Avec un nom explicite, vous ne serez pas étonné de découvrir ici une adresse bistronomique tournée vers les nectars. Ce bistrot est niché dans le quartier nord de la ville, de l'autre côté du pont du 22 Août 1944 et de la cathédrale Sainte-Cécile. Daniel Pestre est à la tête d'une affaire dotée d'une jolie terrasse et d'une cuisine gourmande. Daniel, meilleur sommelier de France en 2004, et son équipe vous feront découvrir les trésors cachés du vignoble de Gaillac - et d'ailleurs - avec entre autres le Domaine d'Escausses, l'Enclos des Roses ou le domaine des Terrisse. Quant aux assiettes, elles se parent de mille saveurs et couleurs, à titre d'exemple : tatin de courge et marron au caramel de noisette, tronçon de magret piqué de gingembre rose, filet de truite et gambas vapeur, chocolat liégeois du Chef...
Avis des membres sur LA TABLE DU SOMMELIER
Nous sommes venus plusieurs fois et nous reviendrons encore
Elegance in presentation is a given in "Bib Gourmand" restaurants, but as an excellent restaurant, the freshness of the food, mastery of cooking times, the appropriateness of dish combinations, and the quality of seasoning are the focus. The dish names are named based on the ingredients' combinations (in English):
????Crispy Shrimp Salad
This is an appetizer. What's delightful is the quality of the shrimp, which is tender and placed in crispy skin with a touch of salt, enhancing its freshness. It's a perfectly paired creative dish. The vegetable salad is slightly overdressed with vinegar, awakening the taste buds. The garlic sauce, pine nuts, and shoots are crushed and mixed into a sauce, creating a perfect appetizer. It's a dish where diners might want to use bread to wipe their plates clean.
????Raw Beef Tartare Salad
Naturally, raw beef is tender, combined with mushrooms, pickles, and seaweed. However, the seaweed, which is already flavorful when eaten on its own, becomes overpowering when combined with raw beef. If this dish had a more balanced focus on the raw beef, adding some flavors or textures would have worked better. Diners with sensitive digestion, be cautious.
????Fillet Steak
This is the main course, but the server didn't inform us that there's bacon in it! In France, bacon defaults to pork. Diners who don't eat pork should be cautious to avoid it! This steak is served fully cooked by default, and diners aren't asked about their preferred doneness when ordering. However, it appears that local chefs don't excel at preparing steak. In all the previous non-Michelin restaurants I've been to, there was an issue with overcooking the steak (including medium). If those chefs are just lacking in skills, trying a "Bib Gourmand" restaurant and still experiencing this issue suggests it might be a regional problem. Steak, when not prepared with any prior marination, grilled directly, or pan-fried, often leads to overcooking, causing a dry texture.
????Grilled Sea Bream
Luckily, the fish was well grilled with a perfect texture – tender flesh and slightly crispy skin. The sauce for this dish is the highlight, reportedly using saffron, butter, fennel, and mayonnaise, a style reminiscent of Marseille fish soup. The seasoning is mild, not overly salty. Diners who have lost confidence in French steaks might consider trying the grilled fish.
????Genius Desserts
It seems that the common issue with French desserts is excessive sweetness! Diners with sensitive tongues can tell: Things like walnut praline are not tasty, as they're very oily, with a strong pork fat flavor, which ruins the whole dessert! Walnuts, by themselves, have a limited audience. Adding them to a set menu isn't appropriate! Another peculiar dessert is the "parsnip" dessert. Parsnip, as a side dish, works well roasted, but when caramelized, it's unbearably sweet. Imagine extremely sweet carrots, daikon radishes, or zucchinis. These vegetables are sautéed with salt, so is making them into a dessert a good idea? Creative dishes aren't dark experiments; they should respect the inherent flavors of the ingredients and not be overly seasoned!
As for truffle cheese, I can only say that locals don't appreciate truffles like Italians do. The combination of dried truffle on the steak is more reasonable and far more delicious than truffle sauce stuck to cheese. Unfortunately, the menu doesn't clearly specify whether it's dried truffle or sauce!