French Food Trip: Le Quatriéme Mur

We’ve recently come back from a trip around France – Paris, Loire Valley, Bordeaux, and Lourdes. My only tabucketlist item for this trip was 1) to eat as many eclairs as I could around France and hunt down the best ones in Paris and 2) drink Angelina Hot Chocolate. Not my most exhaustive, I know. But I’m glad I didn’t make a list because I also got a chance to be surprised! This series will share some of the great things I ate in France.

First is the Three-course dinner at Le Quatriéme Mur by Philippe Etchebest, in Bordeaux.

Cost: €50 for the dinner menu (Entree, Main, and Dessert), around an additional €30 for appetizers and cocktails.

There’s a funny story behind this one. Right across this restaurant was Gordon Ramsay’s Le Pressoir d’Argent. Some of my cousins were big Hell’s Kitchen fans and immediately reserved a table. Our guide pointed out that the restaurant across was helmed by the French “Gordon Ramsay”, Philippe Etchebest (he was also awarded a Michelin star and hosts a cooking reality show). I didn’t think much of it since I knew eating there would probably be very expensive. It was free time so our group broke out to go shopping.

When we met up after a few hours, I tagged along with my brother and his wife for dinner. Wanting to see what the hype was about, my brother suggested that we eat the the “competition’s” restaurant. And so we made our way to Le Quatriéme Mur so we could be “rebels” to Le Pressoir d’Argent. Will we ever know which was better? Maybe not. Both groups claimed to have eaten a good dinner!

The restaurant was full but we were lucky that we arrived early enough to book the last three bar seats. It opened promptly at 7PM and guests started arriving. Service was one of the better ones, if not the best, we received this trip. The wait staff was very attentive.

Before the meal, they offered us some cocktails/wine/champagne and tapas. Afterwards, we selected our options for our entree, main course, and dessert. They started serving each one shortly after.

I loved my entree the most. It’s the best thing I ate during the trip! It makes my heart warm and I will forever remember that feeling! It’s like a giant ravioli stuffed with fresh mushrooms, topped with seared foie gras and more mushroom and served with a light creamy mushroom truffle soup. Ah. Heaven 😊 It’s formally called Fricassée de champignons en raviole, escalope de foie gras de canard poêlée, bouillon de champignons crémé

The main I chose was the steak served with asparagus. The steak was tender and it came with a sweet savory glaze. I loved how big the asparagus was (nothing like that in Manila!) and eating them together was a delight. I tried the tuna from my brother and enjoyed that too. It had a bit more playfulness and flavor to it. Steak: Ravette de boeuf Black Angus, asperges blanches roties, copeaux d’asperges vertes, melange de graines torrifiees, sauce facon Preigneux truffee. Tuna: Longue du thon snackee, puree de pois chiche a l’huile de sesame, condiment grenoblese, fumee brum de poisson acidule.

For my dessert, I chose the chocolate mousse with pear compote. The mousse had both dark and milk chocolate creating a delicious balance. The pear added a light, tangy, fruity taste. I’m on the fence whether I liked the pear or not. I was probably feeling more inclined to just chocolate that day. My sister-in-law got the cheesecake and it was good too – the cake was light with hints of lemon. Chocolate mousse: Mousse chocolat Araguani, biscuit cacao, gelee de poire citronee, perle Williamine et eclats de choclat blanc. Cheesecake: Cheesecake avec restes d’orange, ganache chocolat, Gianduja lait, creme et supremes d’orange sanguine, crumble a la feve de Tonka, opaline.

Another coincidence while in this restaurant was, as we were talking in Filipino, the lady beside me – who we would later find out was named France, asked me where I was from. Apparently, she recognized some words since she had visited the Philippine twice for volunteer work! Cool.

The three of us enjoyed our experience at Le Quatriéme Mur. The flavors worked together despite the many elements in each dish. I can only hope to taste the giant ravioli again soon.