GoodyFoodies: Restaurant Orphée, Regensburg, Germany

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Restaurant Orphée, Regensburg, Germany

One evening, whilst walking along the cobblestoned streets of Regensburg, my friend and I discovered Restaurant L'Orphée. Our first visit here was for a cup of coffee, or in my friends case, tea. We also had the soup of the day, pumpkin soup, and some crêpes which convinced us that we had to come back for their dinner offerings.

This restaurant serves French cuisine with a dash of Mediterranean flair and is considered the most authentic French bistro east of the River Rhine. The cuisine here is not quite Michelin-star quality fine dining but more simple, no-frills and classic French cooking with a touch of elegance.

Visitors into the restaurant are greeted with a warm and cosy atmosphere, an authentic old school setting without being pretentious. The walls are adorned with classic posters and it is clear that these are not gimmicks to spruce up the 'oldness' of the place. Having been built in 1896, the interior has not changed much; it still retains the original wainscoting and wood partitions. The place is partitioned into 2 parts; the front bistro area of the restaurant with its marble and wooden tables, red plush settees and a bar, and the rear dining area with a more formal setting with the distinguishable Thonet chairs and brighter lighting.

Having not made reservations, we had no choice of seats, as the restaurant was brimming with customers. However, after a short wait, we managed to acquire seats by the wall in the bistro area.

Warm bread to start

I had a starter of Escargots à la basquaise (€7.20 for 6 snails). This starter was absolute genius; the combination of plump, juicy escargots with the sauteed mushrooms, tomatoes and garlic topped with olive oil, parsley and gratined croutons was absolutely gorgeous. I soaked up every bit of the olive oil concoction with my bread.

My fellow diner had a starter of Coquille St. Jacques (€10.80); lightly seared scallops topped with tomatoes and scallions. Whilst the scallops were fresh, we were slightly disappointed with the flavour and the fact that it was probably seared a bit too lightly.

Moving on to the mains, my fellow diner had the excellent selle d'agneau (€17,80); lamb loin à la Provence served with a pumpkin mash, potato gratin and shredded vegetables. The lamb was succulent and paired very well with its other components.

Having had an excellent starter, I was not so lucky with my main this time, the cleverly named ménage à trois (€24,00). The prized trio of monkfish, prawns and scallops were served in a saffron-infused consommé. The consommé was flavoursome and the seafood on its own fresh and well-cooked, but I was not overly impressed with the dish as a whole.

The mains were gone and now it was time for dessert. Due to the large portions served for the mains, we decided to share the dessert; opting for the lukewarm chocolate soufflé served with crème Chantilly (€7.80). The rich chocolate in the light, fluffy soufflé tasted fantastic with the sourish cream and ensured our dinner ended on a high note.