LE PATISSON, VILLEMOISSON-SUR-ORGE, FRANCE

A couple of weekends ago the boy and I were invited to France for a night. Deciding that we'd rather stay 3 nights instead of 1 our extremely generous hosts extended their invite to us for 3 nights in their hotel. The hotel is about 30 minutes south of Paris and 15 minutes cab ride (if the cabbie knows where he's going - ours didn't and it cost us 60 euros!) from Orly airport. The owners of the hotel, friends of the boy's ma's, were having a party there to celebrate their 75th birthdays on the Saturday night.

We arrived at Le Relais des Chartreux late on Thursday night and dumped our bags in our newly refurbed room, before gobbling down a very late dinner of lobster then scallops, and wandering the hotel's grounds for an hour or two, whilst being eaten alive by mozzies, before collapsing in bed. We'd made the decision that we weren't going to actually go into Paris while we were there, as having come from London we both wanted to make the most of some chill out time with just the 2 of us in the French countryside. This didn't stop me wanting to find the best possible place for food near the hotel so I spent hours on Tripadvisor, Google, blogs etc before we went trying to narrow down the endless and confusing choices to a place where we'd have dinner on the Friday. It's really weird searching online for somewhere to eat in a place you've never been, that's not the trendiest of areas to start with, but I struck absolute gold and found somewhere with over 95% either good or very good reviews. 

We lazed around on Friday during the day, wandered into the local town to pick up some amazing skincare items from the French pharmacy, that airport security then tried confiscate on our way back, and got ready for our night out in Villemoisson-sur-Orge (!) The hotel kindly arranged a car to pick us up and take us there (not even our driver knew where this mysterious place was until we whipped out the trusty iPhones and found it in the maps). But we got there in the end, and I'm so glad we did. Villemoisson-sur-Orge is beautiful little village/town set on winding hilly roads, with picturesque French houses lining the streets, covered in vines. The light was fading so my photos aren't great, but you get the idea.

 

 

   
Le Patisson is a small restaurant in the middle of Villemoisson-sur-Orge, seating 24 people at a time. It's been going for 4 years, and is run by a guy who used to work in 2 and 3 star Michelin places in Paris. They do one seating for lunch, and one for dinner so there's no rush to get you off your table in time for the next guests to arrive. We had a little table for 2 by the window, and all the other tables were French diners, most of whom seemed to be celebrating birthdays, judging by the number of candles in puddings we saw later. It felt a bit like being at a pop up, due to the limited number of seats and familiar style of service. It also scared me to think that my own pop ups cater for nearly the same number of people that this restaurant with 5 chefs in the kitchen and 2 front of house were serving!

We were brought the drinks we'd requested - a gorgeous cherry and champagne cocktail for me, and a blonde beer for the boy - along with some mini cheese straws to snack on while we looked at the menu (cheese straws are SO much better than bread - incredibly moreish but much less filling). They only have 2 menus in the restaurant, written on blackboards, that are moved round from table to table as guests arrive. I really like this idea - they change their menu regularly so reprinting it daily/weekly would not only be a hassle but really a waste of paper as well. This way they can just write up the courses as and when they change.

 

Everyone eating in the restaurant, and most of the staff, looked on in bemusement as I clambered on the chair to take photos of everything, whilst the boy tried and failed to pretend he wasn't with me! But the more French wine I drank the less I cared!

I don't speak French. I understand a little, but even that's limited, so the maître d' was on hand to help with working out what was on offer. And after changing my mind a few times, food was served. But not before a little amuse bouche of chilled fennel soup which had the perfect balance of creaminess and aniseed, and little lines of paprika, something I can't remember, and dried olive on the side to dip your spoon in before the soup.

I started with something that a lot of people object to, but I find delicious (these are rough translations, not actual translations of what the menu says) - foie gras, with foie gras crème brulee, onion chutney and bread. I'm not lying when I say it was one of the best starters I've ever had. The crème brulee was light and fluffy with a beautiful caramelised top, and the pate so smooth and creamy, both working perfectly with the onion jam. I think I ate it in about 2 minutes flat...

The boy went for the slightly more ethically conscious choice (he wouldn't even try my foie gras) of scallops and avocado with citrus marinade, served with lambs lettuce and orange. The complete opposite of my dish this was light and tangy, with the delicate taste of the scallop still shining through.

The pace of the food was ideal, allowing us time to digest, chat, and drink more wine between each course. We shared a bottle of Chablis after our cocktail/beer welcome drinks, and at 38 euros for the bottle, it was extremely good value for such good wine.

For main course we chose the same. Piece of beef, dauphinoise potatoes, mushrooms and bacon. That sounds so un-glam, but that's the literal translation from their menu, and of course, never how it would be written in English, but that's what it was! Perfectly cooked (we both like it almost still moo-ing), tender, delicious beef with incredible creamy potatoes, cooked in a way that I've never seen before - like it had been cooked in a muffin tin (you can't really see in the photo) - served with crispy bacon lardons, garlicky mushrooms and a creamy mushroom sauce. Simple is SO good sometimes.  

 
The menu at Le Patisson is fixed, so if you go there for dinner it's 3 courses for 38 euros. Therefore we had pudding, although were already pretty full by this point! I had a scrumptious fig tart with sherry and raising ice cream (plus obligatory candle for my birthday)!

 
And the boy had a berry, cream concoction, that despite him declaring his inability to eat anything else that day, got polished off pretty quickly, and left him with a big smile on his face. Note the Chablis induced blurriness of the photos as we got towards the end of the meal....

 
Finally coffee, before trying to get home. Coffee served with delicious little coffee flavoured and coffee bean shaped dark chocolates.

We paid the very reasonable bill and asked for them to call us a cab home.

And then we waited.... and waited. And ordered another drink to pass the time. And then the owner came over to tell us he'd never had to call a cab for guests before (I guess they all just drink and drive in France or no one from outside the village visits this restaurant - I think it's the first!) so was struggling to get one to tiny little Villemoisson-sur-Orge... but finally he did!! We were whisked back to the hotel, with happy tummies and even happier faces after a truly unforgettable meal. I really do recommend going to Le Patisson if you can - I know it's a bit of a random one, but so, so worth it if you're near-ish by.

We struggled through the next day with slightly groggy heads, but perked up again ready for the real party in the evening, for drinks, dinner and dancing. The party was at the hotel, where the food is also really good. I love the French style of serving good food, no fuss, using top ingredients. I could definitely get used to that. Thank you so much Annie and Christian for looking after us! We had a perfect weekend.