WORDS
VICKY LANE, ANYA POPE
PRICES ARE PER PERSON WITHOUT DRINKS
0 8 5
Le Fantin Latour
Grenoble
|
Modern creative
|
€68
you could say
that nature has taken over
in this cosy former museum. The décor
includes twinkling lights over an
arrangement of silver birch trees, while
garnishes of wild lavender, mushrooms
and herbs bring the outside world in.
Each of chef Stéphane Froidevaux’s
courses is a miniature landscape in itself.
Swordfish steak topped with absinthe
arrives still cooking on a steaming slate; a
shot glass of quince, carrot and mint is
like a sunset. Those who go for the
eight-course menu can expect unusual
flavours – passion-fruit coulis and tonka
beans take the gamey edge off a wild
grouse pie, while pumpkin and shiitake
mushroom soup with hazelnuts, apricot
and smoky black tea is a winter evening in
a bowl. Rich, creamy, chocolate ganache
seals the deal.
By the time the waiter brings coffee,
balanced on a piece of mossy tree bark, it
seems almost normal to root through
wild grasses for the sugar.
1 Rue du Général de Beylié, 38000,
+33 (0)4 7601 0097,
fantin-latour.fr
El Rincón de
Juan Carlos
Tenerife
|
Modern Spanish
|
€40
when you’ve been dubbed
Tenerife’s answer to the Roca
brothers – the trio who pushed Noma off its perch to win the
World’s Best Restaurant title last year – you must be doing
something right. Especially when you’re a brother down and
working in a space about a quarter of the size of that
belonging to the famed Catalan siblings. On a quiet back
road, Juan Carlos and Jonathan Padrón’s restaurant may look
unassuming – particularly in winter, when the pretty terrace
has been packed away – but in their tiny kitchen, the talented
pair are leading a gastronomic revolution.
Appetisers skilfully pair unusual combinations: creamy
foie gras sandwiched by crunchy, sweet pineapple meringue;
a plump, briny oyster in tart lychee sauce; smoked eel with a
light teriyaki and raspberry mayonnaise. Larger dishes, such
as succulent black pork and buttery black cod served with
two types of apple, confirm that these
tinerfeño
brothers
aren’t just doing something right – they’re smashing most
other competition clean off the island.
2 Pasaje de Jacaranda, Los Gigantes 38683, +34 922 868 040,
elrincondejuancarlos.es
R E S T A U R A N T
R E V I E W S
V I E W P O I N T S
01
Parmesan ravioli in
a lentil reduction starts
things off nicely
02
It’s a family affair:
brothers
Juan Carlos
and Jonathan Padrón
02
01
