The restaurant is tucked in Rue Des Grands Augustins, a small and narrow street filled with restaurants of haute cuisine. As we walked into the street from St. Michel, we were first met by Guy Savoy's Les Bouquinistes, culinary 'czar' as well as former mentor of William LeDeuil in his early days and who was right next door? His apprentice with Ze Kitchen Galerie.
The decor of the restaurant resembles that of a loft in downtown Manhattan with an open (and tiny!) kitchen separated from the dining room through a large glass window. The decor is simple, colorful and modern, where the main and only dining room holds about 40-45 tables at most. Apparently, the paintings and the menu changes every 5 weeks, so it would be good to come again and compare changes on the dishes and decor.
This contemporary bistro's staff was very attentive to our needs and questions and suggested a great and light Bordeaux red wine to accompany our meal. On the menu, the appetizers are divided into fish, pasta and broth and the main courses into fish and meat - and since we were 4, we decided to have a bit of everything. I had a lot of expectation for this restaurant, perhaps too high even, but the variety of flavors and colors and taste in the dish quickly took away my doubts. The presentation was fun, experimental even and the Chef deconstructs his ingredients to their core.
The menu is representative of LeDeuil's passion from his travels throughout Asia, particularly Japan and Thailand and this is represented in every one of his dishes.
Entrées:
We found the entrées to be strikingly Thai in presentation, ingredients and taste with a strong use of lemongrass, Thai herbs and coconut milk.
1. Marinated Seabass, Lemongrass and Kalamenji Condiment
2. Mushroom ravioli with shredded duck
3. Marinated squid, mussel salad
4. Calf sweetbread with green curry, coconut and ginger broth
Plats:
In contrast to the entrées, the main courses were very dependent on Japanese ingredients which was a great jump throughout the meal's 'journey' in Asia.
1. Grilled codfish with Japanese spinach
2. Grilled and marinated Wagyu Beef, accompanied by colorful vegetables
3. Fried soft-shell Crab and grilled Squid
4. Duck and foie gras with Plum and Mostarda Condiment
Desserts:
I'm not the biggest fan of desserts and sweets and I guess I was expecting something very Thai or Japanese for example Mango and Sticky Rice or something with Red Bean but we decided to try it out anyways and were met with a very Western take on desserts with a very subtle use of Asian ingredients, which could have been accentuated a bit more, in order to continue this trend of strongly using Eastern produce.
1. Fig tart with ginger ice-cream
2. White Chocolate, Wasabi ice-cream, Pistacchio-Strawberry Condiment
3. Pear, Peach and Ginger, Apple Sorbet
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the meal, the atmosphere, the decor - all and would definitely go back again!
Ze Kitchen Galerie
- 4 rue des Grands-Augustins 75006
- Tel: 01-44-32-00-32
- Métro: St. Michel
