The address 4, impasse Guéménée in Paris’s Marais is a popular one for restaurants. I have eaten at several different ones, all in the same space, beginning back in 2008, when Paris Update’s much-missed former restaurant reviewer, Richard Stephenson, discovered Les Côtelettes and proclaimed it his canteen. Unfortunately, it soon changed hands, and has continued to do so over the years. The good news is that the current incarnation, called Capitaine, seems to be here to stay, having already lasted eight whole years.
I finally got around to eating there and was looking forward to showing my friends what was once the favorite table of famed Belgian mystery writer Georges Simenon, the creator of Inspector Maigret. I had informed them in advance of the restaurant’s claim to fame, and they were almost as sad as I was that the plaque commemorating him had disappeared. Before leaving, I asked one of the servers what had happened to it. Apparently, it hadn’t fit in with the new “decor,” which, truth be told, wasn’t much: just a few pictures randomly hung on the wall, a red banquette, and wooden tables and chairs (although some of the latter are from Thonet). Or maybe the truth is that nobody reads Simenon anymore and nobody cares.
We were there to eat, however, not worship dead authors. Happily, Capitaine is far more successful at cooking – with great talent and creativity – than decorating. At lunchtime, the €36 fixed-price menu is a great deal, considering the quality of the food and the range of interesting choices (five for the starters, three main courses and two desserts or cheese). Two of the dishes had pesky supplemental costs (doesn’t that defeat the purpose of a set menu?) of plus €10 for the octopus starter with potatoes, a soubise sauce with nduja (spicy Sardinian sausage) and peas, and plus €20 for the main course of trout en croute with fennel, Meyer lemon, beurre blanc and garam masala. We all said no to the higher-priced dishes.
Nevertheless, we were all delighted with our choices. The winner may have been the fresh and refreshing raw mackerel with avocado and pickled vegetables and a creamy lemon-ginger sauce.
A close second was the combination of two tartares, veal and artichoke, with bagna càuda (an Italian sauce made with garlic, anchovies, red wine and olive oil).
The third starter we tried, pork ravioli with ginger and scallop coral in a flavorful broth, was no slouch either. In fact, it was a delicious gourmet take on wonton soup.
The meat lovers at the table were spoiled by a dish of tender pork cheeks cooked in red wine with miso, another Asian touch. They were served with a colorful assortment of veggies and green leaves.
None of us ordered the trout en croute, but another version of the excellent truite de Banka, top-of-the-line trout farmed in the fresh running waters of the French Basque Country (and here’s a juicy tidbit: their skin is used to make handbags), was also on the menu, served with a perfect hollandaise sauce, citrus fruit and croutons.
For dessert, one of our party chose the fine cheese offering: Camembert with mostarda di Cremona (an Italian fruit and mustard sauce; it looked and tasted a bit like honey, but with a slight mustardy zing) and mesclun.
Those of us who ordered the tartelette aux sucres (sugar tart) with vanilla ice cream were in heaven as we chowed down the sugary pastry topped with sublime crème pâtissière and the insanely good vanilla ice cream.
The pavlova with citrus fruits was equally creamy, but strangely lacking in fruit.
The captain of this ship is Baptiste Day, who is originally from Brittany but is obviously open to influences from around the world after his experience in some top Michelin-starred restaurants, including the three “A”s: L’Ambroisie, L’Arpège and L’Astrance, and more recently, Servan.
When I said that Capitaine was probably here to stay, I was basing that on the fact that the restaurant was full to the brim, even at lunchtime, not always the case these days, when many French people are following the American example and eating sandwiches or getting takeout at lunchtime. The service was friendly and efficient, and the atmosphere just right (no noise problem).
With the disappearance of the Simenon plaque, the address had lost a little piece of its charm, but the restaurant is still located on a lovely little cul-de-sac, still cozy and is serving better food than ever. I say, “Oui, mon Capitaine!”
See our Favorite Restaurants by Arrondissement page to find a good restaurant in the neighborhood where you want to eat.
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