I first visited Le Grand Bain back when Ed Delling-Williams was in the kitchen, and I fell hard for the creative, intricate, internationally-accented locovore fare, from the savory cakes made from thin slices of potato to salsify served with crispy chicken skin. I loved that the menu featured so many options in a wide range of categories from hors d’oeuvres to plant-based fare. And my heart went boom for the lardo-draped cheesy goug“ères.
I haven’t been back to le Grand Bain in years, and since my last visit, things have changed, notably in the kitchen, now helmed by Canadian Emily Chia.
Friends, it’s just as good as it ever was.
This beet salad paired red and golden beets with sautéed beet greens and a pile of whipped goat cheese. A lemony salsa macha wasn’t terribly spicy (I’ll survive), but the bright whole mint leaves and masterful approach to the whole vegetable made this a winner in my book.
Panisses – fried chickpea wedges from the French South – were tender and almost eggy in texture and perfectly paired with a curry-spiked “magic” mayonnaise.
Seeing as sharing is the mot d’ordre at Le Grand Bain, this dish of thinly sliced raw scallop under a pile of even-more-thinly-sliced fennel fell a bit flat. Hard to share and hard to see in the dark dining room, it nevertheless boasted a lovely interplay of sweet plum, sweet scallop, and a touch of brine… when all of the elements could be located and enjoyed together.
This seasonal dish of a duo of winter squashes with “café de Paris” sauce – a buttery puddle of cream, shallot, tarragon, and caper – very nearly became my favorite dish on the new menu. The sauce, which could have very easily accompanied a steak, was the perfect foil for the sweet squash.
But the gougères, which retain their eggy, cheesy heart and their delicate lardo topping, remain the menu stalwart for a reason.
A special shoutout, too, to the world-class service (congenial, smiling, anglophone, and present without being obtrusive), the excellent bread from the bakery next door, and the top-notch natural wine list.
Le Grand Bain, you’re still a star.
Le Grand Bain – 14 Rue Denoyez, 75020