France: A visit to 2 Michelin Starred La Grenouillère

Our visit to La Grenouillere in Montreuil-sur-Mer was long in the making. One of my friends had visited the 2-Michelin-starred restaurant and raved about it. It’s chef, Alexandre Gauthier, is a bit of a rock star in the foodie world. He caught the eye of President Obama after serving him local Licques chicken at the Paris COP21 conference and then in 2016 Gauthier was named France’s top chef by Gault et Millau Guide. In some circles this trendy guide is even more prestigious than Michelin!

My friend went on to say it wasn’t the pretentious and overrated “experience” you can get in some of the UK’s top restaurants (not naming names but seriously do you need to serve a meal with an iPod piping in the sound of crashing waves). Plus La Grenouillère is nearly half the price of somewhere like the Fat Duck (oops, I named names). Then I saw this video and just had to try it!

So we planned our weekend around a meal at La Grenouillère! Montreuil-sur-Mer has a reputation as “La Destination Gastronique!” There are lots of foodie shops in the main Square, an awesome Saturday market and very reasonable restaurants and bistros with top-notch food. You can read all about our trip, including where to stay, on my accompanying post: Girls’ Foodie Weekend in Montreuil-sur-Mer.

Our evening started with a very pleasant walk along the medieval ramparts and river, arriving at La Grenouillère after walking through a field of poppies. After a warm welcome (sometimes English speakers don’t get this in France), we were  given the choice of where we wanted to sit for our pre-dinner drinks. Being the middle of summer we choice to site in the lavender-filled garden, though I’m sure I’d choose the cosy sitting room with the fireplace in winter.

We ordered champagne and then it all started. Our server turned out to be from Newcastle (you would never have known, we thought she was Dutch). The menu arrived on a simple white folded paper. It’s in French, but many of the staff speak English and they are very professional, knowledgable and friendly. It would not be an issue if you didn’t speak French. There’s a choice of a tasting menu of 8 courses (110 Euros) or 11 courses (145 Euros) and wine parings for 5 glasses (75 Euros) or 4 glasses (58 Euros). We went for the full 11 courses and 5 glasses, because we did travel a long way to get there and we weren’t going to miss anything!

The evening focuses around the food. It’s all sourced from a 25-mile radius. It really is amazing.  Alexandre Gauthier is a bit of an alchemist, creating meals through what seems a somewhat magical process. In between courses little surprises would arrive –  like a golden ball of Stilton, crunchy on outside on soft and tangy on the inside. There was a crab blini, with the pancake made with just whole milk (we’re still curious how they did that).

Gauthier was cooking that evening, on show in the open kitchen. If I return with a larger party, I think I’d book the long table next to the kitchen. It’s quite an experience!

We finally were ready to go home around midnight. We decided we didn’t want to walk home through the fields, so the staff said they would call Kristof, the town’s only taxi driver to take us back. They must have noticed the worried look on our faces, and assured us that if Kristof wasn’t available, one of the staff would drop us off.

I got the sense at La Grenouillère that nothing was too much trouble and they wanted us to relax and enjoy the evening. We did immensely! I was very memorable and worth every centime. And I didn’t hear the Ocean once!

IF YOU GO:

La Grenouillère 19 Rue de la Grenouillère, 62170 La Madelaine-sous-Montreuil, France https://www.lagrenouillere.fr

Maison 76 6 Rue Pierre Ledent, 62170 Montreuil, France +33 3 60 85 08 49 https://maison76.com/

La Tannerie de Montreuil – Gîte, Chambres d’Hôtes 7 Rue de l’Église, 62170 Montreuil, France http://www.la-tannerie-montreuil.fr/en-us

Make sure to read my accompanying post: Girls’ Foodie Weekend in Montreuil-sur-Mer