Disclaimer: I was a guest of the property for this meal.
I’ve walked past the picturesque front of Le Cochon à l’Oreille countless times, but it wasn’t until recently that I got the chance to try the plays on French classics being served in this charmingly cramped dining room complete with tiled images of nearby les Halles at its most bustling.
Founded in 1905, this restaurant is everything you expect from a classic Paris bistro, complete with red banquettes, tiled floors, a beautiful bar, and slightly harried service. In the kitchen, Chef Teodore Apostolski is putting his Michelin-starred past to good work in slightly revitalizing French bistro classics.
There’s an ever-changing lunchtime prix fixe – 21 euros for two courses or 25 for three. And while they certainly seemed tempting, we opted to go à la carte.
My dining companion started with the organic egg with fresh veggie macédoine and mayonnaise (10). This dish is a great indicator of a restaurant’s quality, seeing as about 85% of versions thereof are depressing, with soggy, canned vegetables rendering the mayonnaise too wet. The secret is to make a much thicker mayo than you’d think and to really remove any excess moisture from the veg, both of which Apostolski definitely did. The reward was a perfect version of this dish, complete with seasonal peas, carrots, and some rounds of crunchy fresh radishes.
I can never resist a salade lyonnaise (11), typically made with sturdy and slightly bitter frisée. Here, a more seasonal sucrine – a relative of romaine – was used instead. The chef opted to keep the wedges fairly large, which kept them from wilting beneath the hearty topping of poached egg, two kinds of lardon, and gésiers (gizzards). I loved having the larger thumb-sized pieces of bacon in with the smaller matchsticks, and the flavor of this was perfect, down to the bacon fat used to emulsify the vinaigrette.
It’s common, in restaurants, for appetizers to wow and mains to merely stay the course. But here, the main dishes were even more delicious than the appetizers. This play on a beef bourguignon (26) made with paleron (chuck) simmered in robust Cahors until fork-tender was lovely, and the mushrooms had soaked up the relatively thin gravy to become little flavor bombs.
I opted for the lamb “millefeuille” (28) made with layers of slow-cooked Lozère lamb, braised Swiss chard, and slow-cooked slices of potato all enrobed in a mint-infused garlic cream. The savory lamb was pull-apart tender, and the caramelized layer on top was sinfully delicious, like scraping the fond from the side of a braising pot.
Some dehydrated and pulverized black olives were scattered over the top, lending a lovely brininess to the otherwise rich dish, and a pile of lettuce dressed in a simple vinaigrette provided the ideal foil.
We had no real need for dessert, but that didn’t stop us from ordering it. From among the classic options of crème brûlée (10) or chocolate fondant (10), we gave into the dessert of the day: a berry crumble tart. This was astoundingly good, with a buttery puff pastry base topped with a thin layer of almond frangipane, which soaked up all of the lovely berry juice, and a just-sweet-enough crumble on top. I might have liked a touch of crème crue on the side, just to make it more of a “dessert,” but honestly, it didn’t need it.
There is a slightly-less-charming second storey of this restaurant which seems chiefly to be used for groups, something that slowed the service somewhat on our visit. But honestly, it was lovely to be able to linger over these surprisingly innovative plays on bistro classics that have made this my new favorite spot in the former belly of Paris.
Le Cochon à L’Oreille – 15 rue Montmartre, 75001