Tartare d’Huitres de Marennes, Saumon, relevé au Gingembre; Pied de Porc Pané, Pomme Purée maison
As one of the best chefs in Paris (he won 2 Michelin stars at Les Ambassadeurs at Hotel de Crillon), it’s our good fortune that back in the late 1990s, Christian Constant decided to lead a bistro movement with several young chefs, serving classic yet affordable French cuisine in neighbourhood bistros. [PS this is a different Christian Constant from Christian Constant, the chocolate genius]
I have yet to try neither the other bistros by his protégés (which have also had great reviews) nor his main restaurant, Le Violon d’Ingrès but I was looking for great bistro food and given excellent reviews around many foodie websites, I dragged my 3 accommodating (thank you dears) travelling companions to rue St Dominique (without even checking if they were open – many other places I’d called were closed that May weekend) on Friday night, keeping my fingers crossed even as they looked so pitifully hungry and were asking me if I had any backup plans. I lied and said yes – partially true since we could always just go to my regular eats near Sorbonne even if it would mean taking the metro again and walking some more and I wasn’t sure they would have survived that.
Thankfully it was open. The place was packed and there was a queue in front of us – the place does not take reservations (though I have read somewhere that they might do for 5 or more people), but the chef’s Scottish wife, Catherine Constant, gave us a warm welcome and chatted with us and the other customers at the bar as she helped us to choose a light aperitif while we waited for a table (this took about 20 minutes).
As we were at the bar, I kept looking round at what one man was eating – since he appeared to be enjoying himself greatly – I asked what it was and he was full of praises for it – from his conversation with the staff it was clear that he was one of the regulars. But he was not the only one; there were loads of local residents in the place.
The menu is written up on blackboards and placed on your table before you order, with about 6 or 7 selections for each course, and selections for each course priced the same (except for one or two things needing modest supplements).
Food was good and in sizeable portions though some of it was rather forgettable – in particular one of the plats Escalope de Veau, Cordon Blue, Tagliatelle au Beurre was really a bit too normal and while the desserts were standard bistro choices and provided a really sweet way to end of a filling meal (eg the Millefeuille au Vanille, while a million miles away from the fine pastry and supposed 2000 layers in Pierre Herme’s millefeuille, tasted so richly of vanilla pods it was good even if not fine), they too were uninspired.
Of course though, that is sort of the point – you go to your local bistro for good comforting food rather than anything fancy. In other words, this is the perfect kind of place to bring one’s parents to (or anyone else with conservative taste buds and scorn for paying for haute cuisine).
Really good stuff were my entrée, Tartare d’Huitres de Marennes, Saumon, relevé au Gingembre, which was chopped raw salmon and oyster with ginger and spring onion served in the oyster shells; and my friend Lips’ plat, Pied de Porc Pané, Pomme Purée maison, done alla Milanese but was incredibly tender (just like confit de canard).
When I passed by the kitchen I saw Christian Constant at work, explaining something very seriously to another chef – I guess that’s the point of having all your restaurants on the same street, you can always keep on top of things!
Around 10 pm, people were still wandering in but last orders had been taken so they had to be turned away looking very disappointed but promising they’d be back.
All in all, the bill came up to €150 for four (including service and our aperitif plus my extra glass of white wine) – an absolute bargain for a good hearty meal, friendly service and a lively local atmosphere. Haute cuisine this isn’t and even if not all the food was as brilliant as I hoped for, I still wish Café Constant was my local!
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Café Constant
139 rue St. Dominique
Paris 7e
+33 (0)1 47 53 73 34
http://www.leviolondingres.com/eng_menu.htm
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