The only thing that’s certain at Pierre Sang on Gambey is the number of dishes you’ll consume – two, three, four or six courses, priced between €20 and €48 at lunchtime and €49 to €88 in the evening. Once you’ve chosen, the wait staff bring your dishes, but don’t tell you what was in in them until you’ve finished.
This sort of conceit makes the experience one big mystery, and means that every plate invites careful tasting and discussion. We were proud to have successfully identified butternut squash puree, sea bream and a divine lobster bisque. Mains brought beef cheek, parsnip foam, roasted salsify, chestnuts, mustard leaves and ‘Korean ketchup’ ssamjang (chilli, sesame oil, miso paste). To finish, blood orange ice cream, carrot and pistachio cake with lime foam. The service is charming, the seasonal dishes fresh and delicious, often with the South Korean touches associated with chef Pierre Sang, who was adopted by a French couple and grew up in the Haute-Loire.
Sang has become particularly well known in France after he got to the final of ‘Top Chef’ in 2011, opened his first restaurant Pierre Sang Boyer in 2012, then this one next door in 2014. On our lunchtime visit, he was passing between the tables in the pretty, understated space, talking animatedly about the Oberkampf suppliers he works with. He was also talking about creating a dessert called ‘Paris-Seoul’, his version of the famous ‘Paris-Brest’. Like everything else here, you’ll have to taste it to find out what’s inside.
TRANSLATION: ELLEN HARDY