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Palais Royale, Paris
‘Vin & Marée’, 165 rue Saint-Honoré, Paris
There are four ‘Vin et Marée’ restaurants in the group, the other three being in the 7th, 11th, 14th and 16th arrondissements of Paris. This branch has the advantage of being next to the Palais Royale and on one of the most famous ‘shopping’ streets in the world.
The presence of Parisian diners confirmed that this was one of the best medium priced establishments for fish and seafood. The fresh fish is collected during the night at the Rungis food terminal. Preparation is kept simple to avoid distorting the quality of the original products. Avoid Sundays, as there is no fish market on Saturday nights. There is a limited wine list of little known and well selected regional products.
Kir royale - how ‘bourgeois’ of me!
We had a crisp, dry white wine with the meal itself.
Cockles and bread to amuse ourselves with, whilst perusing the menu.
Three kinds of oysters for starters.
1. Belon (Ostrea edulis): classic example of the European oyster native to Brittany.
2. Fines de Claires (Ostrea edulis): produced by raising the European oyster in claires, specially converted salt marshes, where the water is frequently changed and is higher in mineral content. The special ingredient in this water is the tiny organism, Navicula ostrearia, which, because it contains chlorophyll, imparts a distinctive green tinge to the oysters.
3. A brown version of the European oyster (Ostrea edulis), whose name I missed in French! Possibly another Marennes sub-type.
Belon Nr.0000
Extremely large oysters. Usually numbered 0 to 3, the smaller the number - the larger the oyster. These 0000 size oysters are said to be exclusive to a few restaurants in Paris.
Grilled ‘Coquille Saint-Jaques’ or scallops.
Grilled ‘Saint-Pierre’ or John Dory fish.
Fish sauces.
Rhum baba.
The best dessert on the carte – probably………
Not pictured is the bottle of amber rhum from Martinique, which you poured over the portion of sponge cake. Yum!
Espresso and chocolate.
CONCLUSION
This branch of ‘Vin et Marée’ certainly lived up to the reputation of the previous three established restaurants in Paris. Its location is also convenient for the shopper and visitor as the Louvre, Palais Royale, Opera and shopping area are close by.
Photos and Text Copyright Melvyn Teillol-Foo, 2004.
MTF
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