The Bite Magazine

n an area famous for its street

performers, boutiques, bars and

restaurants lies a well-known eatery

famous for its delicacy. Its scrumptious

range of mouth-watering patisseries,

cakes and tarts never fail to draw huge

saucer-eyed individuals to indulge in its

heavenly richness. And now there’s even

more reason to get excited because PAUL,

the luxury French artisan and patisserie

have opened their very first restaurant.

Le Restaurant de PAUL which opened

in July this year is nicely located within

the vibrant surroundings of Covent

Garden. There are the usual delights in

the bakery and patisserie shop in the

front but stepping through to the back

(if you can tear yourself away from the

delightful goodies first) you’ll find yourself

in traditional surroundings reminiscent

of a French pantry. On the walls you’ll be

mesmerised by three large 19th century

murals inspired by the French Revolution,

complemented by soft grey coloured

banquettes and plush teal seating. The

restaurant retains much of its original

architectural features such as the wooden

ceilings, wainscoting and parquet flooring

while modern furniture such as black-

stained chairs, bench and bar stool seating,

industrial style wall lamps and chandeliers

create a nice intimate yet stylish French

dining experience.

The menu is quite extensive with a

selection of hot and cold starters, platters

to share, snacks and salads, main meals

with side orders, and of course bread and

aperitif to start. There is also an assortment

of red, white, rosé and sparkling wines

specially selected from different regions of

France and made by artisan winemakers

to complement PAUL’s French traditional

dishes. If you were expecting the usual

cuisine of escargot (snails) or grenouilles

jambe (frog’s legs) you won’t find any of

these at Le Restaurant de PAUL. For our

‘before dinner appetiser’ we had Kir au

Crémant de Bourgogne, a sparkling wine

mixed with peach and blackcurrant liquor

which were both delicious and refreshing

with champagne-like bubbles. Interestedly,

we were told by Luis, our host for the

evening, that the wine is made in much the

same way as champagne but uses natural

gas. Also, on the same menu, you’ll find Kir

au Vin Blanc, white wine with a choice of

peach, blackcurrant or blackberry liquor,

Pastis Picard, Bellerose Bière Blonde Extra

and Kronenbourg 1664. The French are

known for their love of bread and PAUL

is no exception. Banneton de Pain, an

assortment of PAUL bread served with

butter was a great start to the evening, as

was the Banneton de Gougère au Fromage,

a basket of PAUL Emmental cheese

gougère which reminded us of savoury

profiteroles with a nice cheese filling.

For our main starter, we decided to try

Charcuterie; a selection of cured sausage,

salami and pâté made up of saucisson,

jambon cru, coppa, rosette, terrine and

smoked duck breast. The meat platter

garnished with baby pickled onions and

cornichons (baby gherkins), and served

with butter and assorted PAUL bread

was absolutely lovely. If you happen to

be vegetarian or rather not have meat,

don’t worry, because there are two

vegetarian options available: Végétarienne;

a selection of grilled and marinated

vegetables with tapenade, aioli, humus,

sauce vierge and PAUL Emmental cheese

gougère or Petit Camembert au Four;

oven-baked Camembert with toasted

PAUL Campagne bread, mixed leaf salad

and balsamic dressing that may tickle your

fancy. The Petit Camembert au Four was

creamy and delicious with the rich melted

cheese dissolving in our mouths. Other

starter options include cold small plates

to share such as Selection de Crudités;

an assortment of raw vegetables, carrots,

cucumber, cherry tomatoes, radish, humus

and aioli, and Rosette; French salami with

cornichons and pickled baby onions. The

hot starters include Soupe à L’Oignon; a

classic French onion soup with Emmental

cheese and PAUL Flûte and Omelette

Nature; traditional omelette with

Provençale tomato and toasted Campage

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