The restaurant Le Rempart is located in a hotel with the same name. There is in fact the restaurant, as well as a low key bistro, located at the opposite side.
The impressive building was a 15th century guardhouse, built on the ramparts that were surrounding the city, hence the name Le Rempart (The Rempart), and their logo that is everywhere.
The decor is pretty elegant and it is definitely one level up from Pierre the restaurant that we visited the day before. At the entrance is a very small lounge where you can enjoy a drink from their large selection of alcohol.
Then, the tables, not too close to each other.
The menu, crafted by Chef Sylvain Gohier is very elegant, with an outstanding presentation that would make you think that the Chef is a painter and the plate his canvas. Again here, the food is not only for the pleasure of the palate, but also for the pleasure of the eyes. Showcasing incredible creativity, the Chef interprets dishes from different regions of France, sourcing the high quality ingredients he is using from French producers.
We decided to start our meal with the house cocktail, made with whiskey, sweet wine (it might have been martini) and Pacherinc.
With it, they served us some amuse-bouche.
It was composed of:
Goat cheese
Tomato with chorizo
Tuna
They then served us bread and butter.
Jodi picked the cereal bread
And I picked the olive and tomato one.
Then, we all got a petit consommé de petits pois avec son anchoïade or peas consommé with anchovy cream.
It started well! I love these little amuse that you get in restaurant of this caliber, because it opens your appetite.
For the appetizer, I got the boeuf Charolais servi en tartare, copeaux de Cécina, Jaune d'oeuf confit et pissaladière aux anchois de Sicile. That is: beef tartare with yolk confit and pissaladière made with anchovies from Sicily.
I tried beef tartare in the past, but did not like it. I was thinking that in this restaurant it would be fantastic; and I was right! It was succulent, the meat (boeuf Charolais is top quality beef) being very good, cut in very small cubes, giving a bit of texture compared to the ground meat I got in the past, that gave a mushy feel. I definitely discovered, if not re-discovered beef tartare there.
Jodi got the saumon bio marqué au Fer rouge, tartare au citron Cedras et oeuf de poisson volant, sablé Parmesan et vinaigrette de betterave, or: organic salmon marked with an iron, tartare of lemon from Cedras, flying fish eggs, Parmesan crisp and beets vinaigrette.
The salmon was delicious: simply cooked, it was a great piece of fish, very fresh. I liked the flying fish eggs with it as they added a delightful bitterness and saltiness to it.
For my first entree, I had fish. Yes, I wrote first entree, because they propose a menu with fish and then meat. It was a bar de chalut cuit lentement, avec gnocchi de broccoli et écume de langue d'oursin or slow cooked bar fish, served with broccoli gnocchi and a sauce made with sea urchin.
It was a succulent dish, the fish being cooked perfectly and very moist. I truly appreciated the fact that the light gnocchi had a very slight broccoli taste.
In fact, Jodi got the same dish, but, as it was from the menu and not prix-fixe, she got a bigger portion and a totally different presentation.
The meat dish was agneau de lait d'Aveyron, carré servi rosé, avec asperges vertes or lamb rack cooked pink with asparagus.
This was definitely my favorite dish: the meat was so good, tender and tasty with a nice charred fat, that I wish they had more. If you like lamb, I really recommend it. However, I did not like what was under that was surely not polenta, and had a weird taste.
After the entree, they served us the cheese course.
Yes, they brought the cheese cart and as Jodi put it, you could hear angels singing when they opened it! I could pick three different ones from a large selection of French cheeses. I chose:
Brillat Savarin, a triple-cream cheese made from cow's milk:
Epoisse (soft cow's milk cheese from Bourgogne):
Tomme de Corse (from sheep's milk):
It was served with une pâte de coing or quince jelly.
Then we got a pre-dessert that was a crémeux de fleur d'oranger, purée de fruits rouges et chantilly. Meaning: orange blossom cream with red fruits purée and whipped cream.
And dessert: that time, I went for the Grand-Marnier soufflé that did not only looked spectacular, but was succulent (and big).
It was served with a lemon sherbet and a muffin that I really did not care about.
Jodi got a selection of sherbet and ice cream.
At that point, I was so full that I did not even think about writing down the flavors. We were also trying to figure out if the decorations on the plates were handmade. The answer from the waiter was funny: "We hired an artist and taught him how to make desserts".
And they stuffed us with some cookies as if we still had room after such a feast...
I could not eat anymore and regretted not wearing stretch pants...
To accompany our meal, we got a white wine: Chassagne-Montrachet premier cru 2008.
And a red: Chambolle-Musigny 2011.
Both were proposed by the sommelier who did a great job advising about the wine. When asked if he prefers red or white with cheese, he interestingly said that he prefers white, because cheese would reveal too much the tannins of the wine, making it bitter, and vice-versa.
This was a fantastic evening and dinner, in a nice place, with an outstanding service. Considering this and the cuisine perfectly executed by the Chef and his crew, I would not be surprised that a second Michelin Star follows...
Le Rempart
2 Avenue Gambetta
71700 Tournus, France
Enjoy (I sure did)!
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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!
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