8. April 2012: Restaurant Maison Blanche
When you enter the Restaurant Maison Blanche you have to go downstairs, enter a tiny elevator which takes you up to the actual restaurant where you are welcomed at the desk and brought to your table (reservation recommended). If you are located on the upper floor you get a spectacular view all over Paris – and if you are in the far left corner you even get to have a look at the Eiffel tour. Marvelous, I must say!
As soon as you are seated you are already welcomed with an amuse bouche from the kitchen which was in our case some kind of brown bread bread with blue cheese. The amuse bouche was nice but not really surprising or outstanding but it was a nice gesture from the kitchen.
We were brought the menu – which was already a good start because the woman got a different kind of menu than the man – one without prices (just the way it is supposed to be in a good restaurant). We decided to go for the “Menu Dégustation” (EUR 110.00 per person) which started with “savoyard ravioli” (velvety Jersulem artichoke purree, nuts, and crispy onions of Cevennes). The ravioli itself was good, the purree of the artichoke was very tasty and last but not least the crispy onions and the nuts gave it this little special combination of taste which was great.
As a second course we had the “French free range egg” (with grated botargo soba pasta and multicolored seaweed). The pasta was good but not as surprising as you would want them to be, the combination with the liquid egg and the seaweed (three different kinds) made it pretty tasty in the end.
As a third course, “the pan-fried duck foie gras with red kidney beans infused with miso and daikon preserve” was served. The foie-gras was delicious. It was fresh, good stuffed, fat and tasty. The kidney beans which came with it provided it with the accurate balancing effect. Very rich in taste and marvelous combination of fat and heavy (but so delicious) and balancing.
The fourth course finally was “the salmoun trout (with fresh watercress purree with mussels and oat smoked Napoleon, trout pearl eggs”. The trout was well grill, had a good taste, the watercress purree gave it an appropriate balance, the sauce was very smooth and went very well together with the salmon and the pearl eggs.
The real main course was a “lamb three ways, swiss chard and crushed dried tomatoes with an olive Taggiasca sauce”. The lamb was very tender and cooked perfectly rose as it has to be. The olive Taggiasca sauce in combination with the dried tomatoes provided it with the right spice up. Definitely tasty but not outstanding.
As an intercourse from the kitchen we got a pineapple compote in order to digest a bit before the desert. It was small, tasty and help to distribute the contents of the stomach a bit.
As a final course I had the “vanilla panna cotta” with violet ice cream. The desert was fine but it was not much more than that. Compared to the other dishes it was a bit of a disappointment.
To sum it up, if you are going to the Restaurant Maison Blanche it is definitely recommendable to take the “Menu Dégustation” although it costs a bit. But the dishes are prepared in a very fine way and are very good – only the desert was a bit of a downturn.
When it comes to the atmosphere, I already mentioned it before, the view you have is amazing, and the interior itself is very appealing. Definitely the perfect place for a romantic evening for two. When it comes to the service, the service was on a very high level and it varied from person to person. While some made it perfectly (refilling of glasses, bringing and taking the dishes from the correct side), others failed in doing so – for example the chef de service just took our plates from between us at once instead of taking them individually from the correct side. But it must be said that the waiters are well-trained and do mostly very well. Also, the sommelier which was more a sommelieuse did a fine job as she recommended a red wine which fit all the courses pretty well (a Chassagne Goujonne, 2009, EUR 84.00). For the quality of the wine and the match with the courses the price was very fair – also the price for water is quite in the range of normal (0,5L water accounting for EUR 6.00).
To sum it up, the restaurant Maison Blanche is highly recommendable: the atmosphere and view are truly amazing, the dishes are very, very good, the service is very well-trained (okay, there is room for improvement) and does a good job and the prices are high but acceptable for what you get. It is crucial to book a table in advance though and when you fill out the form on the webpage I would clearly state that you would want a table on the upper floor and ideally with view onto the Eiffel tower.
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Contact Details:
Restaurant Maison Blanche
Avenue Montaigne 15
75008 Paris (F)
Tel.: +33 1 47 23 55 99
Fax: +33 1 47 20 09 56
Homepage: http://www.maison-blanche.fr
About the Author: Sven
I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org.
Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City. 
