the sardine pate look like cat food in that tin? I have to agree with Lizzie that the Asian influence seems at odds with the salads, desserts and decor.
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Great review and gorgeous pics! I added your link to a round-up of unflattering reviews by English speaking Paris food writers.
http://megzimbeck.com/2009/11/thoumieux/
Meg – Thanks for the link, and after reading your write-up, I feel a little sad hearing that nobody liked their mains very much at Thoumieux. I’d originally hoped that Jon and I had just had bad luck in light of how good our starters were.
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At the end of your review you advise French speakers to check out the reviews in Le Figaro and L’Express, which are “glowing with praise.”
That may be true but the readers who commented in response to the Figaro review universally panned Thoumieux.
I used to go to the old Thoumieux several times a year, mostly for business lunches. I walked by the new one and looked in and felt I had walked into very poorly executed version of a 21st century bordello.
Plenty of other places to go in Paris.
It’s amusing that Piège (which means “trap” or “snare” in French), who so condescendingly criticizes the food of others on the several French food TV shows that he appears on, is running what seems to be a quite out-of-step and tasteless (in all senses of the word) joint.
KJR – I read the four comments on the Figaro blurb, and yes, they are negative. But it’s a sample size of four, no? What didn’t you like about your experience there, other than the decor?
I must admit that I’m now curious what a well-executed version of a 21st century bordello should look like.
In any case, I agree that there are lots of wonderful places to visit in Paris, but I had a nice time at Thoumieux, so I now count it among one of the places to go when in town.
The entry-way was the most unappealing aspect. It wasn’t very welcoming at all.
Food was so-so. The old Thoumieux at least had a very positive ambience.
As for the sample of four in Le Figaro, yes, it’s a small sample, but it was 100% negative.
I ate there last night. We had a reservation for 7 p.m. The doors opened at 7.15 (several groups of diners huddling in the summer rain); neither explanation nor apology but the greeter was super-charming and they were happy for me to take my dog in, which is always a good sign.
My partner’s lobster bisque was really a mild laksa with slivers of crustacean; nice enough but any half-decent Singaporean joint in London will offer you something infinitely more robust at half the price. The calamari carbonara (“wild ” calamari; is there any other kind?) was good although the bacon strips were very nobbly. That might be a problem if you care about nobbly bacon.
I had salmon on a bed of peas. The salmon was perfect and the peas were the best I have ever tasted. I’ve never given pea-ranking much thought before. Partner’s goujonettes were fine; she, the dog and I enjoyed them. The tartare sauce lacked the piquancy required by a Brit palate.
We didn’t have pudding. The bread and butter were excellent. The wine was wine and we were pleased that our waiter didn’t insist on topping our glasses up.
Regarding the service; as an Englishman living happily in France I would normally resist promoting the stereotype but I have to say the staff (except for the greeter) were everything one dreads in a Paris restaurant. A bunch of snotty young loiterers better practised in the art of silent condescension than attending to the needs of the clientele. If you can speak French – don’t bother. They will take your attempt at civility as an invitation to make you feel foolish. They do perfectly well in English and are more polite in that language.
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