Dersou
Add: 21 rue Saint Nicolas, 75012 Paris
Tel: 09 81 01 12 73
Hours: [Tue-Fri] 7:30pm-12:30am [Sat] 12-3:30pm, 7:30pm-12:30am [Sun] 12-4pm (closed on Mon)
Website: www.dersouparis.com
Price: [lunch] €20-30 a la carte [dinner] €90-130/set
Visited: Apr 2015
Please note that as of this week, Dersou is no longer open for lunch on weekdays.
Last week’s lunch at Dersou. This neo-bistro in the 12th is the joint effort of Japanese chef Taku Sekine (Ducasse Tokyo, Fish, Saturne, and Clown Bar just to name a few) and cocktail specialist Amaury Guyot (Sherry Butt, Prescription Cocktail Club). Dinner here is an elaborate cocktail pairing menu (five courses for €90, seven courses for €130), but lunch or the after 9:30pm seating is a much lighter affair with a one-page a la carte menu, and that’s what we went for.
The food here, probably best described as free-style, is a mix of the chef’s past experiences and changes everyday according to what he has on hand. Here’s the menu on the day of my visit to give you an idea of what you can expect. I really came for the Japanese curry with Chanllandais duck because I had seen a delicious photo of it on Instagram just the evening before, but alas by the time we arrived Dersou for our late lunch, the curry was already out.
So instead I stole plenty of bites from my friend’s “Ma Po tofu, poivre de Sichuan” (€14), spicy tofu with Sichuan pepper served over rice. I probably ate half of this plate…could barely stop my hand for diving in for yet another spoonful.
“Tajine d’agneau, semoule aux fruits secs” (€15), lamb tajine, couscous with dried fruits, not bad but less memorable to me in comparison to the Ma Po tofu.
Coffee and dessert time (cue happy music).
“Cheesecake, caramel, glace banane” (€8), cheesecake topped with grapefruit chunks, drizzled with caramel, and accompanied by banana ice-cream. I quite liked the bitterness of grapefruits balancing the sweetness from the cheesecake, and was very intrigued by the texture of this ice-cream, which was almost sour cream-like and melted much slower than regular ice-cream. I shall remember to ask them next time how this is done.
“Tres leche, glace cheese cake” (€8), Spanish “three milks” cake served with cheesecake ice-cream. The traditional Spanish version is a sponge or butter cake soaked in evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream. I’m not sure how Dersou does theirs, but the texture is extremely soft and fine. Very delicious but quite sweet, definitely needed to be paired with a cup of tea or coffee. The cheesecake ice-cream was lovely as well and had the same intriguing texture as the banana ice-cream.
Cafe creme (€5), which came in the cutest ceramic cup. Apparently many of the clay ceramics at Dersou are hand-carried back from Japan by the chef himself.
I went back again on a Sunday to try Dersou’s brunch. Those are my pancakes being cooked…
Pancakes with fruits and cream (€13), so fluffy! One of the best pancakes I’ve had.
Avocado toast with poached egg (€13), like a garden on my plate.
And why not have a cocktail during brunch? Morning drinking ftw. I tried two cocktails on this morning (€11 each I believe) and both were very good, though their names escape me…
On another note, I’m very in love with the Dersou’s shabby chic decor and furniture.
As of this week Dersou has stopped lunch services on weekdays, so come on Saturdays and Sundays if you want to enjoy this space in natural light. Otherwise, come at 7:30pm for their cocktail pairing menu (reservation required) or a la carte dishes (no reservations, seats upon availability).
