Empreinte, 3 rue Saint-Augustin, Paris 2 -- Revisit
We had a very good lunch here last October and decided it was time to check in again and see how things are going.
This time we went on a Saturday evening.
The restaurant rightly prides itself on the outstanding quality and seasonality of its ingredients prepared with subtle and sophisticated spicing.
We took the four-couse menu.
First, three amuses-bouches that looked like desserts but in fact were savory.
The green disks were a purée of peas; the cones were filled with a light foam of chickpeas; and the oreo-looking disks were carbonized crackers with a ham, chutney, and cheese. All were excellent and flavorful and a very good introduction to the meal.
The wine list is both excellently-chosen and most fair in its markups. Our menu was to have a fish and a white meat course, so we chose a Sancerre red from Vincent Pinard, a leading Sancerre producer. This wine is from Pinot Noir, but is lighter in structure (notwithstanding its stated 14% alcohol) than most Burgundy Pinot Noirs.
The wine was fresh, light, intense, and pure with red berry fruits.
Our first course consisted of a terrine of tomatoes that were ripe and already speaking of summer, notwithstanding the cold spring we’ve been having (at least in the north of France). The terrine was complemented by a piquant ice cream with tabasco and espelette peppers and served with a juice from the tomatoes and basil. The dish was pleasing to both the eye and the palate.
Next came a lieu jaune (pollack) with a crust on top of a cheese from the Aveyron in the center of France. I do not have the name of the cheese, but it is apparently much like Parmesan. Underneath the fish were mushrooms and as you can see, greens were also in the dish. This was light and flavorsome with precise flavors that melded perfectly.
Regrettably, I forgot to take a photo of the veal with peas and pea purée. It was excellent and showed all the freshness of late spring.
For sweets, we had pre-dessert,
an apricot tart dessert,
and post dessert,
all of which, in the French style, were only lightly sweet, but were enough to satisfy anyone’s sweet cravings.
The bottom line for two dinners and a bottle of wine:
Empreinte provides excellent quality and value. For the moment, it remains somewhat below-the-radar, and I urge you to take advantage of that fact.
Empreinte
3 rue Saint-Augustin, 75002 Paris
Tuesday-Saturday lunch and dinner
Tél: 01 45 08 13 76
Métro: Opéra, Richelieu-Drouot, Quatre-Septembre, Bourse, Pyramides, Sentier, Grands Boulevards