Les Prés d'Eugénie - Eugénie-les-Bains
View from the hotel lounge
Rating: 18/20
Where: Eugénie-les-Bains, France
When: Dinner for 4 on 15 May 2022
Cost: Tasting menu 275-310 Euro
Accolades: 3 Michelin Stars
Why: Seasonal, light French cuisine, expertly executed; wonderful service, beautiful setting
Les Prés d'Eugénie is a restaurant located (as its name suggests) next to Eugénie-les-Bains in south-western France. It is part of a gorgeous palatial hotel complex with extensive grounds and greenery, akin to a French chateau. The restaurant has held three Michelin stars continuously since 1977, all under the same chef.
Our dinner began in the hotel lounge with an aperitif and appetizers. First, we tried a truffle and cheese puff: nicely cheesy, truffley and tasty, but a bit heavy overall, especially as an appetizer 18. Next to it was a tartlet with lobster salad and topped with a light foam. The tarte was wonderful, having just the right amount of crunch and lightness, but the lobster filling was merely so-so, I would have preferred it to taste fresher 17.
There were two regular and one vegetarian tasting menu to choose from. Most of our party went for the longer regular menu. However, one of us chose the vegetarian menu, which on the downside meant that he had to "sit out" a couple of courses - staring at an empty charger plate -, but on the positive side this request was accommodated without any issues; many restaurants would have forced the entire table to pick the same menu. A wine pairing was available, and it was no problem to adjust this one as well to be more red-wine-heavy. Yay for good, flexible service. This wine pairing was the best match for the food on our trip so far, featuring many local Sud-Ouest wines.
The main dining room at first glance evoked the formal feel of an old chateau: the walls decorated with oil paintings and the tables covered with white table cloths. But there were also some rustic elements: walls with exposed brick, and a ceiling full of unpainted wooden beams. Chairs with wicker seats also seemed a surprisingly casual choice.
Our first course was a fig leaf and onion consomme with pieces of caramelized onions. On the side we received a herb brioche with a thick slice of foie gras terrine. The consomme could have been served warmer, but was otherwise excellent, bursting with flavor of roasted onions - yum! By itself, this would have rated a 19. The brioche was not quite as memorable, but still very good with texture added by poppy seeds, pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds. The foie gras served as a nice topping for the bread. Overall 18.
Next came grilled white asparagus served over a pear compote. Also on the plate were a fritto misto of sorrel and apricot (that I was so excited to eat that I forgot to take a photo), as well as a miso foam. The fritto was fine, maybe a 17. The asparagus was pre-cut into bite-sized chucks, so I didn't have to contend with any stringiness as at the Auberge du Vieux Puits the previous night. However, even though the miso foam was great, the asparagus itself had close to no taste. Overall, this was not as good as the preparation at the Auberge 18.
A "Tsarina Egg" was an egg shell filled with caviar over a cream laced with vodka jelly and croutons. Next to it was a blini topped with the same sauce and caviar as well as chives and shaved egg yolk (I believe). The blini was amazing, with a great smokiness (not sure from where), just the right level of cream, and saltiness from the caviar - easily a 19. The cream in the egg shell however was a bit too much in my opinion, with an oddly fruity taste, probably from the green banana listed as an ingredient on the menu. The caviar by itself was very good, though 17.
Where there is caviar, truffles can’t be far. The next course was a vichyssoise topped with white Alba truffle foam and a slice of local black truffle. A Parmesan cheese crisp completed the dish. I thought the soup was fine (my dining companions wished it had been warm, not cold, but that's unlikely to happen with a vichyssoise in France). The crisp was very good, the foam on the other hand tasted only of mushrooms, not of truffles. Maybe because white Alba truffles are not in season? 17
A small mackerel (lisette) was served sashimi-style under a crisp flavored with aniseed; next to it were slices of red beet dressed with a sauce of beets and local white wine. The mackerel was aged, and not fresh or raw, which we might have preferred. The beets however were perfectly done and lovely 18.
Next was lobster smoked in its shell, apparently an overnight preparation. Some parts of the lobster were topped by coconut foam, others rested on a caramelized onion, and all were served with a sauce of orange and lemongrass. The lobster piece together with the onion it was resting on were superb, easily a 20. The medallions of lobster with coconut foam were also very good, and the local pinot noir paired with the dish was a perfect match 19.
Slices of foie gras were served under a medley of organic vegetables, and with a sauce of foie gras and espelette pepper. That sauce was wonderful, as was the foie gras which seemed to be covered with a crust of caramelized sugar. An outstanding dish, and very light considering it starred foie gras 19.
For the main savory course we were given a choice between lamb and pigeon, and opted for the former. Different cuts of lamb were served with a roasted salad, mushrooms, purslane gnocchi and lamb jus. The salad did not taste of much, but the lamb was cooked excellently 18 (my dining companion would have rated it a 19).
The pescatarian replacement for the lamb was a turbot served with caviar and vegetables. This was similarly very good 18. The vegetarian main dish, gyoza with vegetables, was reportedly a bit lackluster.
An unusual intermezzo followed: "mushroom dimsum", which was really a mushroom ravioli submerged in a sauce infused with truffle and green asparagus. The sauce was delicious (19+), the ravioli still very good, but not quite as outstanding 18.
Citrus from the restaurant's garden was served in pieces and as a sorbet with Armagnac and herbs of the garden. I loved the bitter / sour / sweet combination that was dominated by the lemons 18. (The rest of the table was less enamored, and would have rated this dish a 16 or 17.)
Time for a final salvo of mignardises. Pudding with a rhubarb ice cream was excellent, the rhubarb adding a welcome amount of sourness to the sweet pudding 19. A strawberry tarte with roasted strawberries was less successful, the berries a bit overcooked to my taste, and with the dough per fruit ratio being too high 17. (The rest of the table vehemently disagreed, and suggested a 19.) Finally, fresh strawberries served hanging from a little tree were nice, but not at the level I've had from Harry's Berries in southern California 18.
After this, we were ushered to the lounge, so that "the tables can be prepared for the next service". Here we were served a final bite, a chocolate mousse with black garlic and balsamic vinegar. This was a wonderful combination, delicious and quite audacious - one can imagine a myriad of ways in which these ingredients could become a train wreck. This was even better than the black garlic "dessert" at Frantzen 19.
The service overall was very good, the maitre d' welcoming and unfussy. I loved how accommodating everyone was to our modifications of menus and wine pairings. What at first glance had an air of formality was actually a very enjoyable, relaxed dinner. I wouldn't necessarily wear a soccer jersey like a diner at a neighboring table, but jacket and tie territory this definitely is not.
While we didn't see any children in the restaurant itself, the services on offer were impressive indeed: babysitting, playrooms, babycams and even tablets for restless small diners. We might just come back with our twins one day.
Overall: The most impressive thing about this dinner was its consistency, not a single dish was disappointing. The cooking was very assured, sticking mostly to traditional flavor combinations, but occasionally veering off-script with great success (e.g. the dessert with black garlic). A very enjoyable meal with excellent service 18.
