Page 272 - The Bite Magazine - Issue 11

In 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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