Mais c'est de la merde!

De Vin sur Vin

Well, not really, but it was rather revolting. I had read nothing but raves about Vin sur Vin, that small restaurant by the Eiffel tower that supposedly had rare wines and simple quality food.

One thing is true: the view on the Eiffel tower when you exit the restaurant is awesome.

De Vin sur Vin

The place is rather comfortable and a bit too precious. Lentils are used to decorate the table as well and as an awful turtle surely made of smuggled forbidden animal matters. The place is inviting at first but a closer look reveals some suspect detail: a loud-speaking maître d' not perfectly kind with our German neighbour who was unhappy with her Champagne (he was happy to change it and drink it, he said).

De Vin sur Vin

And mostly a menu that only has the appearance of simplicity. Indeed, what makes the menu simple is not that it is particularly short (there are six starters and six mains) but that dishes are only listed as their main ingredients (le ris de veau, le canard, etc.) and that the menu is handwritten, suggesting market-based cuisine. When you ask for detail, however, the usual pointless sophistication is back in the oral description of dishes. And finally there is the famous wine list, of which I'll only say what a co-diner said: it's more expensive than Robuchon in Montecarlo. indeed there may be rare wines but the prices are Arpègesques, if not Monégasques.

De Vin sur Vin

To be fair, the main ingredients, as listed in the handwritten menu, are of very decent quality and their cooking/seasoning is good. The galette de pied de cochons with which we all started, with a small slice of foie gras on top, was exactly what the name says. No seasoning, no acidity, no sweetness came to give it relief, but it was gelatinous as it should be, warm, tasty, with fresh herbs to lighten it...some.

De Vin sur Vin

My sweetbread itself was as it should be, on a brochette (made with a big tasteless vanilla bean), crispy outside and exactly cooked inside, without any dryness or pinkness. It came with a (normal, wooden stick) brochette de légumes that was dull, and a veal demi-glace that was crap. I don't want to talk for my co-diners, but apparently it was the same gig: decent main ingredient, crappy overall dish (lamb came with raw cauliflower, duck with an overcloying sweet sauce. At ca. 100€ pp with one of the cheapest winse we could get and no dessert, coffee or cheese, the bill was hardly friendly.

De Senderens

(Senderens' Dacquoise, on another day -- good luck taking night time pictures at Senderens!)

At that point we decided to head to Senderens in the hope of saving the night foodwise, knowing as I do that desserts are always awesome there. But it was written that we would have a crappy food night and, as we decided to get some savouries instead, we got KFC-like fried langoustines (actually, KFC is often better than that), a partridge that had probably been good the day before, and veal that was tender with an inept side originally conceived to go with sweetbreads and Gewurtzraminer VT. That said, desserts were awesome as always, with wonderful wine pairings. At Senderens.