Au Gourmand

Au Gourmand Review

In a city where many restaurants seem to take customers for granted, it's refreshing to come across someone who sounds delighted when you call to make a reservation. And the staff is just as eager to please once you're seated in the dining room, whose traditional theater-theme decor belies the kitchen's modern spirit. The cooking highlights vegetables from famed market gardener Joël Thiébault: his multicolor tomatoes, for instance, might be displayed on a puff pastry base with the tiniest salad leaves, or a medley of sautéed spring vegetables accompany spoon-tender pork cheek—there's also a €31, three-course vegetarian menu. The best desserts are the least adventurous: try a variation on pain perdu (French toast), perhaps with figs, nuts, and almond ice cream.