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Gâteaux Thoumieux
Add: 58 rue Saint Dominique, 75007 Paris
Tel: +33 1 45 51 12 12
Hours: [Mon-Sat] 10am~8pm [Sun] 8:30am~5pm (closed on Tue)
Website: www.gateauxthoumieux.com
Price: €2~5/pastry
Visited on: Nov 2013
I was very excited about Gâteaux Thoumieux, the new pastry shop from famed French chef Jean-François Piège. I had been to his Brasserie Thoumieux once and remember fondly of his beautiful and delicious tarte au citron, so right when his pastry shop opened about 3 weeks ago, I went in for a look.
A soft blue-green interior, which can be either soothing or dull depending on your taste.
Jean-François Piège was there himself, arranging the pastries on display and serving clients. His pastry chef in the kitchen is Ludovic Chaussard, previously at Ducasse, Fauchon, and Tour d’Argent among other establishments.
The selection includes petits gâteaux (tarts, eclairs, choux, etc.), gâteaux de voyage, macarons, viennoiseries, and breads.
Having really enjoyed Jean-François Piège’s tarte au citron at Brasserie Thoumieux, of course I had to try the sablé breton/crème légère citron (€3.50). The look itself was already appealing, with droplets of lemon cream neatly arranged on a sablé breton, which is a buttery shortbread cookie originated from Normandy, France. The taste, however, was quite disappointing, as the lemon cream had an eggy flavor that I personally find unpleasant. Bummer.
Tarte poire/caramel au beurre demi-sel (€3.50), a pear tart with slightly salted caramel, not bad.
Saint Dominique (€1.2) is basically brioche bread with cream in the center, and slightly sprinkled with brown sugar. Not wow, but it’s simple and good.
Brioche au praliné (€1.50), a favorite of mine on this day, it’s a mini brioche filled with hazelnut praliné and topped with crumbles.
Kouign Amann (€2), a Breton cake made with layers of butter and sugar folded in bread dough. Buttery, sugary, yum.
Canelé (€2).
Quick verdict after this initial visit: not blown away by the petits gâteaux, but liked the viennoiseries. It is worth noting that the prices are Gâteaux Thoumieux are surprisingly affordable, with everything in the €2~5 range. I might not make a trip just for the pastries here especially given its distance from metro stations, but if I’m in the area (let’s say to have dinner at Les Cocottes or lunch at Les Fables de la Fontaine), I’ll drop by again for a few more tries.
So disappointed to read that the tarte au citron was a let down! Certainly proves that appearances aren’t everything.
Disappointing indeed! However I did go during the first few days of its opening, so perhaps the kitchen was still tweaking things. We should give them a few more weeks and try again :)