Like the “Americans” we are, my family and I went to Le Sergeant Recruteur for dinner at 7pm (very early!). The menu is very simple, with 4 choices each for an appetizer, main dish, and dessert, for a total of 50 euros per person. The interior is impeccably decorated, with long mirrors hung on brick walls and simple furniture. The same man who seated us and took our orders also made the food, and served us some amuse-bouche (it turns out he was the chef!), until a waiter arrived. This is the type of restaurant that Le Sergeant Recruteur is: a sleek interior expected from the cost of the menu, all the while being convivial and approachable.
The dinner started with two amuses-bouches. The first was a gruyère gougère, with a delicious strong taste and perfect balance between a moist interior and crispy exterior. The second, a light butternut squash mousse with caviar, also played with texture between the light mousse and crunchy caviar. Both amuses-bouches were delicious, so I knew the rest of the meal would be amazing.
And the appetizers were amazing. I opted for a marinated gravlax salmon with wasabi mayonnaise. This dish represented with I loved about Le Sergeant Recruteur: starting with a classic French dish, and adding a twist. In this case, the twist was the wasabi mayonnaise to add an unusual depth to the flavor, with some radish and seaweed.
Another possible appetizer was the goat cheese raviolis with vegetables and black olive crumbs. This dish had a softer flavor made interesting with the vegetables, and really played with the textures: the crispiness of the olive crumbs and the creaminess of the warm goat cheese.
A third appetizer was a yellowtail carpaccio with seaweed salad, the appetizer of the day, also delicious.
Now onto the main meal: a duck magret with butternut square purée and Chantenay carrots. This dish was the perfect duck magret with a twist, unsually paired with black olive crumbs and parmesan crisps.
It tried two desserts. The first was a chocolate-caramel cake made of caramel mousse, tonka beans, and feuillantine, a light and crispy dough.
To conclude this already amazing meal, the second dessert – the dessert of the day – was a mandarin tartlet with whipped cream and meringue. It was light, fruity, and delicious.
If you want to try traditional French food, with a slightly modern twist, in a beautifully decorated but unpretentious setting, Le Sergeant Recruteur is the place to go. And the chef and servers are extremely kind.
Location:
41 Rue Saint-Louis en l’Île, 75004 Paris
Mana Mana 