Why is it that we – or maybe it’s just me? – have a tendency to avoid places that are close to us? I have known for a few years that Åke, only a few blocks from where I live, has a great reputation, but it was only quite recently that I actually got around to eating there.
The tiny restaurant – dark, warm and cozy in the evening, with a candle on every table – seems bigger than it is because of the mirrored wall in the back. This is yet another place serving small shared plates, something I used to love because it gave me a chance to taste many dishes in one meal, but have now tired of, pretty much for the same reason. When you really like a dish, you only get a bite or two of it, which can leave you feeling dissatisfied. You can always order another portion, but somehow the second one is never as good.
Maybe the problem is that there were too many of us the other evening: five. When there are only two people, you really get to dig into the shared plates. No matter. I can only rave about each of the dishes we had from the limited menu of seven, three of them vegetarian, two with meat and two with fish. (A reader recently complained that we never mention vegetarian dishes in our reviews, which gave her the impression that Paris’s restaurants were still not serving them, but that’s not true, so I will try to include them from now on.)
We ordered all seven of the dishes on offer, even though the friendly Australian server recommended two per person (whatever they recommend in this kind of restaurant is usually too much, as one of my friends pointed out). We asked that the dishes not be served at all at once, as they sometimes are, crowding the table and letting some get cold while diners concentrate on others.
Here’s a quick rundown of the creative dishes we ate:
An excellent pork and chicken terrine with pistachios and Armagnac.
Tasty carrots with apple juice, white-bean hummus and matcha salsa with almonds.
Tender gnocchis browned in hazelnut butter with gorgonzola, broccoli, puntarelle (a type of chicory) and walnuts.
One of our favorites: pork belly cooked “al pastor” on house-made pita bread with labneh (strained yogurt), coriander and roasted pineapple.
Lovely salmon en papillote with creamed leeks, sautéd spinach and dill.
Grilled Brussels sprouts with parmesan, made delicious even for those who hate these mini-cabbages, with fried shallots, citrus fruit and anchovies.
Hasselback (cut halfway through into thin slices) roasted butternut squash with bay leaves, squash seeds, feta cheese and aïoli. Another vegetable given royal treatment.
Since there were only two desserts, naturally we ordered both of them. One rivaled the other. Impossible to say which was the best, the pavlova with chestnut cream, yogurt, and ginger, or the “Semla,” a Swedish brioche with cardamom, almond cream and Chantilly. Both certainly disappeared quickly.
With its candles, dark shadows and shareable dishes, Åke strikes me as the perfect place for a romantic dinner for two.
See our Favorite Restaurants by Arrondissement page to find a good restaurant in the neighborhood where you want to eat.
Favorite
Thanks for the nice write-up. For two people, that’s an enticing line up of dishes to choose from. As we will be staying off Square Gardette for the month of April, Ake will be a pleasant walk. It is now on our “go to” list.