Tous Restaurant: an adventure of gastronomic proportions

Tous Restaurant was one the best happy accidents that have happened to me so far in Paris.

What is Tous Restaurant? Honestly, I’m still not 100% sure, but from my understanding, it is a two-week event throughout France where participating restaurants participate in the idea of “votre invité est notre invité”. Basically, it’s a two for one deal on a really nice dinner. You get two four course meals for a set price and it’s just fantastic. So a friend and I had stumbled upon the website promoting this event and, being the foodies that we are, started looking into restaurants to visit. We were only able to find the time to participate in two restaurants during the event, but they were two good, yet very different, experiences and I’m so glad we went. I just thought I would share with you, our gastronomical adventure.

The first restaurant we went to was probably one of the most religious food experiences I have ever had. The restaurant was called Les Comptoirs du Médòc and we had absolutely no say in what was fed to us all night. I’m still not entirely sure exactly what I ate but every bite was worth savoring and I truly believe it was one of the best meals I’ve had in France.

The first course was some mushroom soup with candied bacon on top. I don’t even know how to describe the flavor but it was amazing. Once we were done savoring that, we didn't quite know what to expect to come, being that they started off so strong. Next, we had the fish. Maybe it was the sense of mystery that was getting me so excited, but this fish was delicious. Following that was my personal favorite course, the duck. See, I have never had duck before so I didn’t know what to expect. Now I want to order duck every time it is an option. It was cooked to perfection and seasoned with I don’t know what, but it was glorious. They finished us off with some fancy profiteroles with chocolate cream and apricot sauce as if it could get any better. I had never been so happy with a meal.

I was a bit skeptical coming in knowing that I had no say in what I was going to be given, but I left wishing there were more restaurants like that(that I could afford normally) because it made eating an adventure. And the grand total of this magic meal, 70 for two plates aka 35 each. That is just crazy to me and we were so lucky to have that opportunity.

I am a bit bummed that we started off with such a nice place because I knew nothing would compare to that. The second place we went to, Au Petit Marguery, was good, but it was just a traditional french dinner. Started off with a foie gras that tasted like butter. Glad I tried it, didn’t really mind it, probably wouldn’t order this french delicacy again. The main plate I ordered was a pasta with pesto, muscles, and fish. This was actually really good. Very homey feeling and filling. Following that was a traditional french cheese course, which means you get three types of cheese along with a little salad. For dessert, I ordered a soufflé flambé which, apart from them setting it on fire in front of me like magic, was very underwhelming and extremely eggy. I've had better soufflé in the past. The grand total for this more traditional meal was 38 for two plates aka 19 each. So it was a stellar deal, but I wasn't the biggest fan.

So moral of the story is that if you happen to be in Paris during this event, and you happen to be a foodie and want to experience higher class Parisian food for half the price, find a friend and book some places for Tous Restaurant. 

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