L'Ambassade d'Auvergne

L'Ambassade d'Auvergne Review

A rare authentic Parisian bistro that refuses to change, the Ambassade claims one of the city's great restaurant characters: the maître d' Francis Panek, with his handlebar mustache and gravelly voice. Settle into the dining room in this ancient Marais house to try rich dishes from the Auvergne, a sparsely populated region in central France. Lighter dishes such as turbot with fennel are available, but it would be missing the point not to indulge in a heaping serving of the superb lentils in goose fat with bacon or the Salers beef in red wine sauce with aligot (mashed potatoes with cheese). You might want to loosen your belt for the astonishingly dense chocolate mousse, served in a giant bowl that allows you to decide the quantity. The Auvergnat wines come with appetizing descriptions, but don't expect anything remarkable from this (justifiably) obscure wine region.