La Grenouillère — Restaurant in Montreuil-sur-Mer

The chef doesn't like when people take pictures so that people can enjoyed their meal, focus on their food and be surprises so no pictures in this review :) We had a beautiful experience their for my boyfriend's 30th birthday. There were 6 of us and we were given the table facing the kitchen. There you get the memorable and immersive experience to be in Alexandre Gauthier's kitchen. It feels like you are in a Netflix episode of Chef's table as you see the incredible ballet of people and duties happening! We indulged with 4 bottle of wine which we were very happy with and a bottle of Cider which was an unusually good idea! We had the tasting menu (155euros for 11courses) and added the frog legs supplement (the classical ones with garlic parsley were best, I found). We had a beautiful time and particularly enjoyed La Raviole Rouge, le Sandre, the mimolette bite and all of the nibbles we had for aperitif. We also had the privilege of having the chef personally serving one of the dishes to us. Tableware was beautiful. The space is a play between light and shadow. It has a lot of modernity to it mixed with the classical countryside details of the imposing chimney or heavy wood tables. Bread was delicious especially the wholemeal one. Butter was too mild temperature for my taste, making it too liquid and spreadable. Careful to not indulge too much on the bread as you are very full by the end of the menu. We also had the opportunity to stay on site in the lovely rooms where a lot of thoughtful details are included. From the infusion in the drawing room when you arrive, to the fresh apple juice and waffle In the room, including the Davines bath and body products in the bathroom. The breakfast was also a nice moment with some eclectic selection of tastes, nothing being quite classical (rhubarb jam, fennel and vergeoise brioche, propolis honey...). A beautiful memory and hope to be back...

After finishing both challenges (trying all the Michelin 3 Stars and all the Parisian stars in 365 days), I’m now redoing a lot of them but also trying the “main” 2 stars. Indeed, during my tour, I often ask chefs for 2 Stars advices and La Grenouillère name came up several times amongst their recommendations. So here I was. Please note that this review is one for the restaurant.

So what’s extraordinary here? Well a word of advice and a second one. First one, is that indeed, La Grenouillère is often mentioned and expectations can be high, but more importantly, distorted. Just like a movie, after hearing so many feedback, your experience may be polluted. So my first advice would be not to read to many reviews about it (which is a bit ironic coming from me, I admit…). Why? Because some reviews may induce you to go into an intellectual read, where I think one must first simply relax and experience it before thinking of it. It’s a challenge indeed, not only because as I said you may have hear of the chef and his cuisine before, but also the atmosphere, the design, the foodie crowd may incline you to it. Resist. And let yourself dive into the nature first. The freshness of the radish. The pear. The scallops. Just enjoy it, and then enjoy them, and then you may wonder how they are connected, what effect they produce on you and so on. But the last part is an option, or at least a consequence, not the goal. I guess the goal is just to bring you closer to his nature, by that I mean region, by breaking it down and playing with it. The crowd was foodies and couples. The wine list had some the right names on it. A very...

We stayed in one of the glamourous huts and treated ourselves to the tasting menu for an evening meal to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. It didn't disappoint. Fun amuse bouche with our aperitifs and impeccable meal beautifully presented and tasting fabulous. Our waitress Clara was an absolute delight - very knowledgeable about each course and explained the accompanying wines (we elected to have the 8 course tasting menu with matching wines) with authority and enthusiasm considering her young age. Each course was a delight but I found the most innovative one was the 'Cuir de courgette Jaune' - amazing how our 2* chef transported the humble yellow courgette into something remarkable. A chicken breast melted in the mouth and the accompanying salted brioche was delicious. Alexandre Gauthier is a master craftsman taking his love of herbs and nature to another level with his wonderful food. The breakfast was a delight too with amazing smoked ham and cheeses, delicious home made rice pudding assorted berries and juices. Can't wait to go back but will have to save up as it...