Places that don’t take reservations often make me nervous – probably because I hate waiting in line for food. But I’d gladly wait for a table at Le Richer, a 9th arrondissement restaurant with a short, seasonal menu of delicious dishes from Chef Charles Compagnon of Le 52 and l’Office.
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect of Le Richer, which brands itself as a bistro and is open all day every day, from 9am to midnight. I thought I’d be stumbling into something with more of a café vibe, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that tables are scattered through the double dining rooms with quite a bit of space afforded between neighbors. Small touches like gorgeous stemware and lighting that evolves over the course of the afternoon and evening truly transform it into a restaurant by 7:30pm, when the kitchen opens for dinner service.
The menu changes frequently with the seasons, with four appetizers and four mains on offer at any given time, at least one of each of which is vegetarian. Appetizers on this particular visit included split pea velouté with parsnip, parmesan, and cumin as well as omnipresent burrata, here served with tapenade and croutons.
We opted for crab cakes spiked with Cajun spices and served atop cauliflower purée. Bright red cabbage pickles lent a lovely vibrancy to the plate and the palate.
A homey, rustic slab of pork and rabbit terrine was surprisingly lean and generously studded with prune. A puddle of gelatinous aspic lent another layer of umami, and a fresh herb salad and red onion pickle were excellent accompaniments.
It didn’t need bread, but I was glad to have this crusty, rustic sourdough anyway.
Cod was the fish of the day, served atop a pile of buckwheat tagliatelle and sprinkled with toasted kasha. I abstained due to deathly allergy, but I was assured that the pasta was delicious, with a subtle buckwheat flavor and a lovely vegetal note from the sea lettuce cream sauce. Leaves of sweet shallot and a smattering of fresh herbs were pretty finishing touches too.
This generous portion of slow-cooked lamb “al pastor” was a unique play on the Mexican classic, served with perfectly cooked broccoli (a boon, in France) and a generous hand with the toasted black sesame seeds. Beneath the tender lamb redolent with sweet pineapple and present but judicious spice (we are, after all, in France) was a pile of braised spinach, which lent even more earthiness to this combination. It was a total winner of a dish, and I could have easily sipped that sauce with a spoon.
It was almost impossible to pick from the dessert assortment, which included a play on chocolate mousse with oat foam as well as a selection of house-made ice creams. It was the latter that sealed the deal on our choices, which we picked as much because of how good they sounded as because each one came with a quenelle of the aforementioned. Due to a slight miscommunication with the kitchen, they came one at a time, which suited us fine: We were splitting, and it gave us time to dig in before the gelato (quickly) melted.
The first, then, was this pear moelleux, made with a rich almond batter and filled with a rich, thick substance that may well have been pear jam. The bites of cake were settled atop a bergamot-scented whipped cream and topped with pears in syrup. An almond ice cream at the center brought the dish together beautifully.
It had keen competition with this coffee-scented cake topped with coffee chantilly and paired with house-made coffee ice cream. Peanut praline atop the cake and below the ice cream lent a touch of richness to this dessert that almost seemed like a French play on a tiramisu.
The service here was genial and lovely, and we enjoyed the selection of wines by the glass. The only low point were the cocktails we ordered to accompany our dessert, which arrived too warm and felt far from finished.
Le Richer – 2, rue Richer, 75009