Menu - Le Pressoir

We have been trying the top end restaurants in this area. Le Pressoir is recommended by one chef in particular and the chef at Tête en l'air trained here he pro... read more We have been trying the top end restaurants in this area. Le Pressoir is recommended by one chef in particular and the chef at Tête en l'air trained here he probably ran away! So, much vaunted and recommended by gourmet friends of ours. Decor is bright but dated. Three waiters in sharp suits and very modern eyewear. Chairs are wicker, too deep, too short and uncomfortable. Cutlery is very nice. Crockery is lamentable the scraping sound of everyone's bowl was like fingernails being dragged down a blackboard. We went for the top end tasting menu with matching wines. First little tasters, 4 in a row, eat right to left, but on a side dish the waiter put a small white object that looked like a mint, with a flourish he poured hot water from a pretty white jug and hey presto, it became a soggy tampon looklalike a towelette never have I seen anything quite so laughable or ridiculous. Next came a brown hockey puck, something to do with salmon and salmon roe very nice but the bowl scraping sound was truly awful. Then came a glass of wine with our empty plates, to go with the next course, obviously. Plates were cleared and we sat and waited 10 minutes with a small glass of Sylvaner; it tasted of nothing and added nothing to the dish, an excellent foie gras in a broth of artichokes and girolle, I think. Next came a nice piece of St Pierre John Dory with a nice Bourgogne Chardonnay, but it didn't match the dish. Another glass of wine, a Pinot Noir from the Savoie !? another 10 minute wait. A broth too heavy with cream, consisting mainly of finely chopped leeks, with a very small piece of lobster, 2 langouistine scampi and 2 small pieces of boudin noir wrapped in a tuille made of squid ink. It left a bitter taste in the mouth and the wine was chosen to match the boudin, not the lighter flavours of the fish, neither did it cut through the over creaminess. The wine had a mechanical smell to it, my wife hit the nail on the head it smells like burned out clutch, and it did. It was OK, nothing more but poorly matched. Then a Croze Hermitage, very nice, to go with the beautifuly cooked two pieces of pigeon breast but oh my god, the two brown pools of fois gras jus looked awful and overpowered everything else. the tiny just one over smoked leg could well have been cooked in the chef's exhaust pipe on his way to work. A potential masterpiece ruined. A sorbet of peaches and cranberries that was simply too frozen in the middle, but it did cleanse the palate. Then the dessert, one of these chocolate balls that the waiter pours some warm raspberry reduction over to reveal the masterpiece, very 1990s but the wine was a sparkling beaujolais from Chenay; think watered down Tizer. It didn't go, it was pretty turgid and was left. Coffee in poncey cups. €350 bucks, bargain! When I stood up to leave I thought my legs had been cut off at the knees. Don't bother, go to Tête de l'Air instead. and save yourself at least a third and have well matched superior wines and discuss the food and wine with less stilted and sharply suited waiters.

We picked Le Pressoir for a special night out away from the kids. Boy are we glad we did. For 3 hours we enjoyed roughly 10 courses each one cooked to perfectio... read more We picked Le Pressoir for a special night out away from the kids. Boy are we glad we did. For 3 hours we enjoyed roughly 10 courses each one cooked to perfection. The food falls somewhere between a complex tasting menu and a hearty gastropub. We left feeling inspired, stimulated and really well fed. The perfect combination of quality and quantity. We also shared the wine pairing with the more expensive meal and we were both really impressed with the quality of the wine. Service was impeccable and professional. They dealt well with my allergy requests and described our food to us in two languages. You also get the feeling that it's a very personal experience given that there aren't that many tables. It didn't feel at all busy for a Friday night, even though most of the tables were occupied. The only slightly unusual characteristic is how quiet it is. No music playing, every table talking in hushed tones. This wasn't off putting but notable. Don't bring kids here! In terms of the price, I'd say I was very happy to pay what we did. We could have economized and still had a great experience my wife got the E50 menu and got all the same amazing amuse bouches I did with my E80 menu.