Montmartre has many, many restaurants, but few that deserve special mention. That has now changed with the opening of Le Matré, a little gem hidden on a side street off the beaten tourist track.
Despite a mixup over our reservation, which turned out not to exist (my fault), the friendly co-owner – Chloé Magel, partnered with chef Lucas Tresse, both alumni of Yves Camdeborde’s L’Avant-Comptoir – found us a table in the small, simple dining room with an open kitchen in the back.
The five starters on the menu all sounded tempting, e.g., langoustine bisque with Thai touches. Instead, we opted for a seasonal dish of autumn morels, chestnuts and hazelnuts in a creamy sauce, a luscious combination of flavors that had us sighing with pleasure.
Could the main courses possibly be up to the level of that starter? They certainly were. Mary was thrilled with her tender grilled échine de porc (pork shoulder), the best she’d ever had, she swore. It was served with more mushrooms – chanterelles and girolles – à la bordelaise (in a red-wine-and-shallot sauce).
I was just as happy with my poitrine de veau confite. Veal can sometimes be rather dry, but not this succulent and flavorful piece of meat, served with a lovely celery purée, jalapeño pickles and the cooking juices.
After all that joy, we felt just slightly let down by the desserts, which were very good but lacked that little something extra to make them unforgettable. One was a baked apple stuffed with almond cream and served with mascarpone, and the other was a pear emulsion with a chocolate cookie and pecans. Since they were not very sweet, they both could have done with a flavor booster.
Aside from that little drawback, we were more than ready to welcome this new addition to the Montmartre dining scene, with its reasonable prices and competent, amiable service. I’m already looking forward to a return visit.
See our Favorite Restaurants by Arrondissement page to find a good restaurant in the neighborhood where you want to eat.
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Not everyone who reads your reviews is a meat eater.
Good point. Thanks. In fact, nearly every restaurant in Paris now offers a vegetarian (but not necessarily vegan) option. When we went there, Le Matré had “creamy riso with parsley, button mushrooms, squash seeds and Comté crumble” as well as a fish dish.
Can that be? A three course meal for 20 Euros? In Paris?
I went on their website, but there is no menu posted.
Yes, it’s true! And it’s good.