Finally Septime
I’ve been longing to eat in Septime since 2016, without success; Paris is a mere 3-hour drive and we go there not infrequently if only for the sake of eating; yet our trip inevitably fell on a Sunday (Septime’s closing day) and we then left for home before the Monday evening unfolded; Last time we went as close as to Clamato, its casual seafood bar next door, which we found amicable and after lunch we had peeked through the blue-walled Septime with our misty tipsy eyes. ‘Oh I so wanted to eat in Septime’ I told Felice.
The truth is I’m intrigued by Septime: it appeared in dozen high-profile articles as a synonym of Parisian’s resurgence of neo-bistro (along with Saturne and Chateaubriand) and it has established a firm standing on the world’s 50-best list for some years now. On the other hand, it looks remarkably simple and linear throughout, from décor to dish to website. So what’s in the name?
Thus when we finally were able to get a table for lunch, I thought ‘right, now let’s see if I would be impressed or disappointed’.
But it was neither. I was immediately warmed to it, like eating in a familiar place and I wished it’s not 3-hour away from me, so we can return as frequently as we can, just like with Kamo.
Lunch menu is a short 5-course at a very modest price. Services have been kept minimum but still efficient; and the food…
It was all I want from a good meal: seasonal, ingredients-focused (imaging a spring garden on your plate), light, thoughtful (a lot of contrast with warm and cold, tender and crispiness) and good bread (sour dough of course).
It’s unstuffy and un-french, where my eyes and ears can reach, not even one single French! If it were in old times, we must conclude this can’t be a decent restaurant as it’s for tourists, yet a good sign in this new era of well-informed/heeled foodies from all over the world flooding into a number of famed restaurants, leaving the locals dining somewhere else.
Finally, do I think Septime deserves its ranking? Probably not, but who cares, the thing is I felt it’s all worthwhile. One may hold a grudge against it should this menu being priced above 100 euro, but at 60 euro for lunch menu and 95 euro for dinner menu; I’d say bravo! We’ll be back!
