Marsan par Hélène Darroze : 2 Michelin Star Restaurant in Saint-Germain Paris 

Marsan par Hélène Darroze is a two Michelin star restaurant in the charming Saint-Germain area on the Left Bank of Paris. It is an under-stated restaurant with a calm atmosphere. We tried the lunch menu on a recent visit to the City of Light.

2 Michelin Star Restaurant in Saint-Germain Paris 

Saint-Germain is one of the most interesting neighbourhoods of Paris. Grand Haussmann buildings along wide boulevards and tiny houses on narrow side streets provide interesting areas to be explored on foot. In between walking and sightseeing, there are also numerous restaurants and cafes available.

Our favourite department store in Paris is Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche store (picture above) which is linked to the adjacent La Grande Épicerie de Paris, a huge food hall for groceries, ready to eat food and gourmet delicacies. Between these two locations we can probably buy anything we need for daily living. After all that shopping, a convenient place to have lunch is Marsan par Hélène Darroze, which is a 5 minute walk from Le Bon Marché.

We had half-expected a two Michelin Star Restaurant in Saint-Germain Paris to be a very fancy place with shiny marble surfaces and sparkling chandeliers. But it was not that kind of place. Instead it was understated and the interior decorations were restrained. It is easy to get comfortable in a restaurant like this.

Marsan par Hélène Darroze Menu

Here are pictures of the four course lunch menu that was available for lunch from Tuesdays to Fridays (excluding bank holidays). We thought that a 95 € menu was quite reasonable for a Paris two Michelin star restaurant.

Here are pictures of some sample pages from the Marsan restaurant wine list. Our selected drink was a 2021 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe, Clos Roquète (140 €), a white wine to go with our mainly seafood lunch.

Bread and Appetisers

A cup of warm broth was served at the start of our meal. Somewhat like a welcome drink which was appreciated on a chilly day. Some bread and butter kept us occupied before the ‘real food’ arrived.

A cold fish dish was served next. Slices of the fish (I cannot remember exactly what it was, perhaps mackerel) was prepared ceviche style. It was a delicious dish.

Our choice of appetiser was white asparagus. We found the slices of the asparagus to be rather thin. Perhaps it was meant as a delicate dish.

Lunch at Marsan par Hélène Darroze: Fish and Lobster

Our next course was red mullet roasted on its skin. This was a simple dish where the freshness of the fish clearly stood out.

For the main course, there were two options lobster or milk-fed lamb. Not being keen on lamb, we selected the lobster (which had a 28€ surcharge) The lobster served at Marsan par Hélène Darroze Paris was blue lobster poached in tandoori spiced butter. Blue lobsters are such luxurious items. They may have the finest texture among seafood items and is what we like most about it. The downside is that they are very small. At Marsan we were glad that each of us got to eat a whole tail (sliced in half down the middle). It brought to mind our 3 Michelin -star lunch at Odette Singapore when the precious crustacean also made an appearance, but only a half tail per person.

Dessert

Dessert was less memorable – blood orange and turmeric (picture above) and chocolate and peanuts (picture below) were our desserts

We received some bonus treats right at the end of lunch – a pie for sharing and some chocolate pralines.

Ratings:
Food: 4
Service: 3
Value: 4
Atmosphere: 4
Overall Rating: 4 TOPs 

Marsan par Hélène Darroze
4 rue d’Assas, Paris, 75006, France

Open:
Lunch and Dinner, Tuesday to Sunday

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