Paris Restaurant: La Ferme Saint Simon

Lobster salad, (all images by Le Grumeau) 

The reopening of the restaurant La Ferme Saint Simon is without a doubt one of the events of the 2014 culinary season after months of well-deserved hype. This mystical Parisian restaurant address had lost some of its glamor in the past; however, with a new team that has strategically rethought the menu and interior design, it’ll be as chic as ever.

From now on, it will be open seven days a week

and we were easily seduced into going there for lunch. With that being said, we would have needed to win the lottery in order to pay the 80 € per person (not including alcohol) bill. To be honest, the 29 € lunch deal (appetizer-main dish or main dish-dessert) was very appealing, but we decided to skirt away and order from à la carte. 

Cochon du lait 

I ordered the salade de homard breton et jeunes pousses (Breton lobster salad with sprouts). The pistachio vinaigrette had an oomph to it that elegantly perked up the sometimes bland crustacean. It was a beautiful homage to a classic. My friend treated himself to the velouté aux legumes oubliés (rustic vegetable cream soup of forgotten -old-fashioned- vegetables); everything was there, from the smoothness of the soup which was well blended to the powerful and hearty flavors of the vegetables. In short, it was a meal not to be forgotten.
The cochon de lait de Bigorre (Bigorre suckling pig) did not disappoint: crispy, meaty and moist. It won me over. The millefeuille de pommes Charlotte (potato mille-feuille) that came with it could have been its own meal, both flavorful and devilishly crispy.

Soup of forgotten (heirloom) vegetables

Next to the ris de veau (veal sweetbread) which was blissful and tender; the purée de vitelottes à l’ail rose (mashed rustic potatoes) was out of place. My buddy had a hard time stopping all the same. It’s maybe because he knew that any idea of a diet would be lost once the desserts were served. Following, we had a tarte au citron (lemon tarte) which was quite well-made and flavorful in taste, a delicious yet quite filling millefeuille praliné (praline mille-feuille), and an aromatic soufflé au chocolat (chocolate soufflé) accompanied by tantalizing glace vanilla (vanilla ice cream).  

We definitely recommend that you reserve a table at La Ferme Saint Simon, where they serve a very fine bourgeois menu that’s far from being stuck in the past. Admittedly, the ensemble of everything lacks a bit of creativity, but we are agreeably surprised by the transformation of the establishment. Hats off to the owner – the brilliant architect Marcelio Joulia who is already in charge of the Parisian restaurant l’Unico. Keep a lookout because word of mouth is already doing its job and this Saint-Germain-des-Prés brasserie should quickly sell out despite the rather expensive menu.
Alice Ngo is the founder of the food blog Le Grumeau.