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Restaurant David Toutain
Add: 29 Rue Surcouf, 75007 Paris
Tel: 01 45 50 11 10
Hours: [Mon-Fri] 12~2:30pm, 8~10pm (closed Sat & Sun)
Website: davidtoutain.com
Price: [lunch] €42 [tasting menu] €68~158
Visited on: Sep 2014
I first tried David Toutain’s cuisine at Agapé Substance, where I had one of my most memorable meals since moving to Paris. This young chef, having worked with some of the world’s top chefs like Bernard Loiseau, Marc Veyrat, Alain Passard (Arpège) and Andoni Luis Aduriz (Mugaritz), opened his own restaurant at the end of 2013 to much public acclaim. The style remains the same – clever, beautiful small plates made up of pristine ingredients – except it all tasted even better than what I remembered from two years ago.
In terms of space, Restaurant David Toutain is much more spacious and airy compared to Agapé Substance. Service, warm and friendly.
Carte blanche tasting menu can be either €68 or €98 depending on the number of courses, with optional wine pairings at additional cost. During lunch time, a three-course menu is available for €42.
We chose the €98 tasting menu, an extended affair of 15 courses that started with boeuf, framboise, parmesan – beef carpaccio wrapping raspberries, topped with parmesan.
Petit pois, berce, orange – puree of green peas with berce (an herb) and orange confit.
Paired with a glass of white from Domaine Emmanuel Giboulot Terres Burgondes (€12).
Mûre, bettrave, oignon – blackberry, beetroot, red onion, and the black soil-like grains are dried beetroot bits.
Oeuf, mais, cumin – half-cooked egg with dried corn, cumin-spiced caramel, served with corn bread.
Tomate, fraise, amandes, basilic – tomato, strawberry jelly, fresh almonds, and basil powder (the black is from red basil, and the green is from green basil).
Brioche, foin – brioche bread served on a bed of hay, with salted butter from Normandy.
Cabillaud caramelisé, courgette – caramelized codfish with zucchini.
Calamar, speck, ail confit, kale – squid stuffed with speck ham, served with garlic confit and crispy kale.
Saumon confit, carotte, crevette – salmon confit with carrots in a shrimp broth.
Followed by a glass of red from Domaine Nivet- Galinier Côtes du Roussillon Les Aspres.
Anguille. sesame noir – smoked eel in a puddle of black sesame sauce, with hidden cubes of green apples.
Then we got to choose a knife…
Volaille, bouton blanc, noisette, benoite urbaine – chicken, white mushrooms, hazelnuts, and benoite urbaine (an herb).
Comté 48 mois – comté cheese of 48 months (note: most Comté cheeses are aged from 12 to 18 months, so this one is pretty special).
Chou fleur, chocolat blanc, coco – mousse of cauliflower and white chocolate with coconut sorbet.
Figue, aubergine – fresh figs and dried figs with aubergine sorbet.
Financier, truffe au chocolat – raspberry financiers and chocolate truffles.
Yet another memorable meal from David Toutain, with each dish being a pleasant surprise that demanded for (and easily got) our attention. A fun ride!
