Os a Moelle

I had reserved a table for two at L'Os a Moelle for Saturday night at 19.30 and I couldn't help smile when I saw the restaurant on the corner close the Lourmel Metro station. If you don't know what it is you would mistake it for just another local bistro. The chalkboard sign displaying the 5-course menu for €36 is a hint that there's something unusual inside this place. We were greeted by the sommelier behind the bar when we entered and shown to our table in the only room of the restaurant. The next table was just a few inches away and its occupants looked a bit suspicious when I uncovered my camera. The restaurant filled up with a very mixed crowd right after we arrived and it was filled when we left some 2 hours and 40 minutes later.
 
They have no menus in the classic sense, your choices are presented on big chalkboards that the staff carries around the room (and they have one in English, thankfully). The menu is based on a soup, a cold entrée, a main course, an optional bit of cheese and salad and dessert. When looking at the menu nothing feels budget or held back here when compared to the gastronomy restaurants, there's quail, oysters, duck, forest pigeon, foie gras and so on. Every dish has 2-4 choices where some command a premium in the order of €4.
 
We were first treated with a small glass of mushrooms and chorizo soup below some kind of foam. I'm not usually a big fan on mushrooms but this one disappeared in about 2 seconds. The cold leek soup came next, it was presented as a bowl with chorizo slices, crutons and sliced leek. It was light and fresh with the right amount of bite from the chorizo and a few chilli flakes to make it interesting.
 
Next was a chest, thigh and egg from a quail and bacon, coleslaw and some salad. The bacon was very hard fried but had a strong lovely taste which the egg, coleslaw and salad provided some freshness and refuge from.
 
We chose duck and forest pigeon for mains, both commanded a €4 premium. The duck was very delightful with its acacia honey glazed skin, although I was a bit surprised to see the entire foot and claw still attached to the thigh. The pigeon was accompanied by roasted potatoes and wild mushrooms, it was a little bit too rare for us and there were some unidentifiable bits we really didn't want to eat.
 
The optional cheese was a creamy, mild version served to calm you down from the mains, I suppose. It was served with a red baby spinach salad with a light vinaigrette and was the perfect thing to prepare me for the dessert. We had a chocolate dumpling with saffron-sauce and poached apricots with mandarin sorbet. The nougat in the dumpling was one of the best desserts I've ever tasted, the chocolate was creamy and yet firm and in plenty abundance. The poached apricots left more of a mixed impression, sure it was good but it was just not that special. The mandarin sorbet tasted very good and strong but slipped around on the plate when I tried to carve it with my spoon.
 
When all was finished I ordered some espresso with a dash of cream in it. Literally within 10 seconds I had my arabica coffee which was served with a bowl of the best chocolate truffels I've ever had. When I later checked my tab I saw that this cost a total of €3, I believe insane value is appropriate here. The total tab landed on €104 for two with a bottle of Riesling that went well with the mains.
 
Every dish was special and craved for attention without resorting to molecular gastronomy or other spectacular tricks, they are all based in the classic French kitchen but with their own twists. Some work better than other but you can really feel that Faucher has really tried in creating something with every one. The most amazing thing about L'Os a Moelle is the special feeling of a food temple once you enter though; the humble staff, the happy diners, the unpretentious design, the warm atmosphere and the focus on creating a culinary experience in a relaxed setting.