7.1 Le Tourrette, 70, rue de Grenelle in the 7th, 01.45.44.16.05 (Metro: Rue du Bac) has a minimalist fascade, zinc tables d'hote and counters and a menu that has something for everyone (I went for the poulpe and perdrix escabeche).
We started off by sharing a can of sardinellas, 42 mind you, which were enormously enhanced by some squirts of lime juice (which we requested) , but still were simply canned sardines.
They may have been standard but the mains were, as Chirac used to say on the Guignols - "Top Top"
- ceviche of daurade (not perdrix as I had hoped for) with picos bleus, whatever they are and whatever they were, they were great, in a glorious sauce. (Colette declared this cerviche the best she has ever had)
- 3 gambas with a white garlicky cream sauce with white Soules grapes soaked in sherry that Colette thought had never seen a garlic but was still wonderful and
- Galician (you know, the area around the Spanish Food Central - Santiago de Compostela) poulpe, with gently warmed potato slices. (a terrific dish!)
Bread was good also. Two complaints...... it took a long time to be served the first dish (sardines) and then there was a pretty long wait for the other dishes - sort of surprising since the resto was not full. Secondly, the stools at the long communal table were very uncomfortable - Colette will take a cushion to sit on next visit.
To finish up, Colette has a rice pudding with caramel sauce and the boys shared one of the best pain perdus of my life. Very good coffee.
Our bill, with a bottle and a glass of wine (comp'd), no bottled water but 2 coffees, was 118 E or 78 E a couple.
Go? He may not be related to Bernard Loiseau and worked at the quirkily named Australian place Alfie & Hetty, but he also cheffed at Bistronautes and managed to transmorgrify that experience into this Iberian paradise.
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