Last year Lynn and I had lunch at Pirouette in Les Halles, which we liked immensely, and vowed to go to their sister restaurant Zebulon the following month. A month somehow turned into a year and we went earlier this month.
Zebulon next to the Palais Royal, has a similar unadorned décor to Pirouette with blonde hardwood floors in the from dining room and tile floor in the back, simple dining chairs, and soothing light from bamboo lanterns. An ebony grand piano standing on a platform looked like it was ready to have a sexy, smoky chanteuse sing her heart out at any moment.
The 20€ formule had only offering in each course, a salmon tartare dressed with beets and bok choi for the entrée and rumsteak pave with potatoes and mushrooms for the plat. I was a tad disappointed there wasn’t a more imaginative choice for the plat but I hadn’t had steak and potatoes for a long time, so I was fine with it. Lynn doesn’t eat beef so she chose from the a la carte menu, with plats averaging 22-30€.
The pairing of salmon tartare and beets seemed odd on paper but the tastes were quite complementary. Red peppercorns gave the dish a bit of sting. My steak was tender and perfectly cooked and the wilted mushrooms with potatoes in a brown sauce were a great combo. Lynn had sea bass accompanied by fennel cooked served two ways. We both agreed the vinegar marinated fennel was delicious and unusual. Before Lynn was just about to dive into her fish, the waiter poured a special sauce on top. Although it was a tomato based sauce, Lynn said it didn’t have a typical acidic tomato taste to it, but something more interesting.
We passed on dessert as the 12€ price would have put us way over budget but they did look tempting.
Although we both liked our food very much, we agreed the food at Pirouette was more imaginative and exciting, but we also agreed that the portions were ample enough at Zebulon, as they were a bit precious at Pirouette.
I would for sure go back Zebulon and also choose from their regular menu.
10 Rue de Richelieu, 75001
Metro: Palais Royal-Musee de Louvre
Open Monday to Saturday for lunch and dinner
Tel. 01 42 36 49 44
20€ lunch served Monday to Friday
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Cost: 195 euros per person (about $210)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
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