On the tail-end of what proved to be an ultimately disappointing visit to the much-lauded Halle aux Grains, I finally made it to le Camondo – yet another restaurant inside of a museum. But whereas the former felt cold and unremarkable, at Le Camondo, Chef Fanny Herpin is crafting masterfully warm iterations of French classics, with dishes that truly merit the slightly higher prices.
Le Camondo is located where the 8th and 7th arrondissements meet, not far from the Parc Monceau and adjoining the Musée Nissim Camondo, a private mansion since transformed into a museum dedicated to French decorative arts. The restaurant is known for its leafy terrace, but given the autumnal weather, we instead settled into the atrium-like dining room to dig into Chef Fanny Herpin’s delightful plays on French cuisine.
We started things off with salmon gravlax – a mild play on the cured fish dish marinated in vodka and served with a smattering of pomegranate seeds and sumac-topped crème fraiche. Devoid of the smoke or pronounced herbal character of other cured salmon dishes, the fish was truly the core flavor here. If you like salmon sashimi, this is an appetizer for you.
Far more evocative of the technical prowess I recognize from Herpin’s previous stint as the chef at Allard was the pâté en croûte: a mainstay on the menu at le Camondo, studded, on this particular visit, with pistachios, foie gras, and morel mushrooms and served with a sweet-and-sour fig and cauliflower pickle. Pâté en croûte can be a total stodge-fest, but this one was really excellent, with precise seasoning and a lovely, buttery pastry casing.
It should come as a surprise to no one that I am totally one of those people who examines the menu in advance of turning up at a restaurant, so I already have a basic idea of what I plan to order when I turn up. At le Camondo, I was leaning towards the Guinea fowl with roasted quince, mushrooms, and potato purée, which my friend ultimately ended up ordering. It was truly delicious: a testament to the fact that a restaurant that can roast a chicken (or related poultry) well does it better than pretty much anyone else. The jus was richly flavored and the pintade perfectly cooked and juicy.
The potatoes, served on the side in a nod to my friend’s dairy intolerance, were simple but well-executed.
A side of pommes grenaille, offered in substitute, were far more interesting and autumnal – and indicative of this restaurant’s far more American perspective on menu accommodations. (Also of note: the fact that Chef always has at least one plant-based item in each section of the menu, clearly indicated with a green dot. On this visit, vegetarian appetizers included burratina with roasted beets, radish kimchi with tonka beans, and “perfect” egg with butternut squash, while the main saw a Jack-be-little squash stuffed with smoked tofu, cashews, goji berries, and a vegetarian gravy.)
If I deviated from my intended main, it was because I glimpsed this lamb situation while waiting for my friend to arrive and was so bowled over by its beauty (and aroma) that I couldn’t help but order it. A top-quality “Petit Prince” lamb shoulder is slow-cooked for 12 hours until it’s fall-apart tender. Studded with almonds, it’s served in a loosely packed disk surrounded by seasonal vegetables, roasted garlic mousse, and a fragrant juice. I was absolutely bowled over by the flavor and the judicious use of salt that gave the dish a one-two punch of flavor just this side of over-the-top. It was truly pitch perfect.
A basket of familiar Poujaran bread accompanied our meal.
To finish, we dug into a special edition dessert for Pink October: a Rose de Damas with rose cream, fresh grapefruit, litchi sorbet, and loads of confit fruit peel. The dessert is part of an initiative to raise money to fight breast cancer, and three euros is donated to an association searching for a cure with every order placed.
Alongside some buttery madeleines – served with chocolate sauce for dipping – it was a lovely way to finish the meal.
The delicious cuisine here is supported by an attentive, detail-oriented staff. My only complaint would be a lack of lunch menu, as the prices here can climb, particularly given that the midday menu is exactly the same as the evening one. That said, with the generous portions and top-quality products used here, it’s well worth the slightly higher prices.
Le Camondo – 62 bis rue de Monceau, 75008