Restaurant Maison Desamy — Restaurant in Fontenay-le-Comte

On the side of my previous challenges (trying every Michelin Star in Paris under a year and every 3 Stars in France - Follow me for all the reviews and updates), I also tried every Michelin Star in Vendée. So I was delighted when 3+1 new stars were announced in March 23.

If. What’s interesting here? The filiation, the langage and the charm of being lost in France. Quick trivia: this restaurant got its star in 23. The chef worked at La Marine a then 2 Stars which also got an extra star in 2023, being the first 3 Stars in Vendée. “If… and which is more you’ll be a man, my son” was in my mind when I ate there. The filiation is obvious with Alexandre Couillon (La Marine). And I’m not just speaking of the lacto fermentation. But he’s a bit less dramatic, tortured or even tormented than him. He’s softer. Which brings a fascinating (at least for me) point about the filiation, the language and the vocabulary. The chef, that I did not meet, speaks “Alexandre Couillon “, his previous mentor. To be more precise, he has his vocabulary. So at first you’ll find a profound connection between the two, until you realize it’s because he’s using a vocabulary learned at “La Marine” to express himself. “If you master a language… and which is more, you’ll be a free man”. That’s the fascinating part. He’s not copy/pasting. It seems that the learning gave him tools to express himself, and not just be a good student. To make it simpler, I’ve always hated the “my son” at the end of “if” (the Kipling poem). It deprives of freedom the son, and turn the entire thing into a long and frankly quite “challenging“ list just for pleasing a paternal ego. But if you focus on giving tools to express oneself, you give a voice. And having a voice, is having the freedom to express yourself. There’s a voice there in Maison Desamy. And I think the vocabulary was well taught. I know that Alexandre Couillon is not the only mentor in gastronomy, and he may not be the only one not focusing on “my son” but in “the language”. Or may be he’s not, and actually this chef just kept the language and dropped the rest. But I found it so striking here, that I used the opportunity to make the point.

One last “if” for the fun of it. “If there’s one place you want to be in France, it’s lost.” I should have written this review in French, because most likely, if you’re here, you suffered an horrendous automatic translation. But I made it in English for the very few non French that will reach this point. Once you’ve visit the French main sites you wanted, pick an etoile randomly, one lost in the middle of no-where, and you’ll really discover France. Watch them behave, watch the sales person pampering a client, watch the couples, young and old. And may be their English won’t be that good, which is even better, it’ll be fun! And that, in a place like this one, for the price of a single dish in Paris. For instance, here you can have a one star lunch for 29€/39€ (with dessert). I’ll strongly suggest you go straight for the tasting menu for his signature dishes. And you can have the local wine while you’re there. With the nice and refreshing service that goes along. Again, he’s not the only example, but he’s a perfect one of what you can enjoy outside the more touristic regions.

You may come here for the connection with La Marine, but you’ll come back for his particular voice. And if you came here randomly, you definitely came here by chance.

I’ll come back as soon as I can to see the evolution. It will certainly be...

Very nice restaurant with a great service and wonderful food. I went with my wife to this lovely place since it is rated the best restaurant in the area and we wanted a great French dinner experience. We were delighted although we had to drive for more than 35 minutes. Inside we found a nice open space with several rooms and a few tables in each room. There was basically only one menu with 6 different dishes in total to chose from. We got them all and each of them was a delight, not to forget the amuse bouche, which were exquisite. We also choose the comparing wines and they were a wonderful match to the different courses. The service was very friendly, attentive and professional although sometimes struggling to find the right English words to describe all the details. Since we are German, I don't even know whether we would have understood them in English. The price was appropriate for a star restaurant, not cheap but also not over the top at all. We can both highly recommend this place if you are up for a...

Pour le positif une ambiance parfaite. Table. Personnel. Tout est impeccable. C'est indéniable vous êtes ici pour qu'on prenne soin de vous. Pour le négatif mais ça reste très personnel puisque lié à mes goûts, je trouve beaucoup trop présente la formule des "mousses". Sur le menu de la semaine : mousse de chèvre frais, mousseline de céleri rave, et mousse de fromage blanc. Mon fils m'avait proposé de goûter une autre entrée de la carte. 2 sur 3 sont avec du foie gras, que je n'aime pas. J'ai donc pris la troisième et je me retrouve de nouveau avec une mousse tiède de champignons. J'ai été vendeuse en poissonnerie de nombreuses années je m'attendais dans cet endroit à un poisson plus "noble ou goûteux" que le merlu même s'il était parfait : bar, barbet, turbot, barbue... Et comme actuellement je suis vendeuse en fruits et légumes je suis également très attentive au goût de l'accompagnement. J'ai fait part de mes observations à notre hôtesse. Je regrette également que la pomme cuite choisie pour mon dessert soit si peu fruitée et acidulée. Je me demande quelle était la variété. Je pense qu'une variété différente serait appréciée. J'ai passé un excellent moment avec mon fils. On a goûté à beaucoup de diverses choses délicieuses. J'ai particulièrement apprécié la mini tartelette dès le début du repas. Le pain et l'eau pétillante également très bons. Mon fils et moi avons trouvé excessive la présence des fleurs en décoration sur les plats. Je pense que le rapport mets/tarif est déséquilibré face à des articles bas de gamme (merlu, blettes) même s'ils subissent une préparation soignée. Tout ceci est bien évidemment très personnel. J'ai mangé plus savoureux pour moins cher dans d'autres lieux. Il faut tenir compte du fait que tout a...