One evening during the week, my friend suggested we try a restaurant she had seen mentioned a number of times recently. My preference for trying new restaurants is the one mentioned by word of mouth, those that everyone tells you about, saying “Keep this little gem a secret.” It so happened that Le Cottage had also crossed a number of friends’ lips, so I was more than willing to say, “Let’s go!”
The restaurant is in one of the wee old houses on Grand Case Boulevard. Drive past the restaurant on the one-way road and carry on until you see a parking sign on the left. This is a paid parking lot, a mere $5. The parking attendant is very particular about just where you park; he then asks which restaurant you are going to, hands you the business card and the chit for $5. The restaurant will reimburse you by either giving you cash when you hand over the chit or deducting from your bill.
Our welcome at Le Cottage was warm; we were shown to a table in a corner surrounded by chalk boards with whimsical sayings. The restaurant is not large, just a couple of tables are on the roadside of the veranda. If you want to sit in this prime position, you’d need a party of four or six. At the back is a large bar – not one that patrons sit around – and opposite the bar is a fabulous glass fronted wine cellar behind which is the kitchen.
The décor of Le Cottage is subdued in burgundy, browns and white, making a perfect backdrop to the wonderful plating placed before you. A small chalk menu of specials of the day was presented although none caught our eye; the regular menu sounded so good. My friend and I could not decide what to have and as we both enthused over the same dishes, we decided to order and share every plate.
We started with an asparagus soup that was adorned with a strip of crispy bacon, a slice of toasted sourdough topped with bacon and interestingly a bacon mousse, beautifully presented. We were told that it is best to take a spoon of soup with a dab of mousse in one mouthful. Yeboy!!!! What an explosion of flavours!
We then shared a dish that we both said we would definitely return for – Foie Gras Lasagne. The depth of flavours in this simple dish was astounding. Homemade sheets of lasagne were layered with pan-seared foie gras then everything was coated in a foie gras sauce – heavenly, simply heavenly.
Our third course was good, although I have to say that the flavours of the preceding dishes overwhelmed the delightful eggplant that came with a side of risotto and a lovely fresh arugula salad. The eggplant was garnished with a parmesan crisp.
Our fourth dish was out of this world, especially for lovers of duck. Comprising four ways of presenting duck, the eye-appeal was inspiring and the portions generous; it was certainly a filling dish. Toasted sourdough was on the plate so that one could spread the rillettes of duck thereon. Across the top of the side salad bowl was a slice of the same toast with a generous portion of pan-seared foie gras. There was also a bowl of perfectly cooked duck parmentier as well as slices of roasted duck breast with foie gras gravy. Serious stuff – this dish.
With the drinking-driving laws on the French-side, we just went along with an excellent rose house wine, water and of course the proffered passion fruit rum shot at the end of the meal. We simply could not have any dessert, although we were tempted.
Info:
Le Cottage
97 Boulevard de Grand Case
Phone: 590 05 90 29 03 30
www.lecottagesxm.com
Open: Every day 5:30-10:00pm
Cuisine: French
Good: Wine selection, service, menu
Price range: $$$
Credit Cards, Cash
Reservations: Good idea
Ratings:
Staff friendliness: *****
Service speed: *****
Restaurant cleanliness: ****
Food quality: *****
Value for money: ****
Ambience: *****
