L’AUBERGE GOURMANDE ★★★★★
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Gourmet Restaurant Review, Grand Case, St. Martin
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Just the Facts Price Level: $$$$$
Email: Reservations
Restaurant Category: Gourmet French
Credit Cards: Visa
Meals Served: Dinner Location: 89 Grand Case Boulevard
Outdoor seating: Balcony on street
Phone: 0590 87 73 37 Website: L’Auberge
Currency: Market rate
Parking: Nearby lot Good for: Foodies, Groups
Pros The Grande Dame of Grand Case, Auberge helped start it all 30 years ago, and they haven't stopped Earth-shatteringly delicious food Perfect service
Cons No water views, but you won't even notice after the first bite
L’Auberge Gourmande
Overall Rating ★★★★★ It was almost thirty years ago that L’Auberge Gourmande appeared on the Grand Case scene to usher in the era of the Gourmet Capital of the Caribbean. Prior to the arrival of three seminal restaurants, of which L’Auberge is one, the small fishing village was just that. Now look what they started! In a charming 120 year old creole-style house, L’Auberge Gourmande is the Grande Dame of Grand Case, still serving up innovative, delicious haute cuisine that continues to set the standard. We missed L’Auberge on our first visit, opting for the newer restaurants, and I am incredibly relieved we rectified that omission on our second trip. Unlike most restaurants we review, we only had one meal at L’Auberge, but it was sufficiently amazing to warrant a review.
L’Auberge Gourmande ! Food at L’Auberge Gourmande I’ll admit, I was hard-pressed to make a decision at L’Auberge. The menu had so many mouthwatering options, I found myself mulling far longer than normal as I savored the lovely bottle of Sancerre. Lobster? Cote d’agneau? Mahi Mahi? Or go with the filet de boeuf with my *choice* of poivre or roquefort or shallot or morel sauce? Well, clearly I had to go with the filet de boeuf, “cooked for my convenience” according to the menu. After some cajoling, I convinced my mother that we clearly had to order the seared foie gras for appetizer, even though she doesn’t technically consider herself a fan. She then opted for the Chilean sea bass and shrimp with coconut sauce.
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Mood Romance
★★★★★
Relaxation ★★★★★ Fun
★★★★☆
Family
★★☆☆☆
Value
★★★☆☆
Food Taste
★★★★★
Innovation ★★★★☆ Display
★★★★☆
Drinks
★★★★☆
Service Attentive
★★★★★
Speed ★★★★☆ First, the foie gras appeared, complete with a perfect fan of poached pears and a light Knowledge ★★★★☆ sauterne sauce drizzled over the entire plate. The foie gras was perfectly seared – warmed without being cooked – and spread smoothly on the freshly baked, still warm rolls that appeared Atmosphere as if my magic. There was not one, but two Views ★★☆☆☆ healthy slabs of foie gras awaiting our attention. But wait, there’s more. Underneath the foie gras, Decor ★★★★★ there were lightly crusted slices of baguette, Comfort ★★★★☆ sitting atop – surprise! – a light sweet potato puree. Together with the pears and sauterne Noise ★★★☆☆ sauce the effect was mind-blowingly delicious. I had high hopes that my mom, not being a “fan,” would let me have more than my fair share, but I found myself having to fight for every morsel. And then, the entrees arrived. My mother described her Chilean sea bass as delicate, meltingly good, and absolutely divine. Possibly one of the best fish dishes she’s ever had. And then I had to listen to her make sounds that no daughter should ever be subjected to, much less in public. My filet… well, ok, let me start by saying that it turns out what ensued was all my fault. I studied French in high school, studied it in college, spent a semester
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Mom, how’s your sea bass? Delicate, meltingly good, and absolutely divine!
at Universite de Grenoble, then went back for an internship in Paris my junior year, visited a few times after that. But I never actually had any money when I was a student, so while my French is passably decent (or so I am told, especially by drunk Frenchmen), my familiarity with haute cuisine terms hasn’t yet caught up. So... I had ordered my filet “a point.” A point. I was certain this meant medium rare. And I have to tell you, I love me a good rare steak. I can’t stand overcooked beef. Why bother
An Original: L’Auberge is a family affair, and has been for decades. You can sense the care and attention they put into ensuring the highest quality food and service.
if you’re going to kill all the flavor? But apparently there are differences of interpretation of “a point,” some would say relating to the fact that what the French consider to be medium rare is some people’s idea of rare, and so somewhere along the way, I was misinformed. Mistakes were made. Suffice it to say that, having insisted on showing off my French, I ordered “a point.” What arrived at the table had passed the point of pink, which means it was well past my idea of acceptable. When I waved the waiter over and told him I had ordered medium rare, he was horrified by what he saw, apologized profusely, and immediately whisked away my plate to rectify the situation. The waitress who had taken my order then came by and also apologized profusely, saying she had thought I said medium well, but must have absolutely been her fault, she must have been mistaken.
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L’Auberge Gourmande !
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Satisfying meal: Mom and daughter out on the town, enjoying our first spectacularly good meal of our trip.
At this point, mortification set in, and it occurred to me that perhaps it had been my translation error… and so I asked in English what is medium rare in French. Apparently the widely accepted translation is “saignant.” Doh! Yeah, that would be my bad. But let me tell you. They were as considerate and apologetic and handled it as elegantly as I’ve ever seen a restaurant handle even their own mistake, much less a customer’s. Within minutes my saignant filet de boeuf appeared. The side dishes were clearly fresh – none of that re-heat the original business from these guys! And the filet, oh the filet, was utter perfection. Brilliant cut of meat. Perfect medium rare, on the bloody side the way I like it, but not too much so. The sauce! Oh la la. The sauce was buttery and peppery and rich and flavorful and all the wonderful things God intended a proper poivre sauce to be. Now, some might say it was a mere one shake short of too much
salt, but for me, it brought out the depth of flavors perfectly. Artistically arrayed around the plate, I found three spears of crisp asparagus, a single floret of broccoli, a perfectly roasted tomato provencal (tomato stuffed with garlicky goodness), a cauliflower and cheese souffle… and one of the best potatoes au gratin I’ve experienced in a long time. It was a smorgasbord of French earthly delights. Dessert? Impossible. We searched the depths of our stomachs and found they had been so superbly filled there was simply no way for us to do justice to the tempting array of treats on the dessert menu. I mean, how do you pass up an au delice with layers of
Beautiful decor: One of the more comfortable, inviting restaurants in GC, despite the lack of view. creme brulee and chocolate mousse? We vowed, practically signed in blood, that we would return for dessert one night soon, which sadly wasn’t possible. Now that I’ve seen the desserts on their web site, I am despondent thinking of what we missed! Next trip. And so they brought us their signature banana vanilla caramel rum digestif. Many places tell you they offer banana vanilla rum, but like the restaurant itself, this rum set the bar. Darker and thicker than your average rum digestif, it topped us off perfectly.
Service at L’Auberge Gourmande L’Auberge Gourmande is a family affair. Unlike many of the restaurants that have changed hands over the years, L’Auberge Gourmande has stayed in the family. Our charming waitress, Candace, said she’s been working there for 21 years… which is remarkable since she looks like she’s only 21. Turns out she started there when she was eight. Her father, Pascal, came by a couple times over the course of the evening to check on us as well, as did David, who is a relative newcomer to the restaurant. As I mentioned, the aplomb with which they handled the steak snafu was, in a word, impressive. Beyond that, they were the picture of professional French service. They were there when you needed them, poured your wine just as the realization that you wanted a refill barely started to knock at your
L’Auberge Gourmande !
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Menus: xxx
consciousness, and steered you just right with knowledgeable, wellinformed guidance on the menu.
Atmosphere at L’Auberge Gourmande Like sitting down to dinner at an old friend’s house, one who has lived in her house for generations and carefully accumulated all the objets d’art to make her carefully constructed room feel effortless. The bright yellow faux finish on the walls perfectly offsets the heavy wood box beam ceiling. White archways and shuttered doors separate you from the traffic of the boulevard, without cutting you off from the evening breezes. Weren’t there views? I didn’t even notice the lack of them, the dining room was so inviting. Intimate, with only a few tables inside, and comfortable seating. Never any issues with noise, even when the dining room filled up over the course of the evening.
Bottom line Beyond the tangible, tantalizing food… at L’Auberge Gourmande you can feel the history, the gossamer weight of 30 years of delicious food, and it settles on you like a well-worn mantle of culinary expectation. ! L’Auberge Gourmande is not to be missed.
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