5 /5
Évaluation
★
★
★
★
★
This was, for Jean and me, our fourth visit to Le Plouc 2. We think that it is an outstanding restaurant and well worth the higher prices charged. This time we were taking our friend Tony for his first visit. The previous evening, I had popped in to book a table as it is extremely popular. The waiter recognised me from our last visit in April, which is always a complement. We arrived outside a little early and went for a walk to fill in the time. However, it was not long before our booked time of 19:00 came around. The restaurant has two seating areas. One at the front before the bar and one at the back behind the bar. The one at the back is a little more “rustic” looking with exposed stone walls. I prefer this area as it is quieter with less “chatter”. This is where we were seated. The service is excellent but not at all hurried. We explained that we preferred to eat slowly and this they were more than happy for us to do. Jean ordered a glass of Rosé de Bordeaux and I ordered a Perrier. Tony wanted to read the wine list a little and the waiter came back shortly to take his order. In the end he tried, over the course of his meal, two different reds. I was feeling a little “delicate” from too much beer lunchtime, hence the water, and decided to forgo a starter, as did Jean. Tony had seen that there were frog’s legs on the menu and ordered these as a starter. Now, this restaurant seems to have its own, modern ideas as to meal preparation, which is why it is so popular. Tony’s frog’s legs came in a deep bowl. Usually they would have been stewed in a light gravy but these had been crumbed and lightly fried. I think Tony was a little disappointed as he is a bit of a traditionalist old fashioned? and was expecting them to be the way he had had them 20 years ago. But time moves on and so does French cuisine. Still he did say that he enjoyed them. For main courses Jean ordered the “Pig’s cheeks in Asian marinade ginger and noodles with vegetables. The noodles turned out to be the very thin Thai? rice noodles and the vegetables had been grated and sautéed. The cheeks had been braised and were very tender. Jean absolutely loved the dish. Tony ordered the **** au Vin which was advertised as having been slow cooked for five hours. It also came in a deep bowl on top of some mash and the grated vegetables. Fortunately, he said this was excellent. For myself I chose the fillets of Bass. These were flash fried to give the skin a nice crispness and were served on a large glass plate. The fillets were placed on top of a dome of mashed potato and also the grated vegetables. In addition, mini vegetables had been placed around the edge of the plate. Small florets of cauliflower and broccoli were set alongside mini turnips. The “eye appeal” was lovely and it was all delicious. To go along with this I ordered a glass of “graves”, which turned out to be perfect with the fish. Jean had, in the meantime, ordered another glass of the excellent Rosé. Tony was, by this time full so did not order a desert. Jean ordered the “deconstructed” Lemon Meringue pie and I ordered the mixed deserts. Jean’s Lemon Meringue came in a large wine glass. It was a very light and fluffy lemon mouse with large crumbs of toasted cereal and small pieces of meringue folded in. Jean said it was lovely even though it was very “lemony”! In front of me was placed a large, crescent shaped glass plate. On this beautiful dish were five small “deconstructed” versions of the following. The same Lemon Meringue Pie that Jean had ordered. A small glass of a very strong chocolate mousse, a small, square dish of Coconut and pineapple Creme Brûlée, a Rhum Baba and a fifth that has totally slipped my mind. They were all delicious and a really great way to try most of the desert menu. Now for the mystery. We had intended on having a night cap in the restaurant. Tony likes a good Calvados and I love a good cognac. On the menu was a 12 years old Calvados and a Cognac XO. We thought that these would be a great way to round of a great meal. However, when we ordered the cognac we were told that there was none available. No XO, no VSOP and not even a glass of VS! We could not believe that this top restaurant, and in France of all places, had no cognac!!! Apparently, it had been ordered but had not arrived. The really strange thing was that the night before we had visited a bar that also had no cognac. Very odd. So, we decided to pay the bill and go in search of the elusive cognac. I did not keep an itemised bill but do remember the total. So, 5 glasses of top-quality wine. 1 bottle Perrier. 1 frog legs. Three main courses. 2 deserts. All of which were top class. €109 or £97 . Not a cheap meal but, we thought, worth every penny.