I will admit that I was nervous when we walked into Le Cotte-Rôti last weekend and found the place barely half full. Had I only imagined that it was so good last spring? Had there maybe been a drop in quality since my previous visits? Was I crazy?
No, no, and no.
For starters, we had ravioli filled with pétoncles (a kind of small scallop) in a light-as-air but intense lobster emulsion, and it was more than good enough to forgive the silly garnish on the plate rim. The octopus in the salade de poulpe was some of the plumpest, most tender I’ve ever had. A “feuillantine” of sardines and delicate greens between two sesame wafers made us talk about when we would next eat sardines.
Two of us ordered the black risotto with palourdes, intense and savory, with an almost meaty quality that put it closer to paella in my mind. It was delicious, as was my crispy poitrine de cochon – that’s a thick piece of bacon to you and me – served with orzo in a creamy tomme sauce.
By some miracle my cholesterol remains in check.
This is not a perfect restaurant. Dessert was a forgettable fig melba, and our server seemed cranky and distracted and determined to practice her English even though our table was two-thirds fluent in French. (I speak it passably, not fluently, but the friends I was with have been speaking couremment for years). The brown and orange color scheme and strange layout of the place will not win Le Cotte-Rôti any stars for decor. But I really don’t care about any of this, particularly at 32 euros for entrée, plat, and dessert.
We skewed our bill by splurging on a 2007 Dagueneau “Blanc Fumé de Pouilly” but the surprise was an affordable sparkling Saumur, called “Bulles de Roche” from Thierry Germain. I mean it when I say “surprise”, because it was not at all what we ordered.
It’s the kind of mistake I can forgive, especially during a meal so unmistakeably good.
Le Cotte-Rôti, 1 Rue de Cotte, 75012 Paris, +33 (0)1 43 45 06 37